Latest Contributions by JonathanBailey

Hi Tina. A quick follow-on question: a user with ArcGIS Desktop 10.5.1 can connect to an enterprise geodatabase (10.1 through 10.2.2) using the ArcSDE application server. However, I'm assuming that a user can't create an enterprise geodatabase using the ArcSDE application server (since the client creates a geodatabase schema current with its own release). Is that correct? ... View more

OK, here's what I've got. I replaced the point: ArcSDE geodatabase: an enterprise geodatabase (version 10.1 or 10.2.x) to which connections are made via the ArcSDE application server. with the paragraph At ArcGIS 10.5.1, there are two ways to connect to enterprise geodatabases: for all supported enterprise geodatabase releases (10.1 through 10.5.1), an ArcGIS client can connect to the geodatabase via "direct connect" (this is Esri's recommended method); for enterprise geodatabase releases (10.1 through 10.2.x), an ArcGIS client can also connect to the geodatabase via the ArcSDE application server. ... View more

Hi Tina, Yes, we're in agreement on that. I'm in the process of updating my blog post to reflect this. Thanks, Jon. ... View more

Note: I had mostly written this response by the time you posted your next response, so this might seem a bit out of sync. This goes back to why I wrote the blog post in the first place. When you start throwing file extensions at users, and adding in a matrix of types vs. licenses, and name both an "enterprise geodatabase" and an "enterprise license", it's no wonder that users get confused. The communication isn't clear, it's often inconsistent, and it often contradicts itself. First, I think it's important to be able to communicate the functionality of a geodatabase without having to identify its file extension, especially when the file extension is ".sde". Like I stated in the blog post, I've started using the term ArcSDE only in reference to the ArcSDE application server, and I think it helps to create clarity. When you communicate with users using the file extension ".sde" (and I understand the historical and technical reasons for this), it equates "enterprise geodatabase" and "ArcSDE" in the user's mind. (You mentioned in your previous comment that a .gds file could be renamed to .sde -- interesting, I wasn't aware of that). Second, on enterprise geodatabase licensing, what you've communicated here is inconsistent with the ArcGIS documentation, which identifies desktop and workgroup geodatabases as distinct from enterprise geodatabases: Geodatabase administration terminology—Help | ArcGIS Desktop  Database server vocabulary—Help | ArcGIS Desktop From a user's perspective, these are different animals, because they're licensed differently and work differently in terms of simultaneous numbers of connections and concurrent editors (and, yes, I understand that you can take the same .mdf and .ldf files and move among the different "types" by licensing them differently). I think that the definitions that Esri provides in the above links are helpful, but are inconsistent with how Esri communicates about geodatabases elsewhere. Finally, I think that your final sentence would be better written as "ArcGIS Desktop 10.5.1 can connect to enterprise geodatabases (versions 10.1 through 10.2.2) via the ArcSDE application server" -- again, more consistently using the terms "enterprise geodatabase" and "ArcSDE application server". I'm not trying to be pedantic about this, but I have found that out here in the field, Esri's inconsistent communication on how users create, license, connect to, and use geodatabases causes a lot of confusion, which is what I'm trying to address in the blog post. As I indicated in my reply to Asrujit, I'll update my blog post to remove the term "ArcSDE geodatabase", and instead expand the discussion of the different methods of connecting to enterprise geodatabases. ... View more

Perhaps the nomenclature that I've used is different from what others use. What I'm trying to present here are options that users have for creating and working with geodatabases. You're correct that they're both enterprise geodatabases (you'll note that I've used the term "enterprise geodatabase" in both cases), but the ways in which users create, license, and connect to them are different. From a user's perspective, they're different animals. The larger issue is that people (even Esri employees), often refer to both of these as ArcSDE geodatabases, which creates confusion. What I'm trying to communicate here is that the term "ArcSDE" should only be used in reference to the ArcSDE application server, and shouldn't be used to refer to enterprise geodatabases. Maybe what that means is that I should remove the "ArcSDE geodatabase" type, and reference the discussion that follows on how to connect to enterprise geodatabases. ... View more

Thanks, Tina. Good catch -- I've updated the post to indicate that you can only connect to a 10.1 or 10.2.x enterprise geodatabase using the ArcSDE application server from ArcGIS 10.5.1. ... View more

I wrote a new blog post summarizing the geodatabase types available in ArcGIS 10.5.1: Types of Geodatabases in ArcGIS 10.5.1  ... View more

Hi Joshua, Yes, this helps. In fact, the next page in the help has definitions of desktop and workgroup geodatabases. Thanks, Jon. ... View more

Thanks Duarte, Believe me, I've been living in this world for a while The first problem that I'm having is that it doesn't seem that you can get a certificate for cloudapp.net. So how are others getting around this? Thanks, Jon. ... View more

Hi Alex, Does Esri have a concise set of instructions, or any guidance at all, that you can offer on how to perform this configuration? The only guidance that I've seen is here: http://server.arcgis.com/en/server/latest/cloud/azure/install-ssl-certificate.htm Which starts at step 1 Obtain an SSL certificate and export the certificate to a .pfx file. What magical incantations must I invoke to do this? The Esri Book of Spells seems to be missing those pages. ... View more