Are you working to put together a migration plan for the transition to ArcGIS 10.1 for Server? Because there are significant changes in the software architecture at ArcGIS 10.1 for Server, a number of hints and tips have been put together to help you through the process.
Good to Know
- At ArcGIS 10.1 for Server, service configuration files from previous versions will no longer work. (At previous releases, service configuration files would remain valid.) Version 10.1 uses a different mechanism for map services called the Service Definition (SD), which is not a text configuration file as it was in previous versions. Previously created map caches will remain valid.
- ArcGIS for Server 10.1 no longer uses SOM and SOC. At 10.0, you had to manage accounts for each, but at 10.1, you’ll only have to manage one account.
- The concept of a distributed installation with multiple SOC machines attached to one or more SOM boxes is also going away. Each GIS server is its own installation. GIS server machines and services may be clustered together using tools available in ArcGIS Server Manager to offer better computing power, but each ArcGIS for Server machine is effectively autonomous.
- There is no longer a differentiation between the Java and .Net versions of ArcGIS for Server. Now it’s just ArcGIS for Server. The product installs with its own application server; this server should be dedicated to ArcGIS for Server and nothing else. Esri has created applications, called “Web Adapters,” that link your current server of choice (IIS or a J2EE application server) to the GIS server instance. These applications are small broker components that basically forward requests from your web server to the internal server used with ArcGIS.
- When you create an administrative connection to ArcGIS for Server 10.1, you’ll have the option to package and copy data in the Service Definition and push the whole package up to a GIS server. This means that an SD is portable – a user in one location can create a service definition and ship it to the GIS server owner without having to worry about an account having access to data in the remote location.
Ways to Prepare
- It’s important to maintain a parallel environment between your current implementation and an install of version 10.1. If you don’t have the budget to maintain multiple ArcGIS for Server machines, your organization should, at the minimum, stand up ArcGIS for Server 10.1 on a desktop class box.
- DCOM in ArcGIS for Server is going away, which means that local connections will no longer be allowed. If your current applications use local connections for operations like editing in the ADF, you’ll want to plan on replacing those local connections with feature services.
- There’s no longer an application builder in ArcGIS Server Manager as the ADF has been phased out. There are great options available in the Flex and Silverlight viewers. I especially like the Silverlight viewer. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend logging into the Beta Community and downloading it.
In preparing for the differences in ArcGIS for Server 10.1, we’d like to encourage you to get involved in the Beta Community and learn the new workflows, features and functionality. Take notes of what does and doesn’t work in your organization, and if you find an issue that you believe is a bug, report it to us so that we can confirm and log it. If nothing else, go ahead and replicate your current services in 10.1 so as to minimize any downtime associated with the transition to version 10.1.
Randall W. - Server Usage Support Analyst
