Troubleshooting performance issues in ArcGIS Online: reducing slowdowns and next steps

What we’re covering

We will go over several ways to mitigate performance problems in ArcGIS Online. We'll start with anything on the front end, this includes maps, layers, how the map is constructed and anything that can impact performance when making maps.   

Then, once the map is made and you’re sure everything is as it needs to be, we’ll go over the backend of the web infrastructure and help you get prepared for further support. 

Front End

The purpose of your map
The first method is to ask what the purpose of your map or app is. For example, if you have the entire road network of Ontario but only do work in Barrie, it would be best to clip your data to only Barrie. This can be done by either using the clip tool in ArcGIS Pro or the Extract data tool in ArcGIS Online.

Visible Range
Another consideration is the scale at which your layers will appear. If you use a layer like a road network, it probably doesn’t need to be visible from the world view. Therefore, you could reduce the visible range of the layer, making it only appear when zoomed in to certain levels.

Vector tile layers
Next, if you don’t need to regularly update your layers or perform analysis on them, you can convert them into hosted vector tile layers. This will not only reduce credit usage, but make the layers lighter weight and quicker to draw. You can create a vector tile layer when uploading a feature layer from ArcGIS Pro and selecting “vector tile layer”. Be sure to select “Cache locally” in the configuration pane, as this reduces credit usage since it will not upload an additional hosted feature layer. However, this option means your computer will generate the tile layer instead of the server.

Lastly, review the number of layers and records on your map. If this map is public, it would be best to filter the data to only show confirmed results. Using hosted feature layer views reduces the amount of data that needs to be loaded.

Network End

Looking for ongoing incidents
In this section, I’m going to explain what to provide to a technical support representative, as well as what resources you can check to see if what you are experiencing is on the network end.

First, be sure to check the ArcGIS Online Health Dashboard. This will let you know if there are any reported incidents. Next, be sure to search for incidents at either the Amazon Web Services Health Dashboard or Microsoft Azure status history, as these could also affect ArcGIS Online services.

If nothing has been reported and you are still experiencing low performance, I’ve listed a few other troubleshooting tips before moving forward and making a case:

• Check your internet speed using a speed test to see if it’s at least above 30 Mbps (megabits per second) download speed.
• Make sure you’re using an up to date supported browser.
• Note if the slowness is only on ArcGIS Online, or on other random web pages as well.
• If you notice that it always happens when you're at work at a certain time, it might be heavy web traffic on your network.
• If it's a specific page, make sure your work allows that page in their firewall.
• Keep your graphics card updated (this can cause issues when drawing the map and/or data in Map Viewer).

Creating a Support Case
If you have tested the above steps and are still experiencing performance problems, then a support case is most likely needed.

If there are any problems with the ArcGIS Online site itself, report it right away, as it could be a major incident.

If you notice the problem is specific, like only on Hosted feature layers or specific services like printing, then a good thing to provide is a HAR file. This will help the technical support representative address the issue.

To retrieve a HAR file, open your browser and navigate to where the issue is occurring. Select the three dots in the top right corner, then select “more tools” then “Developer tools”. Once opened, select the Network tab. Refresh the page you are on as this will retrieve all the network requests for this page, including failures. Next, select the download button at the top and provide a file name.

Note: These exact steps are for Google Chrome; however, the steps are similar across browsers. I’ve also made a GIF below to show how to retrieve the HAR file.

Additionally, if the problem is intermittent, then you can retrieve two HAR Files, one for the issue and another for it working as expected. This can help Support Services see the difference in each scenario. More Information about Har files can be found in this article here.

Finally, once your case is submitted and the incident is confirmed, you will receive automatic updates from the case as the incident is being resolved.

I hope this helps you better understand the steps you can take in the future if you’re ever experiencing performance problems on ArcGIS Online.