storage imagery aerial

[HanhNguyen2]

hi! I have 2TB imagery aerial data, I want to storage with single dataset to be consumed within ArcGIS Desktop which do not duplicate any of the imagery due to storage constraints. I should choose storage with raster dataset or Mosaic Dataset? Can you help me to choose storage type is most appropriate.

[HanhNguyen2]

hi! I have 2TB imagery aerial data, I want to storage with single dataset to be consumed within ArcGIS Desktop which do not duplicate any of the imagery due to storage constraints. I should choose storage with raster dataset or Mosaic Dataset? Can you help me to choose storage type is most appropriate.

[Krishna_RaoTVB]

If you are looking for a cloud-based storage AWS S3 could be a good choice.

[LongDinh]

Hi @HanhNguyen2 ,

You may have be confused between the raster and mosaic dataset types.

Raster Datasets refer to image formats supported by ArcGIS Pro (most often in TIF/GeoTIFF). 

A Mosaic Dataset is an image management object. It allows you to display a dataset from your catalog of raster datasets.

I would highly recommend going through each of the Image Management documentation as storing and displaying 2TB of imagery aerial data has its complexities and will require a depth of planning to meet your requirements. I would also read through Imagery Workflows  which will guide you through most all of the image management planning and processes.

In short, the answer is store it as a raster, and have it added into a mosaic dataset. How you configure mosaic dataset to serve your rasters is up to the requirements of your use and users.

[CodyBenkelman]

I agree with LongDinh.  The resources listed above (the Image Management documentation and  Imagery Workflows) will take some time to read and understand, but these are our recommended best practices.  

If you need assistance with accessing your imagery using the mosaic dataset, let us know more about your data - is it a large collection of orthorectified image tiles?  3 band RGB (not multispectral)?  8 bits per pixel?  Are there any areas of overlapping imagery?  Will this imagery be used outside your organization?

Cody B. 

[PeterBecker]

Recommendation would be: Create a mosaic dataset of all your source data. Use this to perform a QC of the data and ensure all is as expected. Eg clip out areas not required etc. The mosaic dataset is only virtual and reference the source data. If you then want a single dataset with minimum storage you will want to persist (export or copyraster) to a persisted dataset. You need to determine the number of bands, compression and pixel size. If the data is 4band and you want to later perform analysis then you will likely want to store lossless (eg Deflate/LZW). If this is 3band and visual display you may opt for JPEG compression which can reduce volume >10x with minimal loss in quality. For a 4Band image (or >8bit) I would recommend exporting as CRF. For 3band with JPEG use Manage Tile Cache (or look at Raster Tile Cache tools).

[HanhNguyen2]

thank your reply! Storage with type Raster Dataset have dupicate any of the imagery ?

[HanhNguyen2]

i still confuse, i don't know when i should storage type Raster Dataset? Can you explain clearly?

[Peter_Becker]

Raster Dataset is a term used to define any raster or imagery data along with its properties such as extent and projection. A TIF file, IMG, MrSID, CRF are all examples of raster datasets. If you have a directory with images (tif, etc) each of them would represent a raster dataset. If you export a raster from ArcGIS it is also a new raster dataset. A mosaic dataset is a data model stored in a database that references raster datasets. Within ArcGIS a mosaic dataset appears as a virtual raster dataset. Creating a mosaic dataset does not result in any new imagery being created (except for small overviews). If you want to work with a collection of images as if it were a single image create a mosaic dataset from the data. There are many powerful tools associated with mosaic datasets. If you want to create a new dataset you can export a raster dataset from a mosaic dataset.