Optimal Scales for Tiling Packages?

[MichaelErlich]

What is the optimal scales for creating tile packages?  Using the default that goes down to 1:1,128 only zoomed into the highways layer.  It still needs to go down several more layers to get closer up views of the streets level.  This is using map data encompassing 3 U.S. states.  Last Thursday before I left on vacation, I added in a bunch more levels including 1:568, 1:284 (halfing the previous scale similar to the default scale settings).  The default includes 20 different scales (which typically will take 12 hours to process on my machine).  When I returned from my vacation today, it was still processing scale #23.  I stopped the processing since 5 days seemed long enough for processing.  So, what is the optimal scale level that should be used for street level views and are there other settings that can impact the processing speed/scale?

We have another map set that includes only one small city.  For that data, the default scale values are just fine.

Thanks,
Mike

[MichaelBranscomb]

Hi,

I posted this information in later thread regarding the projection of MPKs and TPKs but for completeness here is some information on tiling schemes:

The tiling scheme used by the Tile Package can be anything you like (although it should match the projection of the other layers/services you intend to use). You can use the predefined Web Mercator Auxilliary Sphere tiling scheme from ArcGIS Online, you can create your own, or alternatively use the option "An existing map service" then browse to a connection to an existing map service. For example you use the URL "http://services.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/services" to add a map service then browse to the ESRI_Imagery_World_2D which is a service in WGS84 with an appropriate tiling scheme for a global service in that projection. You could then add some additional scales below the 1:4508 scale, but remember "...every time you halve the scale's denominator, it takes four times as many tiles to cover a square area of the map...". For more info see http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisserver/10.0/help/arcgis_server_dotnet_help/index.html#/Planning_a_ma.... Note that four times as many tiles, means four times more processing time compared to the previous level with each halving of the scale denominator.


Regards

Mike