Latest Contributions by WilliamCraft

Esri does not investigate specific issues or individual requests like this which surface from the forums.  You will need to open a ticket with Esri Technical Support if you want that level of assistance for your particular issue.  There are many, many reasons why add-ins can cause problems and each occurrence is unique. ... View more

If you want to change the location of your ArcGIS for Server directories, then follow the steps below: Log into ArcGIS Server Manager at http://<hostname>/arcgis/manager (may be https depending on your configuration), substituting your host name for the GIS server.  Navigate to Site > GIS Server > Directories. Locate the server directory you want to configure, then click the Edit button. The Edit Directory dialog box appears.  Enter a new location for the directory.  When you edit a directory path, the contents of the directory are copied to the new location unless you are editing a cache directory.  This copy operation may take a while and your services will be restarted automatically.  When you change a cache directory location, you must copy the cache to the new location manually. Save your changes.   ... View more

You're welcome.  It's true that the link you provided does show a story map that can be played as a slideshow, but someone took the time to customize an existing story map with some development effort.  That functionality is not provided by default from any of the out-of-the-box templates that was originally provided on Esri's Story Map site.  The correct answer to your question that I provided still stands.  It would be nice if you could mark the correct answer with the green check. ... View more

It helps to state which version of ArcGIS you are using when making a post.  To answer your question though, here are two ways you can derive usage information (although there are other methods besides just these): Mine the ArcGIS Server Logs Starting at 10.1, the ArcGIS Server Administrator API allows you to mine information about individual services in order to get usage information, which is covered here.  To go a step further, you can automatically construct a feature class with the most highly-requested extents based on the example provided here.  If you're clever with Python, you'll be able to collect some additional information using similar techniques.  If you're using ArcGIS 10.0 or earlier, you can still parse the ArcGIS Server log files (.DAT files) but you'll have to get a bit more complex with the scripting (which can be done using Windows batch, PowerShell, or Python scripting).  Parse the IIS W3SVC Web Logs The W3SVC log files (typically located at C:/WINDOWS/system32/LogFiles/W3SVC1 on a Windows 2003 machine) show the GET and POST requests made to the website from client machines.  The information typically includes the URL being requested along with a file download size, a time/date stamp, the client IP address, and a return code (200, 404, 403, 500, etc.).  You can use Windows batch scripting, PowerShell, or Python scripting to periodically parse the most current log file for the information you care about.  I have evaluated the GeoSystems Monitor application in depth.  It's a pretty nice tool for collecting metrics, but the statistics backend data store for storing the usage information must be SQL Server or SQLite.  Oracle is not supported at this time, although that may not impact you.  If the response I provided answers your question, please mark the correct answer with the green check. ... View more

What are you using for the hostname for each of your services in the Connection field (under General tab) of Service Properties?  Are you using mgs.geology.wmich.edu or something else? ... View more

That option is not in the Server Manager, it is in the Administrator Directory.  To get there, you need to log in at: http://gisservername:6080/arcgis/admin/login and replace 'gisservername' with your actual hostname. EDIT: I'm glad to see you found it!  Thanks! ... View more

To get 'the most' out of a Compress operation, you must have accomplished the following: Reconciled and posted all edits from all child versions of your DEFAULT version such that the state IDs of those versions match the state ID of DEFAULT or the child versions are deleted after reconciling and posting.  Terminated all geodatabase connections, as Asrujit eluded to above (sometimes existing connections can put a lock on specific states and/or tables which prevents a full compress).  If both of the above are accomplished, then in theory you can compress to State 0. ... View more

The requirement for ArcSDE is that the schema and the geodatabase administrator user account must be the same name.  You need to pick either DBO or SDE for in the case of SQL Server for the geodatabase administrator; those are your only two choices for that account.  This link provides some pros and cons to consider when deciding between them.  No matter which one you pick, the requirement is that the username and the schema name must match.  While you're right in that non-SDE databases don't have a requirement like this according to Microsoft, remember that we're talking about a special account here for ArcSDE not just an average user.  We're talking about the geodatabase administrator.  Once you set up your geodatabase, you can add whatever users and user groups that you want to the database and grant them whatever role you want. ... View more

Use the Intersect Geoprocessing tool to achieve what you want.  It will discover the intersections between features from the inputs. This can be useful to discover polygon overlap and line intersections (as points or lines). ... View more

