ArcGIS Enterprise

A Guide to Single-Machine Deployments

Chidera Okoye

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1 day ago

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(Targeting ArcGIS Enterprise version 11.0, stable release as of December 2023)

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In early December 2023, my boss messaged me saying, “We need to set up ArcGIS Enterprise in a week.” I, who had never heard of this tech, replied, “Okay. I’ll add a task for it on my board and update you on the setup requirements.” I spent the following days scouring the internet for any and every guide to a successful setup. I had a lot to prove. Anyway, I didn’t end up proving much of “a lot” that month; I spent all of December and early January the following year developing a standard setup and this guide you’re about to read.

This guide provides practical configuration information to walk you through a single-machine base deployment of ArcGIS Enterprise 11.0, using the .NET 6-compatible toolchain that was current at the time.

Enterprise Architecture Note: While this guide focuses on a single-machine production setup, enterprise standards suggest mirroring this architecture in a staging environment on a completely separate server. This isolated environment is critical for validating patches, updates, and configuration changes before pushing them to your live production server.​

1. Server Setup Requirements

Before downloading any of the four components, your infrastructure must be properly provisioned and secured.

• Remote Access: Enterprise deployments rely on centralised management. All installation, configuration, and maintenance on the servers would be done using Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
• Compute & Storage: A base functional setup can run on a Windows server with 16 GB of RAM and 320 GB of storage. However, for robust production environments, 64 GB of RAM, a 4+ core processor, and 1 TB of storage (this includes sufficient space on both the system and installation volumes) are the enterprise standards. Double-check to confirm current release system requirements.
• Network & Ports: Open Ports 80 and 443 for HTTP and HTTPS. For the IIS-hosted Web Adaptors, Port 6443 for HTTPS access to ArcGIS Server, Port 7443 for HTTPS access to Portal, and optionally Port 6080 if you need plaintext HTTP access to Server (disabled by default since Server uses HTTPS-only by default).
• DNS & SSL Security: Configure your DNS to map the enterprise domain name to the server’s public IP address, and acquire an SSL/TLS certificate using an enterprise issuer or a tool like Certifytheweb for secure communication. Before moving on to the IIS configuration, ensure this certificate is imported into your Windows Certificate Store and bound to Port 443.
• Software Dependencies: The server requires the ASP.NET Core Runtime. Hosting Bundle compatible with .NET 6 (latest release at the time of this guide), since ArcGIS Enterprise SDK 11.0 and later require .NET 6 to compile custom SOEs and SOIs. Additionally, Microsoft Web Deploy 4.0 is needed for installing the IIS Web Adaptors. Verify the exact hosting bundle version against the system requirements page for your specific ArcGIS Enterprise release.
• Browser Prep: Before beginning, install Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome and make it the default web browser on the server.

2. Licensing and Software Acquisition

You must generate and download your licenses and deployment files from an active My Esri account.

• Use My Esri to generate the required license files for Portal and Server.
• Download the .json license file required for the Portal for ArcGIS (Portal license).
• Download the .ecp software authorisation file required for the ArcGIS Server(Server license).
• Download the four core installation packages: ArcGIS Server, Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Data Store, and ArcGIS Web Adaptor for Microsoft IIS.

3. The Deployment Sequence

Strict Account Segregation & Permissions: Throughout this process, do not blur identities. The underlying local OS service account (e.g., arcgis) that handles background processes is fundamentally different from your Site and Portal Administrator accounts. This local system account must have explicit Windows permissions to access data directories, file shares, and the SSL certificates. Mixing these up is a common trap that breaks system permissions.

My setup approach is setting up the Server first, the Datastore second, the Portal third, and the Web Adaptor last. There is no mandated installation order for a base deployment; Server, Data Store, and Portal can be installed in any sequence, but with Web Adaptors always last because they depend on the other components being configured first.

Only upgrades (not fresh installs) have a strict required order (Portal → Portal Web Adaptor → hosting Server → Server Web Adaptor → Data Store)

Phase 1: ArcGIS Server Setup & Health Check

• Run the installation wizard and select the drop-down for .NET extension support, which allows for building custom .NET SOEs and SOIs.
• Set up an OS account under the name “arcgis” to run the server processes.
• Disaster Recovery Tip: Click on the export configuration file option, click the browse icon, and save it as “ArcGIS-configuration-file” to the version-labelled directory (e.g., C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\ArcGIS 11.0).
• Authorise the software via the internet using your .ecp server license file. During the authorisation prompts, click Next past the authorisation number in the Network Analyst right column, and manually select the other necessary extension columns for your specific setup.
• Bypassing the Security Flag: Upon authorisation, you will be redirected to the Site Manager in your browser; expect an insecure warning flag because the SSL certificate is not yet fully bound. Click the “advanced” button and bypass this flag to proceed.
• When creating the new site in the Site Manager, specify your Root directory as C:\arcgisserver\directories and your Configuration store as C:\arcgisserver\config-store.
• Crucial Health Check: Before proceeding, press “Win+R”, type services.msc, and press Enter. Look through the list to verify that ArcGIS Server is listed there; if you cannot find it, you can uninstall and reinstall the package.

