Image and raster data can be served as part of a map document or globe document, from a raster dataset or layer, from an image service definition, or from a geodatabase using ArcGIS Server and, optionally, using the ArcGIS Image Server extension. You can serve image and raster data directly as image services from virtually any raster data source and serve them openly using Web services standards such as SOAP XML, REST, and the OGC WMS and WCS interfaces.
The types of imagery that can be published include:
- A broad set of image file formats such as TIFF, JPEG, IMG, NITF and DEMs
- Raster datasets managed in geodatabases
- Compiled image service definitions that are defined using the optional Image Server extension to ArcGIS Server
See the Web Help for ArcGIS Server for more information on publishing image services using ArcGIS Server.
ArcGIS Image Server
The ArcGIS Image Server (also known as the Image Extension) extends the image service capabilities of ArcGIS Server. For example, using your original image sources, you can:
- Put your valuable imagery into use quickly.
- Dynamically create and serve mosaics on-the-fly from the original imagery, without the need to precompute the mosaics.
- Serve multiple views using the original imagery.
- Exploit overlapping imagery, perform on-the-fly image processing, and explore temporal changes using the advanced image serving capabilities of this extension.