Oracle vs File Geodatabase for Network Dataset

[JohnFix]

I am planning a Network Dataset for a routing solution. The network will get rebuilt weekly from another data source. The routing solution (ArcGIS Server) will solve around 800 routes a day on a network of about 300,000 edges.

I am trying to determine if performance will be better if the Network Dataset is stored in an Oracle Enterprise Geodatabase versus a File Geodatabase.

My guess would be Network Analysis would be perform better in a File Geodatabase because Esri engineered that format from "scratch" and does not have to use the RDMS to access the data.

Does any one have knowledge or experiences they can offer?

Thanks.

[JonathanFarmer_oldaccount]

Hi John,

This is really going to come down to personal preference, availability of hardware (on the DBMS side), and your editing needs.

From a broad standpoint, using a file geodatabase certainly takes some complexity out of the equation. You don't need to purchase a DBMS, maintain it, etc. You don't need a separate server to host that DBMS or possibly need to add some resources to your desktop machine to host it. Those kinds of things make using a file geodatabase easier.

But there are some valid reasons why you might need to use an Enterprise geodatabase vs. a File geodatabase. Versioning support for multi-user editing is a big one. Geodatabase replication is another function that is not available in a File geodatabase.

From Esri's standpoint, there should not be a noticeable performance difference between the 2 as long as all the best practices are followed when setting up your DBMS. Things like making sure the client and database are in the same network, making sure the hardware requirements are met, etc.

Hope that helps but let me know if you have any questions for me.

Jonathan

[JohnFix1]

Thanks for your thoughts Jonathan. To answer some if the items:

No editing will take place on the network once it is built. It may be recreated from other source, but it is a whole replacement, not editing.

I'm thinking if I place the file geodatabase on the ArcGIS Enterprise server that will be solving routes, the analysis will not have to go over the network to read the network dataset...and therefore I get an increase in performance. In fact, our DB is hosted in a data center two states away from the ArcGIS Enterprise servers.

Thanks again,

John

[JonathanFarmer_oldaccount]

Hi John,

You should certainly see good performance if you place the data in a file geodatabase that resides on the same machine that ArcGIS Enterprise does. That would be the best scenario unless you could get your enterprise geodatabase on that same machine as well.

But if the enterprise geodatabases are in a data center 2 states away, you'll always see a performance hit there vs. using a file geodatabase locally. There's only so much you can do to combat network latency.

Jonathan