Administering ArcGIS for Server: ArcGIS for Server may be relatively new technology, but it doesn't have to be daunting. This book will take you step by step through the whole process, from customizing the architecture to effective troubleshooting.

The last GIS Server software I had the pleasure of installing and having to configure was ArcIMS. I've not had the opportunity to install and configure ArcGIS Server, but from what I've read through this book so far, I think I could use this as a walkthrough guide. This book gives you a very good template from hardware specs, to installation, tuning and beyond. I like how it details and walks through all the security parts of locking the server and services down.I look forward to trying to put it to use.

In general the book is about ArcGIS for Server 10.x series which the most up to date release and there are 8 chapters with 2 appendixes. Let’s explore the chapters in details :1- Chapter 1 : Best practices for Installing ArcGIS for Server :This is the beginning of the book and it is quite normal to start with installing the program. This part is quite adequate on ArcGIS for Server, but I wish there is a extra chapter or part for installing ArcSDE with multiple database types. The most problematic part about installing ArcGIS for Server is the integration of ArcSDE in my experience even though I can’t work much on ESRI stuff nowadays :)2- Chapter 2 : Authoring Web Services :As it is name implies, this part is about web services on ArcGIS for Server. This part covers both ESRI related and OGC standard services.3- Chapter 3 : Consuming GIS Services :You have installed the ArcGIS for Server and publish some services, so it is time to consume them. This part covers the consuming of services in various software or APIs, which are ArcMap, QGIS, Google Earth, ESRI ArcGIS JavaScript API. Also there is a section about editing.4- Chapter 4 : Planning and Designing GIS Services :Now you know the basics of ArcGIS for Server, it is time for the real life case studies to plan and design your services. The case study is about a locator services for restaurants with ArcGIS for Server.5- Chapter 5 : Optimizing GIS Services :Chapters are getting more advanced as the book evolves :) This is one of the most important part for advanced user. Even you have knowledge about previous chapters, you will find some info or trick in this chapter about optimizing your services.6- Chapter 6 : Clustering and Load Balancing :This is also like the Chapter 5. If you want a sustainable web services, then you should check this part of the book. It gives great information about the continuity of your GIS services.7- Chapter 7 : Securing ArcGIS for Server :You setup everything but your services are default open the public. In order to protect your data, you should secure it with the mechanisms integrated to ArcGIS for Server. This chapter is dedicated to security.8- Chapter 8 : Server Logs :This is also quite important part to find the bottlenecks of problems with the ArcGIS for Server, because logs keep the journal of the ArcGIS for Server and tell you the problem if there is any. This part is a serious way to learn on tracing the bugs or problems about your services.As it is written about, the book covers all the parts of ArcGIS for Server and it is a great book for people who work with ArcGIS for Server. I’m quite happy with the book except the need for ArcSDE installation and management with ArcGIS for Server. May be this is out of the book scope, but it is the most important complementary thing for the book.As a result, I suggest this book to people who works with ArcGIS for Server without any doubt. You can also find the PROs and CONs of the book below.PROs:+ Update to date release+ There are some scenarios to use in your projects.+ Advanced usages of ArcGIS for Server is also included.+ “Selecting the Right Hardware” and “Server Architecture” parts are good both for newbies and professionalsCONs:- PostgreSQL/PostGIS support is much better than MSSQL- ArcSDE installation could be a better.

If you are using GIS applications, you need a guide to help you install and manage a solid backbone architecture that will allow you to incorporate all the newest and most integrative GIS services. You can use cloud services, but you'll be limited. Somewhere along the way, you'll have to face the server question.This book is a clear, easy-to-follow guide which takes you all the way from installation to configuring and launching GIS services.It is broken into different parts:The first part of the book is dedicated to installing ArcGIS for Server. The text guides you through what you need in terms of a Web server as well as a GIS server. It also shows you how to test the installation track, and then how to set up a production server. You can also learn how to set up a virtualized environment, which can be very helpful if you need to run a virtual machine.Once you’ve installed ArcGIS for Server, Nasser shows you how to configure it in order to run as a classical web service. He recommends using a standard format and discusses SOAP and REST. Because a GIS service is a web service having a geographical element, it is important to look at the two dominant services: Esri and also Open Geospacial Consortium (OGC) services.Nasser recommends using ArcGIS for Desktop (referred to as Desktop) as the main map services authoring tool. While one could argue that this approach may make you overly dependent on ArcGIS, both on the server side and also on the authoring tool side, but at least you can assure yourself that they are compatible.The second part shows you that once you’ve installed ArcGIS for Server as the backbone architecture you can start consuming services from GIS software in your system, with an emphasis on today’s main needs, which usually revolve around visualization.In the first part of the book, you can see how to use ArcMap, QGIS, and even Google Earth from within your configuration. The book includes a few exercises and examples, which are very helpful.You may need to put together GIS services that run from your server. If that is the case, you will need to plan carefully in order to analyze the requirements, design the databases, optimize the database indices, and to deploy GIS services, which include enabling a geodatabase, a world basemap and authoring custom GIS services. You’ll also need to optimize the services (pool, isolate processes, and caching). Administering ArcGIS for Server will help you do so.You’re also guided through security so that you can protect your digital assets and intellectual property. Nasser guides you through token, key, and how to connect to a secured service.Finally, Administering ArcGIS for Server addresses backups, documentation, logs, and optimizing the flow (finding bottlenecks, etc.). The appendices are remarkably informative – one of my favorite sections in the appendices deals with the rise of ArcGIS Server and also the benefits of a 64-bit architecture.

For a topic that requires so much attention to detail, I find the lack of quality information frustrating. This book is sufficiently well written, however it only scratches the surface of the subject. As it stands, you need many books and several hours of google education to figure anything out. On the other side of the coin, GIS is a surging field and ESRI is shuffling their products around for a better user experience. There is no telling how long this transition will take.

I used this text to create a testing installation of ArcGIS for Server. The book is very thorough but there were several points at which the author failed to fully describe a process or exercise, which led to a great deal of confusion and wasted time on my part. For instance, the author claims that with the testing installation he describes, the user should be able to complete most of the exercise in the book, but the very first exercise appears to be an exception (this is not stated in the text, however). Sometimes a screenshot from Windows Server is shown with no caption or explanation that it is from this separate operating system than what the user is using in a testing installation. Other times an exercise makes use of options or settings that the user was explicitly told to disable in the previous section. In some ways these kinds of setbacks are good because in trying to find out what’s gone wrong, you learn more than just what’s in the text, but if you really don’t know what you’re doing or are pressed for time, these kinds of oversights are extremely frustrating. Since the book starts out with three distinct installations of ArcGIS Server (testing, production, virtual), it would have made more sense to me if each of the exercises was similarly divided, instead of making brief (or no) comments about how the process would be different with different installations, especially since they differ significantly. Since this is the only text of its kind out there that I could find, I was very grateful for it, but it could do with some substantial editing.