Network extension
The ArcGIS Server Network extension gives you access to network analysis tools in a server environment. These tools are designed for transportation networks and can be a great way to expose routing functionality and report driving directions in your Web applications. You can also use the Network extension to solve advanced routing problems on a central server and report the results to clients.
The following list is a sample of the kinds of questions the Network extension can help you answer:
- What is the quickest way to get from point A to point B?
- Which houses are within five minutes of a fire station?
- What market areas does a business cover?
The green points represent warehouses in various cities, and the polygons represent their market areas, which are divided into three rings. The surrounding green polygons can be reached by trucks within two hours; orange, within four hours; and red, within six hours. - A person wants to visit a store. Which branch should the potential customer visit to minimize travel time?
- Which ambulances or patrol cars can respond quickest to an incident?
The nearest police cruisers are assigned to incidents. The number of police officers needed at each location depends on the severity of the incident. Routes and expected response times for each car are generated. - How can a fleet of delivery or service vehicles improve customer service and minimize transportation costs?
Three food delivery trucks at a distribution center are assigned grocery stores and routes to the stores that minimize transportation costs. Vehicle capacities, lunch breaks, and maximum travel time constraints are included in the analysis. - Where can a business open a store to maximize market share?
- If a company has to downsize, which stores should it close to maintain the most overall demand?
To answer these kinds of questions using the Network extension, first you need a network dataset, which represents the transportation network. Then you can create network analysis layers on the network dataset and solve them to find solutions to network problems. The network analysis layer contains the parameters, inputs, and outputs for a network problem. There are currently six types of analyses you can perform:
- Route
- Service Area
- Closest Facility
- OD Cost Matrix
- Vehicle Routing Problem
- Location–Allocation
The ArcGIS Server Network extension is similar to the ArcGIS Desktop Network Analyst extension. The Network Analyst Help describes network datasets and network analysis layers in more detail.
Working with network analysis on the server
Once you've created a map with network analysis layers, the Network extension allows you to make that map accessible on a server. Once you have published the map and enabled the network analysis capability, internal or external client applications can send network problems to the server and receive responses that may include routes, driving directions, or other information. ArcGIS Desktop users can consume network analysis services out of the box using the Find Route tool, getting simple point-to-point routing without requiring a network license. ArcGIS developers have many choices of platforms that can work with network analysis services, such as the ArcGIS APIs for Silverlight, Flex, and JavaScript; the ArcGIS Server SOAP and REST APIs; and ArcObjects.
Learn more about publishing a network analysis service and using it in a client application