Common problems and solutions

Below are listed some questions or issues that you may face when working with ArcGIS Server and some recommended solutions. If you don't find the problem you are looking for, you can also search for articles on the ESRI Support site.

Installation and postinstallation

Administration

Manager

Services

Web applications

Performance

Can I install ArcGIS Server for the Microsoft .NET Framework and ArcGIS Server for the Java Platform on the same Windows machine?

The .NET and Java versions of ArcGIS Server can coexist on the same machine. If you do this, you will need to follow the procedure below to ensure that your server directories correctly map to the virtual directories appropriate for your IIS or Apache Web server:

  1. Install either the .NET or Java version of ArcGIS Server.
  2. Remove the default server directories (arcgiscache, arcgisjobs, arcgisindex, arcgisinput, arcgisoutput) and their associated virtual directories using Manager or ArcCatalog.
  3. Install the other version of ArcGIS Server. You can keep the default server directories and virtual directories for this version.
  4. Create additional server directories for the version of ArcGIS Server that you installed in step 1 using file system tools.
  5. Register the new server directories and their associated virtual directories with ArcGIS Server using ArcCatalog or Manager for the version of ArcGIS Server that you installed in step 1.

What accounts should I use for the server object manager (SOM) and server object container (SOC) accounts on Windows?

The SOM and SOC accounts are used internally by the GIS server and need only have limited permissions on the machine. Chances are you'll only encounter them when you're installing ArcGIS Server on other machines or when you're giving the GIS server permissions to access your data. In most cases, it's sufficient to use the default account names suggested by the postinstallation (ArcGISSOM and ArcGISSOC) and let the postinstallation create the accounts for you. The postinstallation creates local accounts, which are recommended over domain accounts for security reasons.

My computer name gets cut off in the postinstallation (Windows only).

ArcGIS Server names cannot exceed 15 characters or you will encounter errors during the postinstallation and when trying to connect to the server. This is a known limit related to a Microsoft specification for Active Directory names.

On Linux/Solaris, the computer name cannot exceed 64 characters. Otherwise, logging in to Manager crashes the SOM.

Is an installation log or summary stored somewhere for me to review later?

On Linux/Solaris, the installation log files are in the directory <ArcGIS Server Installation directory>/arcgis/server<ArcGIS version number>/logs/Setup/. On Windows, the installation is not automatically logged, although if you run the installation from the command line, you can include parameters that will create a log file. See the ArcGIS Server installation Guide for help with installing from the command line.

You can view which features of ArcGIS Server are installed through the Add or Remove Programs dialog box in Windows. Click the Change button under ArcGIS Server for the Java Framework and choose Modify to view or change the list of installed components.

On Linux/Solaris, you can check <ArcGIS Server Installation directory>/arcgis/server<ArcGIS version number>/logs/Setup/ArcGISServer_InstalledFeatures.log for installed components.

I get the error message "Your ArcGIS Server license has expired."

If you receive this message, contact ESRI Customer Support to obtain a new license, then rerun the Authorize ArcGIS Server portion of GIS Server Post Install.

Will ArcGIS Server work when disconnected from the network?

If you have set up a distributed system where the Web server, server object manager, and server object containers are all on separate machines, ArcGIS Server will not function without the network. If, however, all these components are running on the same physical machine, ArcGIS Server will operate correctly as long as all data is referenced using local paths rather than shared network directories with UNC paths or NFS folders. For example, when you publish a resource, such as a map document, on your Windows machine, publish it from your C drive. For all platforms, ensure that all layers reference local data through local paths as well.

Additionally, on Windows, if the computer is part of a domain and you have disconnected the computer from the domain, you must use local accounts for the SOM account, SOC account, and the account you use for logging in to Manager.

If my data is on a machine that does not have ArcGIS Server installed, how can I give a local SOC account permissions to it?

