Is it possible to install ArcGIS desktop in the cloud?

[AnnVanSlembrouck]

We plan to have a workstation for each staff person in the cloud.

Has anyone done this?

Are there licensing issues I need to be aware of?

Thank You for any insight.

[AnnVanSlembrouck]

Thanks for the heads-up, Rebecca. Sounds like something I will need to keep an eye on.

Yes, I currently manage our concurrent desktop licenses.

We are not quite ready to move to ArcGIS Pro!  Will need to spend some time getting familiar with this software - in my spare time

[RickGeittmann]

The deployment we have in the Azure cloud is a front end IIS and a backend DB/Arc Server machine - I deployed a stand alone license (ArcDesktop Advanced) on the DB machine to handle tasks for DB administration and creating maps for publishing services - the DB machine is not open to the internet meaning it is not accessible from outside Azure but the server can see out to the internet. I have not performed any real intensive tasks yet so I may hit a snag but so far no issues. Everything I do on the system is via RDP and lag time is just a factor of the internet but no significant to bother me.

[MichaelZatorsky]

Yes, its possible and easy to set-up.

I've used a single-user licence on an Amazon WorkSpace.  This virtual desktop only allowed a single login at any time, its literally like having a shared PC.

The downside of the AWS WorkSpace was the lack of a GPU in the virtual machine.  The Amazon reps I spoke to said that they could build a custom machine with a GPU if required, but it was not a standard config.  

Microsoft's Azure's NV-Series will solve this problem: ArcGIS Pro from the Cloud: Azure NV-Series | ArcGIS Blog 

[AnnVanSlembrouck]

Thanks for the info and the link - very helpful!

[curtvprice]

This is really interesting. I had no idea the technology was afoot to make this kind of graphics intensive work possible hosted in the cloud. My experience has been with RDP with even a local network a decade ago and that was really too clunky and slow to be usable. Apparently things are changing and paradigms will be shifting!

[AndrewMurdoch]

I'm doing the same thing now with Amazon Workspaces to have a virtual development box for Windows and GIS software for a university class. Pricing is either flat rate monthly or a base fee with hourly charges. I think the break even point is if you use the Workspace VM more than 80 hours a month.
I have Visual Studio, ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Pro running on the 4GB Standard version VM. So far no problems...

[MichaelJenkins]

I don't see why not.  We have been learning how to use Amazon Web Services, and I can say that creating a server in the cloud and installing ArcGIS Desktop is not very different from installing it on a physical computer.   The way our IT has set us up, our AWS machines can join our Active Directory domains and reach our internal resources.

It  sounds like your IT is already working on a plan, so they will have to deal with all the network connectivity issues to the databases and file resources you will use (and printers), but that will be something they are already aware of.  You may have issues if you need to be able to plug in USB memory sticks, portable hard drives or CD/DVDs.   If that is something your workflow requires, be sure to let your IT know that.

I do wonder from where you and your fellow GIS users will remote to these remote desktops.   From a laptop or a desktop computer, I would guess. 

[AnnVanSlembrouck]

Thanks Michael!

We will all still have laptops and will remote desktop in from there.

[RickGeittmann]

I have it running as a stand alone install on a backend server in the Azure cloud and use RDP to access the server then just bring it up and runs like normal other than the lag over the wire it is running on our ArcGIS server system that is in Azure

[AndrewMurdoch]

One thing to keep in mind with regard to desktop ArcGIS and Azure cloud is that if you choose to stop and then "deallocate" resources (apparently the only way to temporarily stop all charges for using compute resources in Azure), then you will discover that the ArcGIS Desktop license manager thinks the software is installed on a different machine and fails to authorize (and launch) ArcGIS Desktop after restarting the Azure VM.  I discovered this the hard way recently in an experimental setup for creating a cloud-based virtual desktop for using Windows and GIS software.

This is not a problem when running ArcGIS Pro (different licensing model that reaches out to AGOL for license authorization typically). This might not be an issue with ArcGIS Server licensing if you never "deallocate" Azure resources. I ran into this with the ArcGIS Desktop license manager because I was attempting to save money by stopping the VM when not in use...