Enable read-only mode

In ArcGIS Enterprise deployments, content can be created, modified, and accessed quickly. At times, however, you may need to prevent new content from being added to your deployment or prevent changes from being made to existing content and settings.

Read-only mode allows administrators to freeze an ArcGIS Enterprise deployment at a specific time, restricting operations that modify site data or configurations.

Read-only mode does not prevent access to existing content and does allow some operations to occur. Your users can still view and work with content in many ways. When you move your deployment out of read-only mode, all operations can continue as before.

By setting your ArcGIS Enterprise deployment to read-only, you can reduce the chance of data loss as changes are applied to the system.

When an update or upgrade is in progress, ArcGIS Enterprise is automatically set to read-only mode. When an update or upgrade is complete, read-only mode is turned off and normal operations can resume in the organization.

Functionality restrictions in read-only mode

When ArcGIS Enterprise is in read-only mode, many tasks and workflows are not available. Any requests to change or modify data or configurations will fail.

The following operations are not allowed in read-only mode:

  • Creating or uploading items
  • Running analysis tools in Map Viewer Classic
  • Publishing hosted feature layers or any other type of service
  • Editing feature services, including hosted services
  • Creating or modifying groups
  • Creating or modifying users
  • Making changes to your organization's settings

The following operations are allowed in read-only mode:

  • Viewing content in Map Viewer or Map Viewer Classic
  • Managing logs settings
Note:

These lists are not exhaustive. You may find that more operations are blocked and other unlisted operations are allowed. In general, do not expect the ability to change content while ArcGIS Enterprise is in read-only mode, but do expect the ability to view existing content and settings.

Place ArcGIS Enterprise in read-only mode

Complete the following steps to set ArcGIS Enterprise to read-only:

  1. Sign in to ArcGIS Enterprise Manager as a default administrator.

    The URL is in the format https://organization.example.com/<context>/manager.

  2. Click Settings > Read-only mode.
  3. Turn on the Enable read-only mode toggle button.

    Your organization is now in read-only mode. If a user attempts to create, modify, or delete content, the following default message is displayed:

    ArcGIS Enterprise is currently in read-only mode. Contact your administrator for further assistance.

To take ArcGIS Enterprise out of read-only mode, return to the Settings page and turn off the Enable read-only mode toggle button.

To inform and remind your users that read-only mode is on, you can use the access notice and information banner features.