Occasionally, the situation may arise that your data is on a machine with no components of ArcGIS Server installed and you are following the recommended practice of using local accounts for the SOC account. On Windows, you will need to use the operating system tools to create a local SOC account on the machine containing your data. Create a local account on the machine hosting your data and assign it the same name and password as the SOC account on all the other machines in your deployment. The GIS server will then be able to recognize that it has permissions to access your data. On Linux/Solaris, use the NFS directory or mounted directory, for example /net/cup/cup1.

Can I set up my servers in a failover or round-robin configuration?

Failover and round-robin are techniques used to provide a backup server in case one server in your configuration goes down. As you design your Web applications in Eclipse or NetBeans, you can specify additional GIS servers that the application will use and whether they will act in a failover or round-robin mode.

How can I find out what license level of ArcGIS Server is installed?

Often, a simple way to determine the license level of ArcGIS Server installed on your machine is to increase the level of logging, restart the Web server, and then view the updated log file. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. In ArcGIS Server Manager, click the GIS Server module. By default, the Server Activity Log displays. Click Server Log Properties.
  2. When the Server Logging Properties dialog box displays, select the drop down box under Log level and choose Info:Simple. Save or write down the Log file path. This path will vary depending on your install configuration.
  3. Click OK to accept the changes.
  4. Log out of Manager and restart your Web server. Once your Web server is restarted, the log file is overwritten with the Info:Simple server log level configuration, thus revealing the license level of ArcGIS Server installed.
  5. Follow the log file path you recorded eariler and open the most recently modified .dat log file. The license level of ArcGIS Server installed is indicated in the first message line.

Optionally, you can set the log level back to its original value.

I see more ArcSOC.exe processes than running service instances. This can happen even after I stop all my services.

ArcGIS Server uses an ArcSOC.exe process internally for directory management. You will still be able to see this process running in Windows Task Manager even if you stop all your services in Manager or ArcCatalog.

Additionally, geoprocessing services use multiple ArcSOC.exe processes to manage scheduling and status of jobs. For each geoprocessing service configuration, you will see one ArcSOC.exe process plus two ArcSOC.exe processes for each running instance. For example, if you have one geoprocessing service with three running instances, you will see seven ArcSOC.exe processes. These processes will go away when you stop the service or shortly thereafter.

Similarly, the search service uses an associated geoprocessing service that may increase the number of ArcSOC.exe processes you see.

I can't get the context-sensitive help to display in ArcCatalog.

When using ArcCatalog to administer your ArcGIS Server, you may get an error message if you attempt to use the question mark button (?) to get help. This happens on the Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems, which do not ship with the WinHlp32.exe executable necessary to view the help. Microsoft provides WinHlp32.exe as a free download. See Microsoft article 917607 for background information and download instructions, or follow the prompts on the error message.

I can't log in to Manager.

To log in to Manager, you must use an account that is a member of the agsadmin group on the computer running the SOM process.

On Linux/Solaris, run the diagnostic tool from the command line to diagnose if the problem is with your server rather than a permissions problem.

Logging in to Manager in Windows XP also requires that simple file sharing be disabled. In the simple file sharing model, all attempts to log on to the computer from across the network are forced to use the Guest account. Manager and Web ADF applications need to authenticate as the ArcGIS Web Services account, not the Guest account, therefore you will need to disable simple file sharing if it is not disabled already. To disable simple file sharing, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start and click My Computer.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options and click the View tab.
  3. In the Advanced Settings section, clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
  4. Click OK.

To log in to Manager, you also need to either disable Windows Firewall or add exceptions for ArcGIS Server. To add exceptions to Windows Firewall, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, click Control Panel, then click Windows Firewall. Click the Exceptions tab.
  2. Click Add Port and type the following information:

    Name: DCOM (ArcGIS Server)

    Port Number: 135

    Type: TCP

  3. Click Add Port and type the following information:

    Name: Tomcat (ArcGIS Server SOM)

    Port Number: 8099

    Type: TCP

  4. Click Add Port and type the following information:

    Name: Tomcat (ArcGIS Server Web Apps)

    Port Number: 8399

    Type: TCP

  5. Click Add Program and browse to <ArcGIS installation Directory>\bin\ArcSOM.exe. Click OK.
  6. Click Add Program and browse to <ArcGIS installation Directory>\bin\ArcSOC.exe. Click OK.
  7. Close Windows Firewall.

