Migrating to ArcGIS Server 10.1 on Amazon Web Services

ArcGIS 10.1 for Server is built with a different architecture than previous versions, and services from an EC2 instance running version 10 cannot be directly migrated to an EC2 instance running 10.1. You'll need to launch a 10.1 instance and re-create your services on it. The service publishing process in 10.1 analyzes your services to help you get the best possible performance.

Migrating your data can be simple or complex depending on how much data you have and how you store it. The simplest way to migrate data is to keep it on an EBS volume. If your data is stored in file geodatabases, you can detach the volume from your 10 instance and attach it to your 10.1 instance. However, if your data is stored in an enterprise geodatabase (egdb) instance at 10, you must move the data to a new geodatabase on your 10.1 instance.

Once you've configured your services, you'll likely be able to migrate your applications with minimal effort. In your code, you may have to change the URLs to your services. Also, if there are any ArcGIS Server Local connections in your applications, they will need to be refactored to use ArcGIS Server Internet (web service) connections. Finally, server object extensions (SOEs) can give you a way to access custom ArcObjects code that might have formerly been embedded in your web applications.

Multiple machine deployments

A major difference between 10 and 10.1 when working with ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services is the workflow for scaling out your deployment. In 10, you put all your data, services, and applications on an instance, created a custom Amazon machine image (AMI), then used that custom AMI to launch more instances for your deployment. All instances were then placed under an Amazon Elastic Load Balancer (ELB).

Although that same workflow is possible at 10.1, it's a lot easier to scale out your site using ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder on Amazon Web Services. Just type the number of instances you want, and they'll be added to the site. You can choose to launch the instances from the basic images (AMIs) provided by Esri or from a template that you've configured with your own apps and services.

ArcGIS 10.1 has been designed with a cloud-friendly architecture that allows GIS servers to be plugged into your site or removed from your site with minimal disruption. Using the 10.1 architecture, all the GIS servers can communicate with each other, unlike in 10, where the instances had no interaction. This opens the door to workflows like asynchronous geoprocessing and distributed map caching jobs. You must use Cloud Builder to take advantage of this new architecture in your site.

For more differences between ArcGIS Server versions 10 and 10.1, see the What's New and migration documents in the ArcGIS Server Help.

12/10/2013