Phase 2: ArcGIS Data Store Setup

• Install the Data Store using the same “arcgis” account credentials utilised for the server.
• Export a copy of the configuration and save it as “Datastore-configuration-file”.
• Configure the datastore with your server site by adding https://<machine name/num>:6443/arcgis.
• When prompted for the datastore type, choose “Relational and tile cache”.
• Configuration Note: The wizard will ask if you want to configure additional data stores; skip this for now, as more can be added later based on requirements.
• Session Reset: Bookmark the datastore page, completely close the browser window, open a new browser session, and log back into the Server Manager page.
• Select datastores in the left directory list and click “Validate all” to ensure a successful connection.

Phase 3: Portal for ArcGIS Setup

• Install the Portal component and apply the same “arcgis” OS account credentials.
• Export the configuration file and save it as “portal-configuration-file” to your version-labeled documents directory
• On the import license file page, upload your .json portal license file.
• Create your administrator account, ensuring you securely document the credentials and security questions, then allow the creation process to complete without refreshing the browser.

Phase 4: Web Adaptors

• Server Web Adaptor: Install the Server Web Adaptor (typically found in your Downloads folder), choose “Default Website (80)”, and name the instance “arcgis-server”. When the GUI opens in your browser, you must select the “(GIS, Image, workflow manager)” component. Configure it by pasting your server URL (https://<machinename>:6443/arcgis/manager, or localhost only if no other network client will ever reach it) and providing your site admin credentials.
• Admin Access & Verification: Make sure “Enable administrative access to your site through the webadaptor” has a checkmark. Upon clicking Configure, look for a green banner containing a link to your server services directory to confirm success.
• Portal Web Adaptor: Open your file explorer and go to your Web Adaptor download location to find the specific setup executable. Right-click on it, and select “Run as Administrator” to prevent permission failures. Choose “Default Web Site (80)” and name the instance “arcgis-portal”. In the GUI, you must select the “(Portal for arcgis)” component.
• Critical .local Debugging & Verification: Configure the Portal Web Adaptor using the Portal URL that resolves correctly from the Web Adaptor host; in this case, a .local hostname https://<machinename>.local:7443/arcgis. Otherwise, the configuration will not work. Watch for the green banner at the bottom of the page to confirm a successful configuration again.

4. Security Binding and Federation

With the base components communicating, lock down the environment and federate the architecture.

• Ensure your SSL/TLS certificate has been imported into the Windows Certificate Store.
• Open IIS, select the machine name in the left connections list, click the arrow beside “sites”, and then click the arrow beside “default websites” to view your adaptors.
• Select the bindings link on the far right.
• Click on the HTTPS port (443), add your domain name, and select your SSL certificate.
• Restart Services: Close the binding window and click Restart on the IIS site or application pool after binding the certificate.
• Federating the Server: Log into your Portal for ArcGIS interface as the administrator. Navigate to Organisation> Settings > Servers. Click Add Server and provide your Server’s Services URL (e.g., https://<domain>/server), Administration URL (e.g., https://<domain>/server/admin), and your Site Admin credentials to bind the security models.
• Designating the Hosting Server: Once the server is successfully federated and validated in your server list, select it from the Hosting Server dropdown menu on that same settings page and click Save to finalise the data store integration.

5. Advanced Administration & REST Endpoints

Beyond the standard user interfaces (like the Portal landing page at https://<domain>/arcgis/home), enterprise management relies on backend administrative URLs. These “hidden” REST endpoints expose more control for scripting, advanced diagnostics, and robust troubleshooting.

• Portal Admin Directory (https://<domain>/arcgis/portaladmin): This is the administrative backend for the Portal. System administrators use this endpoint to manage users, groups, licenses, federation settings, and configure SAML Single Sign-On (SSO).
• Server Admin Directory (https://<domain>/server/admin): This REST-based endpoint is utilised for scripting, service management, and deep diagnostics, providing a far greater degree of control than the standard Server Manager GUI.
• Data Store Health-Check Endpoint (https://<machinename>:2443/arcgis/datastoreadmin): This endpoint lets you check replication status and run health checks without going through the Server Manager UI.

6. Enterprise Collaboration & Client Integration

A deployment isn’t complete until users are organised and clients can securely interact with the data.

• Group Creation: Within the Portal, administrators should structure collaboration by creating groups. This involves defining the Group Name, Summary, Description, Group Visibility, the Membership Policy, and assigning Group Owners.
• ArcGIS Pro Integration: Authorised users must download the ArcGIS Pro installer to their local machine and execute the setup.

1. Upon launch, navigate to Settings and select Configure License.
2. Set the License Type to “Named User License” and set the licensing source to your organization’s portal.
3. Enter your secure Portal URL to connect ArcGIS Pro to the Enterprise Portal, allowing users to publish and edit authoritative data directly.

7. Deployment and Configuration Results

Documenting your access URLs is a critical final step. Below is the standard URL architecture for the production sites deployed in this setup. (Note: Replace<domain> with your configured enterprise domain name).

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Common Pitfalls Checklist

• Account confusion: Never let the local arcgis OS service account and your Portal/Site Administrator login credentials blur together, they serve entirely different purposes.
• Port mismatch: Remember 6443 belongs to Server, 7443 belongs to Portal, and 6080 is Server’s optional HTTP fallback. Don’t open the wrong one when troubleshooting connectivity.
• The “.local” quirk: The Portal Web Adaptor configuration URL requires “.local” appended to the machine name, or the wizard silently fails.
• Version-labeled backups: Always name your exported configuration files and backup directories with the actual ArcGIS Enterprise version number, useful for future upgrades.

Good luck…