Registering a workgroup geodatabase with the server
As a server administrator, you have the option to register your data folders, databases, and geodatabases with ArcGIS Server. Data registration gives the server a list of locations that the server administrator has verified that the GIS server can access. Data registration also helps the GIS server understand how to adjust data paths when publishing across machines.
To register a workgroup geodatabase with ArcGIS Server, do the following:
- The SQL Server Native Client must be installed on all client machines that are remote from the SQL Server Express instance.
- The ArcGIS Server account must be added to the database server.
- The ArcGIS Server account must have at least read-only privileges to the data.
- A database connection (.sde file) must be created for the geodatabase.
- Register the geodatabase through ArcGIS for Desktop or Server Manager.
The following sections provide more information on how to prepare your ArcGIS client to connect to a workgroup geodatabase and register it with ArcGIS Server.
Installing the SQL Server Native Client
You always make direct connections to workgroup geodatabases; no ArcSDE service is used. Therefore, you must install the SQL Server Native Client on all client machines that need to connect to the geodatabase. Here are some examples:
If ArcGIS for Desktop is installed on a different machine than SQL Server Express, you must install a version of the SQL Server Native Client that is compatible with the SQL Server Express version you are using.
If you installed ArcGIS Server on a different machine than SQL Server Express, you must install the SQL Server Native Client on the ArcGIS Server machine as well.
If your ArcGIS client is installed on the same machine as SQL Server Express, you do not need to install the SQL Server Native Client because the files that are needed to connect are installed with the database management system.
See Setting up at connection to SQL Server for an explanation of which SQL Server Native Client to use.
Adding the ArcGIS Server account to the database server
Workgroup geodatabases use operating system (OS) authenticated connections exclusively. When OS authentication is specified for the geodatabase connection, ArcGIS Server must be able to connect to the data using the ArcGIS Server account.
Tip:It is recommended that the ArcGIS Server account login be a domain account; this simplifies account administration and makes it easier to add the login to different database management systems that use operating system authentication, such as database servers. If the ArcGIS Server account is a local Windows login and your SQL Server Express instance is on a different machine than ArcGIS Server, you must create an ArcGIS Server account on the machine where the database management system is installed and give it the same password as the one on the ArcGIS Server machine before you can add it to the database server.
Add the ArcGIS Server account to the database server.
- Log in to the client using a login that is a database server administrator and start ArcMap or ArcCatalog.
- Double-click the database server in the Catalog tree to connect to it.
- Open the database servers Permissions dialog box.
Right-click the database server and click Permissions.
- Add the ArcGIS Server account to the database server.
- Click Add user.
- Specify the location, local or domain, of your ArcGIS Server account.
- Type the name of your ArcGIS Server account and click Check Names to verify that the login name is valid.
- Click OK to close the Select User or Group dialog box.
The login is added to the Database Server Users list.
- Click OK to apply your changes and close the Permissions dialog box.
By default, the ArcGIS Server account is added as a user in all geodatabases on the database server; however, no specific privileges are granted to this user in the geodatabases.
Next, you must grant the ArcGIS Server account access to the geodatabase that you want to register with the server.
Granting the ArcGIS Server account access to the workgroup geodatabase
You must grant the ArcGIS Server account access to the data in the geodatabase. If you will not be publishing editable feature services from the geodatabase, you only need to grant the ArcGIS Server user read-only privileges to the geodatabase. If you will be registering the geodatabase as a Managed Database and publishing editable feature services, you must additionally grant write permissions to the geodatabase and read/write privileges on the data to the ArcGIS Server account.
- Under the Database Servers node in the Catalog tree, double-click the workgroup geodatabase you want to register with the server to connect to it.
- Open the geodatabase Permissions dialog box.
Right-click the geodatabase, point to Administration, then click Permissions.
- Choose the ArcGIS Server user from the Database Server Users list and assign it permissions to the geodatabase.
- For a registered database, click Read Only to grant read-only permissions to the ArcGIS Server account on the geodatabase.
- For a managed database, click Read/Write to allow the ArcGIS Server account to create datasets in the geodatabase.
- Click OK to close the Permissions dialog box.
- Open the dataset Permissions dialog box.
Right-click one of the datasets to be edited, point to Manage, then click Privileges.
- Grant the ArcGIS Server account read/write privileges on the dataset.
Choose the ArcGIS Server account from the Database Server Users list, click Read/Write, then click OK to close the dialog box.
- Repeat the previous two steps for each dataset that will be edited through a feature service.
Creating a .sde file
To register a workgroup geodatabase with ArcGIS Server, you must reference a Database Connection (.sde), not a Database Server connection (.gds).
The easiest way to do this is to right-click the geodatabase under the database server in the Catalog tree and click Save Connection. A new connection will be created under Database Connections in the Catalog tree.
Once the file is created, you can import it when you register the geodatabase.
Registering the workgroup geodatabase
You can register the workgroup geodatabase as a database or an ArcGIS Server managed database. This can be done from Server Manager or the Catalog tree in ArcGIS for Desktop. See the following topics for an explanation of registration options and how to register the geodatabase: