If you are using GIS applications, you need a guide to help
you install and manage a solid backbone architecture that will allow you to
incorporate all the newest and most integrative GIS services.
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| Administering ArcGIS for Server |
Administering ArcGISfor Server (Packt Publishing, 2014) by ESRI award-winning Hussein Nasser is a clear, easy-to-follow
guide which takes you all the way from installation to configuring and
launching GIS services.
The first part of the book is dedicated to installing ArcGIS
for Server. The text guides you through what you need in terms of a Web server
as well as a GIS server. It also shows you how to test the installation track,
and then how to set up a production server. You can also learn how to set up a
virtualized environment, which can be very helpful if you need to run a virtual
machine.
Once you’ve installed ArcGIS for Server, Nasser shows you
how to configure it in order to run as a classical web service. He recommends
using a standard format and discusses SOAP and REST. Because a GIS service is a web service having
a geographical element, it is important to look at the two dominant services:
Esri and also Open Geospacial Consortium (OGC) services.
Nasser recommends using ArcGIS for Desktop (referred to as
Desktop) as the main map services authoring tool. While one could argue that
this approach may make you overly dependent on ArcGIS, both on the server side
and also on the authoring tool side, but at least you can assure yourself that
they are compatible.
The book is very practical. Once you’ve installed ArcGIS for
Server as the backbone architecture, Nasser guides you through how to consuming
services from GIS software in your system, with an emphasis on today’s main
needs, which usually revolve around visualization.
In the first part of the book, you can see how to use
ArcMap, QGIS, and even Google Earth from within your configuration. The book
includes a few exercises and examples, which are very helpful.
You may need to put together GIS services that run from your
server. If that is the case, you will need to plan carefully in order to
analyze the requirements, design the databases, optimize the database indexes,
and to deploy GIS services, which include enabling a geodatabase, a world
basemap and authoring custom GIS services. You’ll also need to optimize the
services (pool, isolate processes, and caching). Administering ArcGIS for Server will help you do so.
You’re also guided through security so that you can protect
your digital assets and intellectual property. Nasser guides you through token,
key, and how to connect to a secured service.
Finally, Administering
ArcGIS for Server addresses backups, documentation, logs, and optimizing the
flow (finding bottlenecks, etc.). The appendices are remarkably informative –
one of my favorite sections deals with the rise of ArcGIS Server and also the
benefits of a 64-bit architecture.
