What are the optimizations to Feature Storage at the September 2020 ArcGIS Online Update?

Answer

With the September update to ArcGIS Online, improvements have been made to the credit accounting system for feature storage which may result in some inconsistencies and small changes immediately after the release. The purpose of this article is to provide some background on these changes to understand any fluctuations that may be encountered.  

The improvements in the accounting system leverage more efficient storage and indexing of the standard feature datastore, improving the performance when querying storage amounts each hour. In the past, BUG-000100343 caused some irregularities in feature storage credit charges which are resolved with these improvements. As the bug is resolved with this update, you should see consistent storage charges if you were impacted in the past. You may see a slight increase in credit charges in these scenarios or a slight decrease in credit charges with the improved efficiency of storage.

To implement the change, feature storage credit charges are suspended for approximately a day after the evening of September 29, 2020. During this time, you will not be charged for credits for feature storage, which will be reflected on the organization status page.  

After the update, you may see one or more of the following scenarios: 

1. There are no charges for feature storage for approximately a day after the evening of 9/29/2020.
2. Attachment storage is underreported for approximately a day after the evening of 9/29/2020
3. The amount of feature storage credits being charged is the same as before the update. 
4. The amount of feature storage credits being charged has increased after the update.  
5. The amount of feature storage credits being charged has decreased after the update.  

If you encounter scenario #4 or #5, the bugs that were resolved may have been previously impacted storage credit calculation for your organization. If you have further questions about these changes, please contact Esri Support.