Portal for ArcGIS fails to initialize the ArcGIS Sites app when Portal for ArcGIS URL exceeds limits set by the API

Description

When initializing the ArcGIS Sites application in Portal for ArcGIS 10.6.1, the system attempts to make the Sites Administration Group when the app is first visited by an admin. The system fails if the ArcGIS Sites application attempts to set a group snippet longer than the maximum amount of characters allowed by the API.

Cause

This behavior occurs when the snippet includes explainer text in the portal URL (https://portalwebadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/apps/sites/admin/).  The variable length of the Portal for ArcGIS URL, combined with some languages with longer names, such as Polish or Russian, results in this behavior.

This issue is associated with a known defect, BUG-000121414.

Workaround

This issue is resolved in Portal for ArcGIS 10.7. To resolve this issue in Portal for ArcGIS 10.6.1 follow these steps:

1. In the ArcGIS Enterprise portal, navigate to Groups.
2. Create a new group with the following settings:
   • Group Name: <Sites Administration Group>
   • Summary: <DO NOT DELETE OR MODIFY THIS GROUP. This group is managed by the ArcGIS Enterprise Sites application. To make changes to the group, visit (enter application URL)>
   • Tags: siteCollaboration
   • Who can view this group: People in the organization
   • Who can join this group: Only those invited by a group manager
   • Who can contribute content to the group: Group Members
   • What items in the group can its members update: All items

3. Click Create Group.
4. Once the group is created, copy the group ID from the URL.

5. Log in to the Sharing REST endpoint, for example:

https://portalwebadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/sharing/rest

6. Navigate to Home > Portal > Self.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Update.
8. Under Portal properties, include the following string in the settings:

  "openData": {
    "enabled": true,
    "settings": {
      "groupId": "{{your new group id goes here without the curly brackets}}",
      "migrations": {
        "siteToItems": true
      },
      "appVersion": "2.1"
    }
  }

9. Scroll to the bottom and click Update Organization.

If you have followed the above recommendations and still encounter issues, please contact Esri Technical Support (for customers in the United States) or your Esri distributor (for customers outside the United States) to resolve this issue.