To log in to Manager on Windows computers that require NTLMv2 authentication, the Manager configuration file must be updated to match the Windows Local Security Policy setting. To check the local security policy and update the Manager configuration file, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy.
  2. Click Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
  3. Scroll to the Network security: LAN Manager authentication level policy.
  4. If the policy is set to Send NTLMv2 response only/refuse LM & NTLM, navigate to <ArcGIS Installation Directory>\java\manager\service\lib.
  5. Open the file called manager_config.properties in a text editor, such as Notepad.
  6. Find the property named ARCGIS_LM_COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL and change its value to 5.
  7. Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services to open the Services panel.
  8. Restart the ArcGIS Server Manager service.

I am unable to connect to map services published with ArcGIS Server 10 using ArcGIS Explorer 900 or 1200.

When connecting to map services published with ArcGIS Server 10, ArcGIS Explorer 900 and 1200 may return the following error: Unable to add service(s). To correct this issue, you must install the ArcGIS Explorer 1200 ArcGIS Server 10 compatibility patch.

What OGC-compliant services can I publish with ArcGIS Server?

Using ArcGIS Server, you can publish WMS, WFS, and WCS services. See OGC support in ArcGIS Server for additional information.

I'm having trouble creating a service that contains layers from a geodatabase.

To understand how to configure the correct permissions required for ArcSDE and other geodatabase layers, see Preparing resources for publishing.

I'm trying to preview a map service in ArcCatalog, but the image is blank.

If you see a blank Preview tab, with coordinate values appearing below as you move the mouse, it's likely that ArcCatalog can't get the map image from the virtual directory you have associated with your output directory. In this situation, ArcCatalog has all the information about the map except for the actual image, which is why you see the coordinates as you move the mouse. The best chance of fixing the problem is to check the virtual directory settings using your Web server administration software, making sure that the virtual directory is correctly pointing to the output directory on disk.

If you want to verify that the problem is with the output directory, adjust the map service's properties so that the supported image return type is MIME only. This setting does not use an output directory. If you see the image with MIME only, and you don't see it with MIME + URL, you know there is a problem with the output directory and/or the virtual directory.

You can browse to the output directory on disk to make sure that the images are being created inside. If you see images being added to the output directory as you try to preview the map service, then the problem is with the virtual directory settings.

I started creating a map cache and it's taking a long time. When will it finish?

The amount of time needed to create your map cache depends on the type of cache you are building (fused or multilayer), the scale levels you have chosen, and the amount of server resources you have dedicated to generating the cache. These factors are discussed in detail in the section Anticipating cache creation time in the topic "Planning a map cache."

How can I migrate my services from a development machine to a production machine?

You can copy your <ArcGIS>\server\user\cfg (<ArcGIS Server Installation directory>/arcgis/server<ArcGIS version number>/server/user/cfg on Linux/Solaris) folder from the development machine and paste it on the production machine in the same location, overwriting the original .cfg folder. You will then need to manually restart the ArcGIS Server Object Manager Windows service. If your services' data resides in a different folder structure on the production machine, you will need to modify the service properties to reference the new paths to the data.

ArcGIS Server Internet connections to nonpooled services are very slow.

Using nonpooled services over an ArcGIS Server Internet connection is not recommended. Use an ArcGIS Server local connection instead.

Internet connections use the services in a purely stateless fashion. Each request to a service via the Internet results in a context acquisition and release on the back-end component of the service. If the service is nonpooled, each context release results in the destruction and re-creation of a service instance. This can be computationally expensive, especially if a client is making multiple requests to the service.

I recently updated my map and globe caches. Are client applications automatically aware that the updated tiles are available?

