Linux operating system requirements

The following 64-bit operating systems satisfy the minimum operating system requirements. Support is not provided for 32-bit operating systems; the setup will only proceed if the operating system is 64 bit.

Portal for ArcGIS is only supported on Linux x86_64, on CPUs that adhere to the x86_64 architecture (64 bit), with supported Linux releases.

Machines with an underscore (_) in the name are not supported. The setup will not proceed if an underscore is detected in the machine name.

You cannot install the software as a root user. If you attempt to do this, the installation will not proceed and a diagnostics tool will display an error message indicating that you cannot install as root.

The software should not be installed on an OS (binary) that has been modified. Esri does not provide support for products installed on a developer's release of an operating system.

Prior and future updates or service packs on these operating system versions are supported unless otherwise stated. The operating system version and updates must also be supported by the operating system provider.

The following package groups are required:

Hardware requirements

The following are the minimum hardware requirements to install Portal for ArcGIS:

• Processor: 2 cores minimum for development and testing, 4 cores minimum highly recommended for production systems
• Memory/RAM: 8 GB
• Disk space: 10 GB

All content created by your users will also be stored on disk. Carefully consider how data will be uploaded and created by your users and allocate disk space accordingly. If desired, you can change the location of where the portal stores its content after installing the software.

Temp space requirements

By default, resources are extracted to the system /tmp directory. This directory must have read, write, and execute permissions enabled. If the required space is not available in the /tmp directory, the setup program will attempt to extract resources to the user's HOME directory. If the required space is not available in the user's HOME directory, the setup program will report an error indicating this problem. Optionally, you can specify an alternate temp location by setting the IATEMPDIR environment variable.

File system requirements

On Linux systems, the ext3 file system limits the number of item subfolders to less than 32,000; this means your portal is limited to having no more than 32,000 items. No new items can be added to Portal for ArcGIS when this limit is reached. It is recommended that you update or move the installation directory to an ext4 or xfs file system that does not have this limitation. The file system must also be supported by the operating system provider.

File handle limits

For the portal to run properly, the file handle limits for the installation user are required to be set to a minimum of 65,535. An installation diagnostics tool will check whether the limits are set properly in the /etc/security/limits.conf file. If the limits are set incorrectly, the diagnostics check will fail.

There are soft and hard limits for file handles on Linux. To determine the limits, use the following commands:

• Soft limit: ulimit -Sn
• Hard limit: ulimit -Hn

To increase the soft and hard limits, edit the /etc/security/limits.conf file with superuser access. For example, add two lines in the file as follows:

<Portal for ArcGIS installation user> soft nofile <file handle limit>
<Portal for ArcGIS installation user> hard nofile <file handle limit>

After making this change, sign out and sign back in with the user for the new values to take effect. To verify that the limits have been modified appropriately, use the ulimit -Sn and ulimit -Hn commands as described above.

Firewall settings

Portal for ArcGIS communicates through specific ports. You'll need to open these ports on your firewall before installing the software. For information on the ports Portal for ArcGIS requires for communication, see Ports used by Portal for ArcGIS.

Domain name service and fully qualified domain name requirements

Your organization's domain name service (DNS) must include an entry of the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the machine hosting Portal for ArcGIS. Similarly, if you'll be using ArcGIS Server with your portal, it's recommended that you include FQDN entries for each site you intend to federate with Portal for ArcGIS.

Optionally, you can configure your DNS to use a friendly name for the portal (for example, friendly.domain.com instead of portal.domain.com). When doing this, assign the name to the portal machine before you install the software. Then use the friendly name when setting up the portal. For example, setup activities that require use of the friendly name include the following:

• Configure ArcGIS Web Adaptor with your portal.
• Federate an ArcGIS Server site with your portal.
• Add Portal for ArcGIS to your organization's reverse proxy server. If you're not using a reverse proxy server, it's recommended that you assign a friendly name to the machine hosting ArcGIS Web Adaptor.

SSL certificates

Portal for ArcGIS is configured with a self-signed server certificate, which allows you to do initial testing of the portal and helps you quickly verify that your installation was successful. You must request a certificate from a trusted certificate authority (CA) and configure the portal to use it. The certificate can be signed by a corporate (internal) or commercial CA.

You should configure each applicable ArcGIS component in your organization with a certificate from a corporate or commercial CA. Common examples include ArcGIS Web Adaptor and ArcGIS Server. For example, ArcGIS Server includes a configured self-signed certificate. If you'll be federating an ArcGIS Server site with your portal, it's very important that you request a CA-signed certificate and configure the ArcGIS Server site and Web Adaptor to use it.

For more information, see Security best practices.

ArcGIS Web Adaptor

ArcGIS Web Adaptor is a required component of Portal for ArcGIS that allows you to integrate your portal with your existing web server and your organization's security mechanisms. You cannot deploy Portal for ArcGIS in your organization without the Web Adaptor.

You can only use the Web Adaptor with port 80 or 443. Using other ports is not supported. See the ArcGIS Web Adaptor documentation for details.

Supported web browsers

For the best performance in the portal website, use the latest versions of the browsers listed below. The website leverages the local storage capabilities (similar to cookies) of the browser. If this storage is disabled, the site will not function properly. To learn how to enable local storage, consult the browser's documentation.

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11* (Active scripting must be enabled for the portal website to function correctly.)
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari
• Android Browser
• Chrome for Android

*Use of Internet Explorer 11 is deprecated at this release. Esri highly encourages you to move to one of the other browsers listed above. While Internet Explorer 11 is still supported with the current release, use of Internet Explorer 11 is generally discouraged, and support will be discontinued at a future release. Additional notice will be provided prior to the removal of support.

ArcGIS StoryMaps and ArcGIS Experience Builder do not support Internet Explorer 11.

Scene Viewer has its own browser and hardware requirements. Some of the common clients of Portal for ArcGIS have different requirements. See their documentation for details.

External access

If you'll be using services provided by Esri, such as basemaps, ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World content, and data from ArcGIS Online, the machine hosting Portal for ArcGIS must have access to the internet. If your portal will not have access to the internet, you'll need to perform some additional configuration steps to ensure that your portal is pointing to local resources. For instructions, see Configure a disconnected deployment.

The machine hosting Portal for ArcGIS must also have access to the internet to use distributed collaboration with an ArcGIS Online organization.

Supported virtualization environments and cloud platforms

Virtualization and cloud environment support is the same for all components of a base ArcGIS Enterprise deployment. See ArcGIS Enterprise on cloud platforms and Supported virtualization environments in ArcGIS Enterprise system requirements for details.