The material presented here is now out of date. Up to date information about ArcGIS Server can be found at www.esri.com/arcgisservver
ArcGIS Server 9.2 is now shipping and it represents a major step forward our GIS software. It is a "complete" out of the box server-based GIS for spatial data management, visualization and analysis, and is a key component of the ArcGIS platform. ArcGIS Server is designed for use by small workgroups, as well as very large distributed enterprises that use the web as part of their IT infrastructure. With ArcGIS Server you can publish and interact with many types of GIS data and applications over the web. The 9.2 release marks a major change in our server product configuration, technology, and business model. In tis post I will cover product and technology; the next will dela with business model.
ArcGIS Server 9.2 integrates the existing ArcGIS Server and ArcSDE products into a single integrated server system. Almost all the key capabilities of ArcIMS are also part of the new ArcGIS Server. Looking ahead we believe that ArcGIS Server will become the heart of many enterprise and workgroup GIS implementations.
ArcGIS Server 9.2 expands the capabilities of earlier server products quite considerably. It offers the following new and significantly expanded features:
* New out of the box clients that can be used without customization: a new browser-based web mapping application utilizes AJAX technology to display and interactive with maps; a lightweight desktop 3D viewer – ArcGIS Explorer – works with globe services published by ArcGIS Server; and ArcGIS desktop continues to be a full featured server client. Being successful with ArcGIS Server does not require programming skills because all clients come pre-built.
* New high performance map cache that allows maps with very high quality cartography (all ArcGIS symbology, Maplex labeling, cartographic representations, etc.) to be served quickly to large numbers of users without placing a large load on the server. When used in conjunction with the AJAX technology in the web mapping application this provides a fast and smooth user experience.
* Very easy to install, set up and administer using out of the GUI-based applications (ArcCatalog and Server Manager). You no longer have to be a DBA or advanced web administrator to stand up a GIS server.
* Extensive set of web services for serving up content and capabilities to distributed users over the internet/Intranet: 2D Map Service: 3D Map / Globe Service; Geocoding Service; Network Analysis Service; Geoprocessing Service; Geodata Service; and Mobile Data Service. This is an great collection of robust GIS services that deliver state of the art GIS functionality over the web to users inside or outside an organization.
* Web services can be published using industry standards: SOAP/XML, KML, OGC WMS, WFS-GML and WCS, and CS-W. Standards and interoperability are very a major theme of ArcGIS Server 9.2 and will allow integration with any other open, standards-based GIS or non-GIS enterprise application.
* Web-based editing. A new web services editing capability is provided out of the box that enables browser-based web application clients to edit geographic features in a geodatabases. This includes full access to the multi-user versioning model and all geodatabase validation rules and relationships.
* Set of leading edge developer API’s for building high performance, rich client applications: Web ADF (.Net and Java) for web applications; Mobile ADF based on Microsoft’s smart client technology (.Net) for building mobile and desktop applications; and Enterprise ADF for Java enterprise applications. These are well documented, high level software developer kits for creating specific-purpose applications and for extending the capabilities of the server. Based on the well tried and tested ArcObjects software components these are a very rich resource for developers.
ArcGIS Server adopts an “Author, Publish, Use” paradigm. Geographic services that contain data and functionality (content and capabilities) are authored on the desktop using the out of the box ArcGIS Desktop applications. ArcGIS Server is used to configure and publish these services for use over the web. The services can be consumed both by the applications that ship with the Server (web map, ArcGIS explorer, mobile and custom applications), and ArcGIS desktop clients.