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This is an important conversation these days, and one with no "easy" answers, as we are seeing. We have experimented with various
options over a number of years:
Best,
BJ
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]>
On Behalf Of Stone, Jennifer D.
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2020 12:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Remote access of GIS
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
We currently have an Enterprise GIS infrastructure, as of last year, and it saves dramatically on storage, as opposed to hosting everything on ArcGIS Online. You can host registered feature services on your Server
(we have a SQL database in which the feature classes are published to Enterprise) to allow for easy editing and access via online apps and web maps with, perhaps not real-time but near real-time updates, depending on the refresh rate you establish in your
web map. I highly recommend versioning in this scenario though. It allows you to establish a connection, through a registered feature service, to an editing version, thus allowing more security for your parent database and allowing more immediate updates.
Because of this setup I was able to begin to establish the process of establishing GIS for use in the field, as well as for data collection/editing by non-gis users. I use Collector for GIS and various different
browser based apps built in Survey123 and Web App Builder to accomplish this. We currently have one user in our planning department who was successfully able to map all sites of interest for her project using Collector, without using ArcMap at all. We are
now integrating our Parks/Rec Dep’t into a field collection solution. This will be a permanent solution in which they will be using Collector for field editing/collection/inspections, workforce for assignments, and a browser based Reporter app for in-office
editing/data collection.
We also have our Public Health, Communications, and EOC staff, also non-gis users, editing data through browser based apps. One of those apps is what supports our
Sullivan
County COVID-19 Dashboard. We also have other dashboards, not public, that utilize the data input from those registered feature services.
While establishing collaborations between Enterprise GIS and AGOL is not as user friendly as I would like, I have found it very easy to, after publishing, create a reference item in AGOL that points back to the
Portal service and therefore receives near real-time updates. Mike is right in that it does introduce several layers of complexity that are challenging to support, however, not impossible. Certainly doable, even for me, a staff of one-ish (I was just relocated
to IT so one new staff member in training) as long as you aren’t afraid of Geonet, AGOL training resources, youtube, and the help files. I use those A LOT!
Jennifer D. Stone
Jennifer D. Stone
GIS Coordinator
Sullivan County GIS Program
Information Technology Services
Sullivan County Government Center
100 North Street
Monticello, NY 12701
Phone: (845) 807-0110
Fax: (845) 807-0111
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
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From: Northeast Arc Users Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Michael Olkin
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2020 11:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Remote access of GIS
|
Attention from Sullivan County Information Technology Services: This email came from an external source. Do not open
attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails. |
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Most of us are still editing, mapping and performing analysis via direct connections to our source data. Esri’s approach in the past few years has evolved toward supporting
more of a “services-based approach,” using ArcGIS Server & Portal to provide web services that facilitate these activities in a manner that is much lower bandwidth than directly connecting to the source data. Unfortunately, this does add several levels of
complexity that even larger organizations can find challenging to support.
Rapidly shifting to a “services-based approach,” was impossible for most of us this spring, but it is worthwhile to begin researching the ever growing options now. The writing
is on the wall, with more and more Esri technology becoming dependent upon the use of ArcGIS Enterprise (the Utility Network and Branch Versioning are two features that come to mind). Hopefully, we’ll see much more information about this coming out of this
year’s (online) Esri UC.
All the best,
Michael Olkin
GIS Manager
Springfield Water and Sewer Commission
250 M Street Extension
Agawam, MA 01001
(413) 452-1344 (office)
(413) 519-5333 (cell)
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]>
On Behalf Of James Mudd
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2020 10:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Remote access of GIS
CAUTION: This email was sent from an EXTERNAL source. Use caution when clicking links.
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
Does anyone have experience with providing GIS access through a dedicated application server? I haven’t looked into this for many years, but back in the day
Citrix MetaFrame was the go-to application service software. I’m wondering about user experiences and administration workloads. We’re a large-ish non-profit land trust with @20 users, mostly mapping but some analysis. We have an ArcGIS Server installation.
