ArcGIS Enterprise and Its Capability

Owned by Diego Cesa de Meira (Unlicensed)
Jul 31, 2019
4 min read

Overview

ArcGIS Enterprise is a suite of powerful server software, a key component of the ArcGIS platform for data management, visualization, mapping and analysis. It provides organization with a comprehensive and dynamic GIS tool that extracts intelligence from geospatial data and presents actionable information. It enables collaboration and flexibility within the organization’s GIS environment by integrating industry-leading mapping and analytics capabilities and a dedicated Web GIS infrastructure to access, organize and share geospatial assets on any device, anywhere, anytime.

ArcGIS Key Features

  • Smart Mapping and Visualization

  • Advanced Analytics - Standard, GeoAnalytics and Raster Analysis Tools

  • Geocoding – Address matching

  • Network Routing – For solve vehicle routing problem

  • Living Atlas – A collection of ready-to-use maps

  • App Templates – For building web apps from web maps

  • 3D Maps – For viewing and creating 3D scenes

  • And More…

ArcGIS Software Components (Base Deployment)

Core components of ArcGIS Enterprise infrastructure base deployment comprises of the following software:

  • Portal for ArcGIS

  • ArcGIS Server

  • ArcGIS Data Store

  • ArcGIS Web Adaptors

Portal for ArcGIS

A secure portal website where geospatial assets are organized and shared with everyone in the organization, it allows the ability to create maps and perform analytics in a collaborative environment and supports user’s interaction and overall experience within Web GIS.

ArcGIS Server

A GIS Server that offers services for all the GIS work including mapping, geocoding, geoprocessing, image analysis, 3D data, geographic features, network analysis and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) by powering traditional Web GIS services (map and feature) and layers.

By default, a dedicated GIS Server is bundled in the base deployment of ArcGIS Enterprise. It is scalable in the sense that more GIS Servers can be added later to distribute and balance workload to make the system more resilient, efficient and robust.

ArcGIS Data Store

Data store provides fast access to maps and data. It lets you configure data storage with different data stores with ease by providing a convenient setup and configuration experience. Data stores can be configured as follows:

  • Relational Data Store – for hosting feature layer data such as output from spatial analysis

  • Tile Cache Data Store – for storing caches such as 3D scene layers

  • Spatialtemporal Big Data Store – for archiving large amount of data such as real-time data and results generated from GeoAnalytics Server tools

ArcGIS Web Adaptors

It integrates ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Portal with existing organizational web server’s security infrastructure to host web applications that uses the GIS services. Load balancer software directs network traffic and serves as a reverse proxy for Web GIS.

ArcGIS Deployment Environment

ArcGIS Enterprise can be deployed using the following options:

  • Local infrastructure - on-premises within the organization using Enterprise Builder

  • In the cloud - Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, automate using Chef or Powershell DSC

  • A mixture of the above

NOTE: The deployment can be on a single machine or a multitier configuration. This flexibility enables the capabilities to distribute the deployment across the infrastructure that best supports the organizational needs.

ArcGIS Capabilities and Addons (Server Roles)

Besides leading capabilities for visualization, analyzing, editing vector and tabular data, network routing, geocoding, and other traditional GIS features, ArcGIS Server is flexible for adding more GIS capabilities, known as Server Roles during deployment, depending on the functionalities required.

  • ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server

  • ArcGIS Image Server

  • ArcGIS Business Analyst Server

  • ArcGIS GeoEvent Server

  • ArcGIS World Geocoder

ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server

A diverse collection of analysis tools powered by distributed computing, transforming large volumes of data into spatial intelligence and reducing the processing time from days to minutes. By analyzing patterns, proximity and aggregation, large dataset are processed efficiently. REST and Python API from Geoprocessing Service are supported in the developer interface.

ArcGIS Image Server

Powerful raster analytics quickly extracts pixel information from large image and raster collections. Through distributed computing and storage, complex tasks are completed in a fraction of the time.

ArcGIS Business Analyst Server

For sharing spatial analytics and models by publishing demographic and consumer insight dashboards within the organization.

ArcGIS GeoEvent Server

Monitoring real-time events for smart business decision by tracking valuable assets such as aircrafts, fleet vehicles and vessels movements dynamically, or stationary weather and environmental station sensors. Using GeoEvent Server SDK, custom connectors can be created to stream virtually any types of data feed and transform into frontline decision apps in real-time.

ArcGIS World Geocoder

For mapping address quickly and accurately and put them on a map using a single locator. Package options include Basic, Standard and Advanced.

Web GIS Capabilities

  • Extending GIS contents to others in or outside an organization via enterprise portals such as data, maps, apps, devices and sites.

  • Distributive collaboration between individuals, organizations and networks of organizations, by establishing a trusted, collaborative environment with others by enabling the sharing of data and information, quickly, easily and repeatedly.

Summary

With huge amount of data captured and produced every day, ArcGIS is the location platform that enables delivery of real-time intelligence solutions, whether it is aviation, maritime, transportation, public safety, emergency management or environmental conservation, by providing a comprehensive suites of software with advanced analytics capabilities.