ESRI hosts sample GIS servers. Many of the example applications included with the ArcGIS Web APIs are powered by sample GIS services hosted on these servers. The sample GIS services include services for mapping, address location and geoprocessing. You can browse the GIS services available on these servers using ArcGIS Services Directory. The following links take you to the ArcGIS Services Directory of these sample GIS servers:
- http://sampleserver1.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services (10.0 Service Pack 1)
- http://sampleserver2.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services (9.3.1)
- http://sampleserver3.arcgisonline.com/arcgis/rest/services (10.0)
ArcGIS Services Directory is a simple service discovery application that is part of every ArcGIS Server. It allows Web page developers to discover the GIS services running on a GIS server.