ArcGIS Enterprise 11.5: Prepare for version 12

What’s new in ArcGIS Enterprise 11.5? 

Highlights from this release include: 

• Better system overview: The Portal now has an “About” page that summarises your deployment – machine details, operating system, CPU, licence counts and more – all in one place. This makes it easier to check system health at a glance.
• Usage reporting and audit logs: A service usage by user report gives you visibility into which services are actually being used (or ignored), helping you optimise content. Audit logging has been improved too: ArcGIS Server events are now logged in more detail for compliance and security monitoring.
• Portal search improvements: Portal search can now find sub-layers inside multi-layer services, making it easier to locate data buried in a complex layer. For instance, you might search by a sub-layer name and see the parent service returned. These logs can be fed into enterprise SIEM systems for centralised monitoring.
• Data Store management: The Data Store includes new disk-management tools. You can reclaim unused space and optimise storage on the content and relational stores. This helps prevent surprise outages from full disks.

The new object store 

If you're upgrading from 11.3 or earlier, one key change is the introduction of the object store in 11.4. It replaces the tile cache and is now a required part of your architecture for all new 3D and scene content, as well as support for query response caching.   

The older tile cache has been deprecated; Enterprise 11.5 is the last release where it’s still an option.  

The MigrateSceneServices tool in version 11.5 can help you transfer existing scene caches from tile cache to the object store (either on a machine with ArcGIS Data Store or in the cloud via AWS S3 or Azure Blob storage.)  

Making the change now avoids crunch-time pressure later and positions your Enterprise environment cleanly for version 12.  

What to do about retiring apps?

Once you’re on ArcGIS Enterprise 11.5, you can assess your classic apps and plan their migration from the ArcGIS API for JavaScript 3.x to 4.x and run them side by side to compare before switching over. 

• Geovonic Migrate: Geovonic Migrate is a migration widget by and Esri Gold Partner that scans your portal for Web AppBuilder apps and provides capability to migrate some of them to ArcGIS Experience Builder.
• Review usage: Identify which apps can be retired or replaced with ArcGIS Experience Builder, ArcGIS Dashboards or Instant Apps. 

In short, plan your app migrations now while you’re on Enterprise 11.5 so you’re ready when version 12.0 is released. 

ArcGIS Enterprise 12.0 will introduce deeper architectural changes. By upgrading to 11.5 today, you give your team time to modernise and test without pressure. Use this release to consolidate your architecture: update to cloud storage, clean up old services, and train users on the new maps and apps. When you upgrade to version 12.x later, it will feel like a much smaller step. 

Connect with our specialist if you need help to make your upgrade smooth and successful.