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Raster Mosaic Dataset (RMD) Management Strategies

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08-01-2017 09:32 AM
MichaelVolz
by
Esteemed Contributor
‎08-01-2017 09:32 AM

My organization is in the process of upgrading ArcGIS software from 10.3.1 to 10.5.1.  We manage our imagery data in a file gdb that contains 8 RMDs that is used for desktop users as well as AGS image services.  In the investigation process leading up to the upgrade we found that if the RMDs were just viewed in desktop 10.5.1, they could no longer be opened in 10.3.1.  ESRI technical support could not replicate this behavior nor did other endusers on GeoNet, so it was determined to be a data specific issue.  The RMDs (at least 5 of them) have been around through several upgrades (10.2.0 to 10.2.2, 10.2.2 to 10.3.1) without any corruption.

This behavior leads me to think that either the imagery is not in the correct format or the file gdb needs to be recreated from time to time (during software upgrades) as they have a tendency to become corrupted if they have been around for a good amount of time (at least 4 years).

I'm just wondering how other GIS users are storing their imagery data.

If you are storing your imagery data in an RMD in a file gdb, do you periodically recreate the file gdb and RMD so it does not get corrupted over time?

Any feedback on this topic is greatly appreciated.

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RebeccaStrauch__GISP
by MVP Emeritus
MVP Emeritus
‎08-01-2017 12:59 PM

As on of the "other endusers on GeoNet" I'll comment here just so it is included in this discussion.  We are currently on 10.2.2 (with the Image Server extension, no Portal) but will be upgrading to 10.5.1 very soon (with non-federated AGS and Portal, and with Image Server...all on separate servers).

  • Our image files (.tifs) are stored on a data storage server (virtual/remote for us). Our AGS has read permissions to the drive/images.
  • We created our fgdb and mosaic's on the ArcGIS Server machine. 
  • The .tif's are accessed/referenced using the
  • The folder is registered with ArcGIS Server the \\<servername> (not a mapped drive)  (maybe FQDN?)
  • We load the images, update overviews/footprints/stats
  • We create and use Image Services from these mosaic datasets
  • We have not have a compatibility issue yet on simple tests with Desktop 10.5.1 (haven't tested with Server yet).

I will continue to watch this thread, however, I think I will just recreate my mosaic's and service, but will copy over the cache for the map version services that I set up.

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