ArcGIS for Server 10.1: Map Caching Tutorial

Map caching is an effective way to make your map and image services run faster.Product Manager Derek Law discusses  the new workflows and features of map caching in ArcGIS for Server 10.1. “

we'll talk about creating map caches with ArcGIS for Server 10.1.

Map caching is the process where we pre-render map service data...

...as a collection of images or tiles that are stored on the server.

These tiles are actually stored in a folder called a map cache.

Map caches are used to support map services that contain basemap data.

In other words, data that does not change frequently or remains static.

At Server 10.1, we've improved the user experience for creating map caches.

The user interfaces are easier and more intuitive, and you'll see that in this video.

The first thing to be aware of is that we have a new Caching Tools geoprocessing service.

This is automatically created when you set up and configure a Server 10.1 site.

In addition, you define the tiling scheme before you publish a map service.

In other words, the map cache tiling scheme is actually part of the map service definition.

And finally, you can also view the progress of map cache creation.

This is ArcGIS Server Manager, a web browser-based application that enables you...

...to administer an ArcGIS for Server site.

First, we'll log in to the application.

And as you can see, it's a user-friendly interface that allows you to administer...

...an ArcGIS for Server site. Under the Services section, under Manage Services...

we can show and list all the different services available.

Currently, I have three different folders.

If I go into the System folder, we can see three different geoprocessing services.

And the one we're interested in is the Caching Tools Geoprocessing Service.

As I mentioned earlier, this service automatically gets created...

...when I set up and configure a Server 10.1 site.

If I click on this link, I can view more information about this GP service.

And what I would like to highlight is, under Pooling...

...we can define the number of instances for this service.

In other words, how much power I am going to dedicate on my machine...

...to perform caching jobs.

You can see here I have eight instances set. And as a general rule of thumb...

...you want to assign the number of instances to this service equal to the number of...

...cores on your machine because the Caching Tools geoprocessing service...

...performs all the caching jobs for the entire server site.

In earlier releases of ArcGIS Server, you would assign instances for map caching...

...as a property of the map service that you were trying to cache.

Let's go back to the system tools. And next, we'll go into ArcMap.

We're looking at NapervilleBaseMap, which is a map document that contains a rich...

...collection of data for the city of Naperville, Illinois.

You can see in the Table of Contents that we have many different datasets...

...at many different scales for railroads, streets, water bodies, and parcels.

I can zoom in to different map scales, and as you can see, we have a rich collection...

...of features, as well as labels, displayed at many different scales.

And what I would like to do is publish this as a map service basemap with a map cache.

As I mentioned earlier, we've changed the user experience at Server 10.1 for publishing...

...and building map caches. In fact, it's now part of the ArcMap user interface.

To publish a map service, I go to the File menu, I click Share As, and choose Service.

This opens the Share as Service wizard.

I want to publish a new map service, so I will click Next.

Then, I have to specify the server site...

that I want to publish the map service to. In this case, my local server instance.

And I will accept the default map service name of NapervilleBaseMap.

I will publish the map service to a folder called Naperville, and when I click Continue...

...this will display the Service Editor dialog.

In this window, I can define many different properties of my map service.

Next, I will analyze my map document.

At 10.1, you must analyze your map documents before you publish them...

...as a map service. This is now mandatory to ensure that you've optimized everything...

...in your map document for the web. As you can see in my results, I have no errors...

...so I will dismiss the results dialog and I will continue setting parameters...

...for my map service. And what I would like to highlight is the Caching options.

Now, to activate the Caching options, I click Using tiles from a cache.

The first thing I can specify is the tiling scheme.

And I can have it match the tiling scheme for ArcGIS Online.

I can use an existing tiling scheme or define a custom tiling scheme.

Under Levels of Detail, you can see that ArcMap has already auto-detected...

...the ideal scales for this map cache based on the data in the map document.

Now, I can change the map scale if I wanted to, and you'll notice we've made it...

...very user-friendly by not only giving you a scale value, but also some corresponding...

...sample graphics to help you visualize the map scale.

I can calculate the cache size. And, at the bottom, I have the option to build...

...the cache automatically when I publish my map service, or I could build the cache...

...at a later date. In earlier releases of ArcGIS Server, you would have to...

...build your map cache after the map service was already published.

Under Advanced Settings, I can see all my different scales...

...along with their estimated disk space, and various parameters...

...such as the minimum and maximum cache size, location of the cache directory...

...and the area of interest to cache.

What I would like to highlight is the Tile Format, and we have several different options.

If you have vector data, you should use PNG8, as long as you have less than 256 colors.

If you have more than that, you should use PNG24.

If you have labels, you should use PNG32 with your vector data.

And finally, JPEG and MIXED are good for raster data.

Now since my Naperville basemap has more than 256 colors, as well as labels...

...I'm going to choose PNG32.

Now, I will publish the map service, so I will click Publish.

So it's analyzing my map document and generating that map service.

And once the map service is created, it will start to build its map cache.

As you can see, it's creating the service definition file...

...that goes along with that map service.

Now that the map service has been created, we can view the progress...

...of the map cache creation, so I'll click OK. I will then open my Catalog side panel...

...and display my connection to my ArcGIS Server instance.

Under the Naperville folder, I can right-click that map service and choose...

...View Cache Status. And it will display a message dialog that indicates the status.

I can also view the map cache creation status inside ArcGIS Server Manager.

And if I go into the Naperville folder, I will see the NapervilleBaseMap Map Service.

And now, I can click these four squares to view its map cache creation status.

I can click Show Details, and you can see how the different layers of my cache...

...are being built. Now, in the interest of time for this video, I will cut ahead to when...

...the map cache is completed.

After the map cache is created, I can view its properties by clicking the...

...NapervilleBaseMap link, and view the Map Service properties.

Under the Caching section, I can see all the different parameters that I set...

...inside ArcMap when I published the map service.

If I click the Capabilities section, I could open up the REST endpoint URL...

...of the map service. And again, I can view all the different cache layers.

I will view the map service in the ArcGIS JavaScript API viewer, and you can see...

...that the basemap is very responsive. I can zoom in, or I can zoom out...

...and all my features and labels render very, very fast.

For more information, I can look in the ArcGIS for Server 10.1 help.

Under the Publishing services folder, under Caching services, there is lots of great...

...information on map caching. Thank you very much for listening.