What is a feature service?

Feature services allow you to serve features over the Internet and provide the symbology to use when displaying the features. Clients can execute queries to get features and perform edits that can be applied to the server. Feature services provide templates that can be used for an enhanced editing experience on the client. Data from relationship classes and nonspatial tables can also be queried and edited using feature services.

LicenseLicense:

Feature services are available in ArcGIS for Server, Portal for ArcGIS, and when publishing to ArcGIS Online. You can publish a feature service with ArcGIS for Server Basic, but you can only perform queries on it; you cannot use it for web editing. Refer to the functionality matrix for full licensing requirements for feature services.

The workflow used to create a feature service
To create a feature service, create a map document, publish it with feature access enabled, and use web and ArcGIS for Desktop clients to access the service.

Common workflows for using feature services

Depending on the editing workflow you want to achieve, the way that you use a feature service will vary. Below are some common scenarios to consider:

NoteNote:

If you want to access the data in your enterprise geodatabase or database as read-only features, you can alternatively use a map service. Map services are supported on all license levels and will allow you to disable querying or data access. To learn more, see What is a map service.

Required steps for using a feature service

Once you've determined the appropriate editing scenario, you'll need to set up a feature service and publish it to ArcGIS Server. The following steps are required:

  1. Set up an enterprise geodatabase or database using a supported platform such as SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Informix, or DB2.
  2. Author a map document to be compliant with the feature service. This is a key component to any editing workflow.
  3. Prepare the data in your database for publishing. This involves connecting to ArcGIS Server and registering your database with the server.
  4. Publish your map document as a map service with the Feature Access capability enabled. This creates a feature service endpoint through which clients, such as a web application, can access and edit the features in your map.
  5. Consume the feature service in a client application. There are a variety of ArcGIS-compliant client applications available for you to use.
9/1/2015