Install and configure ArcGIS Portal without Web Adaptor in Linux?

Question

I have successfully installed and configured ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS DataStore, ArcGIS GeoEvent Server and I can access them without any problem.Now I'm trying to install and configure ArcGIS Portal in my server from past few days. I have successfully installed it but when I try to open the url, it redirects to internal ip/machine name.

Below are my server details.

OS             : Ubuntu 16.04 server
Web server : Nginx
RAM           : 16GB
Processor    : Quad core
FQDN          : Yes and have SSL installed
Open ports  : 80, 443, 6080, 6443, 6180, 6143, 7443, 2443

And all internal ports are open, so there's no problem with firewall.

ArcGIS Server, Arcgis GeoEvent Server, ArcGIS GIS Services, ArcGIS Portal Licenses authorized.

I know ArcGIS Web Adaptor requires Apache Tomcat as web server but I can proxy URLs using Nginx and I'm more comfortable with Nginx. I tried to use Apache Tomcat and again no instructions on how to deploy a war file (arcgis.war) and when I referred to other sources, the procedure seems very complex.

My Questions are

1.) Is a Web Adaptor necessary for ArcGIS Portal,  if I want to use only in single machine?
2.) Is it possible to use ArcGIS Portal from outside without Web Adaptor (Not from localhost)?
Because I accessed ArcGIS Portal without any problem from localhost. I had to install numerous GUI supported files and a browser in server to do that.

Please guide me with proper instructions on how to install and configure an ArcGIS Portal in Linux without Web Adaptor. I want to access it from public internet, not from localhost.

P.S: I have tried multiple times and I followed all the instructions from ArcGIS documentation. I think this redirection problem is a bug becuase ArcGIS Server and GeoEvent Server are not redirecting to internal IP. I can fix my problem if anyone can point me to the source code file where this redirection happens.

Answer 1

You probably already found this out, but for the benefit of others you effectively can't use Portal for ArcGIS without a Web Adaptor. Per documentation, "ArcGIS Web Adaptor is a required component of Portal for ArcGIS which 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." - http://enterprise.arcgis.com/en/portal/latest/administer/windows/about-the-arcgis-web-adaptor.htm

You'll find that after installing Portal for ArcGIS you get a message telling you that you must configure a Web Adaptor...

Answer 2

On this site, there are many scenarios where Web Adaptor is not used in the installation: https://enterprise.arcgis.com/en/portal/latest/administer/linux/ha-scenarios-web-gis.htm

In those scenarios there is a load balancer configured instead of a Web Adaptor.

I tried one configuration these days with v10.7.1 on Oracle Linux:

1. ArGIS Server, Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Data Store on one machine, on https://private.mydomain.com:[7443|6443|2443]/arcgis
2. Network LoadBalancer mapping URL with: https://external.domain.com/[portal|server] to internal URL.
3. I set WebContextURL on both Portal and Server

ArcGIS Server work well. But Portal for ArcGIS does not:

1. when I tried to login with build-in account, the login page sent me on address https://external.domain.com/arcgis/ which does not make sense.
   • so we set the LB with arcgis context, and than this worked.
2. after that, I found out, that the Organization > Status page does not work. It sent requests to http, internal URL, if I remember right.
3. I tested setting the web adaptor, and throw it, it works OK.

So in this point, I must say, Portal does not work without Web Adaptor.