3. Solution Summary
• ArcGIS Portal, ArcGIS Servers (federated, cluster), ArcGIS Server
(unfederated, stand-alone), ArcGIS DataStore, StreetMap Premium
(Implemented: On-premise geocoding – ¼ billion addresses; Routing in
a disconnected environment)
• ArcGIS Online
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 3 / 13
API Query “Find all Providers X miles from Y”
Foreground Data
From Backend Database
Background Map
From ArcGIS –
Internal & External
Web Application
Map Sandwich
4. Challenges Faced
• Esri –
’Installing ArcGIS here is like pushing a square block up
a right-angle hill’
• Unique security responsibilities of the federal government
around high-value PII/PHI-based data assets and
Expedited Life Cycle (XLC) processes
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 4 / 13
5. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
Data
• No PII/PHI could leave to arcgis.com, so a hybrid solution, but multi-VPN & multi-NICs i.e. different
networks for different groups
ArcGIS is not designed for such fractured environments (BUG logged for mixing backdoor
[privatePortalURL] with frontdoor [WebContextURL]).
So, discourage hybrid design of ArcGIS within multi-NIC and multi-VPN environment –
Consider Esri Data Appliance.
Setup VIEWER role in ArcGIS for users with least privileges.
• Not Public-facing
Use aerial imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) or
OpenAerialMap to test internal basemaps.
Budget
• Hours
Allow hours to move across contract option years.
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 5 / 13
6. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
Process
• Architecture Review (AR)
• Preliminary Design Review (PDR)
• Detail Design Review (DDR)
• User Acceptance Test (UAT)
• Operational Readiness Review (ORR)
Consolidate Gate Reviews to keep up the project pace.
Prefer Agile over Waterfall (XLC).
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 6 / 13
Not Started In Progress Testing Accepted
Task 1 Task 2 Task 4 Task 5
Task 3
Kanban
7. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
Prototyping
• HTTPS requirement – Needed to decrypt
• 3-zone architecture – Needed to negotiate SSL handshakes and establish trust to
route token authentication between daisy-chained servers
• No Web Adapter – Needed to proxy without
We replicated the 3-zones in Amazon Web Services (AWS).
[AWS 1] [AWS 2] [AWS 3]
So, use Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for rapid piloting &
prototyping. Provide test box (with admin privileges) for
tool installation and prototype development.
Note, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) doesn't have to be
pixel-perfect.
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 7 / 13
8. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
Development
• No custom development – Needed to use ArcGIS Web AppBuilder (WAB)
Use WAB for development, but don't oversell its ease (Ended up scripting for
caching).
Note, WAB can't run in a truly disconnected environment out-of-the-box.
• Teams
Coordinate, but decouple frontend and backend release schedules,
esp. with “horizontally-sliced” projects.
• Testing
Test one app at a time in initial User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
Write clear test cases, and use screenshots/videos during testing
to better capture bugs or vulnerabilities.
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 8 / 13
Backend
Frontend
Infrastructur
e
Teams
Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Vertically
Sliced
Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Horizontally
Sliced
9. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
ETL/ELT
• Extract, Transform, Load
Prefer native ETL/ELT processes for less overhead.
Communication
• Triage
Setup regular touch-point calls to coordinate with various teams for
transparent communication and timely escalation across appropriate
management chains.
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 9 / 13
10. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
Support
• Vendors – Esri, Red Hat, Teradata
• E.g. Teradata’s ODBC 14.10 Driver Bug
We found it was issuing multiple queries to get multiple geometries
(a.k.a. Offline Fetching), instead of using one query to get multiple
geometries (or Inline Fetching) – Implemented option of local Cache or
Cube.
So, increase visibility of fixes to tools or widgets, and pursue out-of-cycle
patches with vendors.
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 10 / 13
11. In Retrospect:
Lessons & Tips
Tools
• Administration
Use great tools.
Wireshark, Nmap, Nagios
Fiddler, Postman, LDAP Browser
New Relic, PuTTY, WinSCP
Browser Dev Tools, Katalon, GlassWire
TeamViewer, Cygwin
FedGIS - Mar 2018 Harsh Prakash, PMP, GISP 11 / 13
GIS & (SAP) BusinessObjects Manager, Business Intelligence (BI) / Extract, Load & Transform (ETL) program
Health & Federal Business Unit, MANTECH
Esri and Amazon Partner
17y – previously, with NIH implementing Esri + OGC/FOSS4G; before that, with FEMA implementing Esri
Graduate of the University of Virginia, previously, served as the chairperson of the American Planning Association’s (APA) Technology Division
Relate & Share
Map Sandwich
Database is called the Integrated Data Repository (IDR), comprising of Teradata and other Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) resources
In no particular order
See http://www.slideshare.net/gisblog/fedgis2017-72293729