Besides just a backup, are you looking for High Availability, Disaster Recovery, or both?  The Portal repository folders (e.g., Portal directories) referred to earlier are certainly one part of it, but if you're using a Managed Database for Portal then you'll need to consider that too.  There are so many ways to set up and configure Portal in order to have a primary (active) and secondary (standby) Portal site.  How about these approaches? High Availability Store the Portal directories on a Storage Area Network (SAN) or some Direct Attached Storage (DAS) which uses RAID technology, then either cluster two servers together where the SAN or DAS drive is attached to both as a Logical Unit Number (LUN) or don't cluster them and instead map as lettered drive to both servers.  The Portal for ArcGIS software would be installed on both machines.  Since the Portal directories exist on a redundant storage array, your chances of data loss are minimized considerably.  Your single point of failure is the SAN or DAS, but that's unlikely to fail.  If not using clustered servers, then you have a higher likelihood for downtime if one node fails even if using load balancing technology in front of your servers.  As far as the Managed Database goes, it should be backed up nightly using RDBMS tools and those backups should be written somewhere safe like tape storage.  Ideally, you'd be using something like Oracle RAC (although technically not 'supported' by Esri).  This solution can be somewhat expensive.  Disaster Recovery Use something like XCOPY or RoboCopy to periodically copy the new and changed files from one server to another in a one-way manner.  If your primary Portal server goes down, you can point everyone to your secondary Portal server in the interim and then RoboCopy or XCOPY back once the primary comes back up.  Another option is to use hardware-based replication from one site to another and to use RDBMS replication from one site to another for the Managed Database.  However, this solution is very expensive.  The ultimate solution might be a combination of both DR and HA solutions above, with whatever modifications make sense for your organization.  On the other hand, the quick and dirty (and cheaper) solution would be to XCOPY or RoboCopy your new and changed files from the Portal directories on a periodic basis from one server to another.  Depending on your database licensing, you could use a shared database between your hot and cold sites or use RDBMS replication from one to the other in order to maintain two separate, yet in-sync databases.  The above solutions are meant to serve as high-level guidance.  They are not prescriptions for exactly what you should do, but merely some ideas to consider based on your requirements. ... View more

Jacob is correct; your Portal for ArcGIS license will be a different code than your ArcGIS for Server license.  Portal was not meant to be authorized using the same Authorization wizard as ArcGIS for Server.  While it is technically an extension, I have found it to behave and be treated differently than other extensions for ArcGIS for Server.  It looks and feels like a separate application altogether, and it is authorized accordingly. ... View more

Which 502 error is it?  Try turning off Friendly Errors in your browser to see if it might be 502.1 or 502.2.  What happens if you change all of your IP address references in your service properties to use the fully-qualified name (FQN) of your machine instead? ... View more

Nidhin's steps are correct if you want to delete the feature class.  You also mentioned something about importing a newly-created feature class "referring to the same data content".  If you want to add a new feature class to your dataset, then use copy/paste, Feature Class to Feature Class, or the Import tool to bring your new data in and then register it as versioned thereafter.  But if the new data you wish to add has the same field structure and geometry type as what you are considering to delete, then consider using Nidhin's steps but instead of the final step of deleting the feature class you could insert your new records by way of the Simple Data Loader (right click feature class in ArcCatalog and pick Load) or by way of copy/paste in an ArcMap edit session or by way of the Append tool.  Each method has its advantages, but my point is that you shouldn't have to delete the feature class and re-create it (along with any of its permissions) if the goal is simply to get new records into it.  In the case I just described, once the new records are loaded you would then re-register it as versioned. ... View more

Can somebody answer me the following question: If my organization decides to implement Portal for GIS. ¿What is the difference between Portal for ArcGIS Extension and ESRI Geoportal Server? Rafael E. Guerra C. GIS Analyst - Panamá I've wondered the same thing in the past.  Here are the high-level descriptions of both according to Esri: Geoportal Server Esri Geoportal Server is a free, open source product that enables discovery and use of geospatial resources including datasets, rasters, and Web services. It helps organizations manage and publish metadata for their geospatial resources to let users discover and connect to those resources. Portal for ArcGIS An ArcGIS for Server extension provides a map-centric collaborative content management system that organizations can deploy in their own infrastructure (on premises or in the cloud). The ArcGIS portal is a central component of the ArcGIS platform, providing the means to easily create, organize, secure, and manage geographic assets within your organization. It connects end-users with useful online GIS applications, maps and geographic data, extending the reach of your geographic information products and ArcGIS beyond GIS experts. So beyond the marketing "fluff", here are my interpretations of the difference between them: Geoportal Server is free; Portal for ArcGIS is not free but is licensed differently than ArcGIS for Server.  Geoportal Server is a much older product; Portal for ArcGIS is the "new kid on the block". Geoportal Server is open source; Portal for ArcGIS is not.  This may imply something about the level of support that Esri currently provides or will provide as time passes.  Most enhancements made to ArcGIS Online find their way to Portal within 3 months or so.  I've called Esri support for help with Portal, but not for Geoportal.  Geoportal Server is not necessarily straightforward to set up and configure.  It requires a Java servlet and that can be tricky to set up, not to mention there's a lot of manual XML configuration to do.  Then again, Portal isn't fun either if you have a complex environment.  I think the installation for Portal is slightly easier, and there seems to be more documentation.  Geoportal Server actually leverages Active Domain groups; Portal does not.  I've tried to find a way to use AD groups as a means to control my security and then grant Portal 'Groups' (of content) to each AD group in my security store.  Won't work.  Portal's security architecture is too flat at the moment, although in 10.3 there are plans to change this.  Portal is intended to be more of a collaborative tool; Geoportal is not necessarily intended for this.  Geoportal is more of a catalog or index of what content you actually have.  Portal provides more functionality because it allows people to upload, store, and share data with others in their organization or with the public.  These are just a few of my thoughts on the differences between the two products.  I think you would want to consider these points in conjunction with your requirements.  I'd caution the use of both, though.  Geoportal is older and could eventually be phased out especially with the introduction of Portal.  On the other hand, Portal is still not mature enough for enterprise environments especially with its security model.  Both products don't really have out-of-the-box solutions for high availability and disaster recovery, though.  Hopefully this is helpful. ... View more