Also, could everything be moved into the cloud/AWS with application services/database/ArcGIS server all as cloud installations? Performance issues with AWS application server?
--Jim
James P. Mudd, GISP
Conservation GIS Manager
Scenic Hudson, Inc.
____________________
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Building Community,
Strengthening Resiliency:
Our Annual
Report shows how we’re
connecting people with the inspirational
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____________________
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]>
On Behalf Of William Withington
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2020 9:58 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Remote access of GIS
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
My experience mirrors Ms. Stone's. No issues and easy to spin up. Just remember to leave your office machine on!
William Withington
GIS Coordinator, Planning
Town of Clarkstown
10 Maple Avenue
New City, NY 10956
73°59'16.41"W 41°8'48.17"N
845.639.2126
845.639.6985 (fax)
Available on the Intranet:
On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 11:43 AM Hegman, William <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
At Middlebury College we are using VPN and Remote Desktop (both a mac and PC app are available) to access the computer lab machines. This is mostly being used by students doing research and special projects. It has worked well, but I would not try and scale it up to an entire class. We moved over the QGIS for teaching the intro class this past semester and that was a lifesaver since it runs on a MAC and PC.
So, for a small non-profit, I would suggest you try Remote Desktop first to access ArcGIS on your machines at work. It has been very stable for us.
In the long run, I think we will need to look at other solutions like Amazon Web Services for remote processing but Remote Desktop gets us by for now.
Bill Hegman
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Neil Curri
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2020 10:48 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Remote access of GIS
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
Since it's a small nonprofit I expect budget is an issue, and that remote control of local machines at the office is a cheaper solution than RDP. However, there is a lag that is frustrating when doing anything more simple 2D mapping and analysis. At my office I and two other staff members can remote control the GIS workstation in the office for map figures. I have GIS software on my laptop for more complex projects and workflows. But rather than access files directly from the file server through our VPN, which grinds very slowly in ArcMap since projects often reference several data layers, I end up making a copy of the project folder on my computer and then overwrite the old folder on the file server at the end of the day and/or when I've completed it. That's not a great solution but since I'm the only "power" GIS user in my division I haven't seen the need to push for RDP. I'm also in the office now 2-3 days a week so I can work comfortably on the local network without having to VPN as often as I'm at home.
At Vassar, we are using RDP to teach as well as support some research over the summer. Since most students have Macs and they and faculty are distancing this works extremely well in this environment, though it's not been without a couple of bumps... with good IT support though we've worked through them. With a fast internet connection it's almost - almost - as if you're in one of the two GIS-equipped physical labs. Accessing files on the file server where we host GIS data and projects is very fast from RDP.
Neil Curri, GISP
GIS Analyst, PVE, LLC
Vassar College Academic Computing Consultant
[log in to unmask] | 845-437-7708 | 845-664-2100 (mobile)
On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 8:51 AM Stone, Jennifer D. <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
Jennifer D. Stone
Jennifer D. Stone
GIS Coordinator
Information Technology Services
GIS Program
Sullivan County Government Center
100 North Street
Monticello, NY 12701
Phone: (845) 807-0110
Fax: (845) 807-0111
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message and attachments. Thank you.
From: Northeast Arc Users Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Adam Galambos
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2020 8:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Remote access of GIS
Attention from Sullivan County Information Technology Services: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*
Greetings everyone,
I’m seeking peoples experiences with accessing their organizations’ GIS data from home. I’m working with a small nonprofit that has, like many others, transitioned to more remote access since Covid. They have a file server in house which is currently being accessed via VPN. They don’t utilize the full capabilities of ArcGIS enterprise and, up until recently, things were running smoothly. They’re investigating retooling their GIS to allow easier and more integrated methods of accessing GIS data from off site. One suggested solution, that I’m a fan of, is to invest in a dedicated Remote Desktop /VM server so all the data and the computational load is server side and not client side. I’m curious what you’re all experiencing during these times; I’m sure we’re not alone!
Many thanks,
Adam
--
Adam Galambos
MS Candidate
Resource Management and Conservation
Antioch University '20
Cell: (617) 721-9355
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