How do you store and serve large imagery?

[BlakeTerhune]

Our organization is a city in a large metropolitan area. We get aerial imagery flown every year that is 3 or 4 inch spatial resolution. This imagery is used by ArcMap users and web applications served from ArcGIS Enterprise 10.5.1. If anyone else is in a similar situation, I'd like to know your methodology for storage, oragnization, and access of the imagery.

Currently, we store everything on a network drive, make mosaic datasets from the TIF tiles, then serve the mosaic datasets as image services for end users and web apps.

Imagery and Remote Sensing‌

[AngusHooper1]

It would be worthwhile looking at cloud storage, if you are able to. If this is not possible, then file geodatabase mosaic datasets sitting as close as possible to the image server is the answer. I would recommend looking at the Mosaic Dataset Configuration Scripts and OptimizeRasters. The advice we have received is to handle all the config at the mosaic dataset level and keep service config to a minimum. 

[XanderBakker]

Some helpful resources might be:

• ArcGIS Imagery Workflows | ArcGIS 
• Image Management Workflows | ArcGIS Resource Center 

[GuenterDoerffel]

Blake,

your way to go is what you describe you already do 🙂 Is the question about the workflows to keep this as easy as possible?, make different interesting products from the data without duplicating it?. If not already done, have a look at the published Imagery Workflows: ArcGIS Imagery Workflows | ArcGIS 

They give you best practice advise, scenarios, ... and will introduce you to the powerful Mosaic Dataset Configuration Scripts framework (MDCS)  

By the way: From now on, If you have your Area flown, make sure you get ALL the original imagery with its overlap - use these Stereo Mapping workflows described by Cody Benkelman, and be able to see your data in Stereo with ArcGIS Pro and the Imagery Extension!

[GuenterDoerffel]

Hi Blake,

sounds like you are very much following the right track already. What are you searching for:

• Performance on the existing data? Have you checked Optimize Rasters?
• Workflow verification, improvements or automation? Are you aware of  ArcGIS Imagery Workflows | ArcGIS and MDCS: ?
• Have you thought about Stereo as a use now possible with ImageAnalyst and your data?  see: Introduction to stereo mapping—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 
• The new Imagery WebApps released in April?:  see here
   

Hope this helps
Guenter

[BlakeTerhune]

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and providing the helpful links. I will take some time to review all the content and discuss with our organization.