If you update an area of a map or globe cache, users of ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and ArcGIS Explorer who have already visited that area and extent must clear their local image caches before they can see the updates. As a server administrator, you need to alert your users when updated data is available so that they know to clear their caches. Consult the help system for your client application for instructions on how to clear the local cache.

ArcGIS Server places locks on my data.

By default, ArcGIS Server map services use schema locking to prevent other users from altering the geodatabase schema while the service is running. If the schema locks are impeding your workflow, you can disable them by manually adding the SchemaLockingEnabled tag to your service configuration file and setting it to false. For more information about editing the service configuration file and how to use this tag, see Service configuration files.

I published a globe service and some layers disappeared.

Globe services cannot be published inside of other globe services. It's likely that the missing layers come from other globe services that were in the ArcGlobe document (.3dd) that you tried to publish. For example, the default ArcGIS Online layers in ArcGlobe are globe services that are hosted by ESRI and will be removed when you publish a globe service.

If you want to see the missing layers, add your globe service to a new .3dd or .nmf document. Then you can connect to the appropriate servers (such as ArcGIS Online) and add the layers that were originally removed from your globe service.

I added a service, but I can't see it in Services Directory.

Information in Services Directory is cached so that you can have fast performance when navigating its links. If you add, remove, or modify a service, you must clear the cache for the changes to appear in Services Directory. Navigate to http://<server name>/<instance name>/rest/admin, log in, and click Clear Cache Options. You can set up a schedule for automatically clearing the cache, or you can clear it manually. Once the cache is cleared, you should be able to see your new service in Services Directory.

After moving my cache directory to a new location, I get HTTP Status 404 errors when viewing cached Map services.

The ArcGIS Web Service Handler cache needs to be refreshed. See Configuring the ArcGIS Web Service Handler cache.

NoteNote:

This issue does not occur if the cache is configured to generate map tiles on-demand.

Can I consume an image service inside a Web application?

Image services represent raster datasets, mosaic datasets, or ArcGIS Image Server compiled image service definitions that have been made available through ArcGIS Server. You can add an image service directly as a resource to a Web application.

You can also enable the WMS capability on the image service, then add the service to the application as a WMS resource. WMS is an open specification for making map images available over the Web. When viewing the image service properties, or when creating the image service, you will see a list of check boxes for capabilities that you can enable. You should check WMS and note the URL of the service that will be created. Manager and the Web ADF controls support adding WMS services to your Web applications. You'll just need to enter the URL.

See WMS services and Selecting services to display to learn more about WMS services and how to add them to Web applications in Manager.

Web mapping applications deployed on an external Web server stop working after enabling NTLMv2 authentication.

To run in an environment that requires NTLMv2 authentication, a Web mapping application requires the JVM option -DARCGIS_LM_COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL=5 to be set. If you deploy a Web mapping application to an external Web server, you must set this option on the Web server's JVM. Please check your Web server's documentation for details on how to specify a JVM option.

How do I optimize the performance of my Web application?

To make sure your Web application is optimized for performance, review the topic Performance tips for Web applications. ESRI is constantly researching ways to improve performance in the core software and in existing applications by adjusting hardware and software settings. Best practices are continually added to the Web help in the topic linked above.

How do I prepare the production environment for my Web application?

For optimum performance, it's recommended that you deploy the Web applications and the REST and Web services handlers to a production-quality Web server. The Web servers used internally by ArcGIS Server are not intended to be used in a production environment. Refer to the system requirements for a full list of supported servers. Among the popular ones are IBM WebSphere and BEA WebLogic.

It's also recommended that you configure an appropriate heap size for your Web server's JVM using the -Xms and -Xmx JVM flags. This will greatly enhance the scalability of your Web applications. For example, starting with an initial heap size of 256 MB and going up to a maximum of 1 GB by using the JVM options "-Xms256m -Xmx1024m" is usually sufficient. Check your Web server's documentation for details on how to configure the heap size.


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11/18/2013