The ArcGIS Server on Amazon EC2 workflow

Creating an enterprise deployment of ArcGIS Server on Amazon EC2 is a multistep process that requires some architectural planning and understanding of Amazon Web Services. One example of a basic workflow is listed below. The approach you take with ArcGIS Server on Amazon EC2 may vary based on your deployment needs.

1. Get ready to deploy ArcGIS Server on the Amazon cloud.
   • Create an Amazon account and make sure it includes Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) access.
   • Get access to the ESRI-created Amazon Machine Images (AMIs).
   • Create the typical Amazon security groups for ArcGIS Server, configuring at least one security group that allows remote desktop access.
2. Activate ArcGIS Server.
   • Use the ArcGIS Server AMI to launch an EC2 instance.
   • Connect to your new instance using Windows Remote Desktop.
3. Set up a place to store your data.
   • Choose where to store your data on the cloud.
   • Optionally, configure additional EBS volumes for local data storage.
   • Optionally, configure ArcSDE using the enterprise geodatabase AMI.
4. Move your data to Amazon.
   • Choose a data transfer method and move your data.
   • Give the SOC account permissions to access your data.
5. Create GIS services and applications.
   • Use ArcGIS Server to create services for mapping, geocoding, and so on.
   • Migrate your applications to the EC2 instance and repoint them at the services now running on your EC2 instance.
6. Customize security on your EC2 instance.
   • Change the administrator password for your EC2 instance.
   • Optionally, configure ArcGIS Server security.
   • Optionally, make other security adjustments to the EC2 instance such as firewall adjustments, SSL configuration, and so on.
7. Create a custom AMI.
   • Remove any sensitive or user-specific information that you don't want duplicated in a custom AMI.
   • Save your configuration as a custom AMI. This provides a backup of your configuration and can be used to scale out your deployment by launching additional instances.
8. Launch a new "production" instance of your AMI.
   • Use your custom AMI to launch an EC2 instance representing your "production" deployment.
   • Alter your Amazon security group rules to disable or restrict Remote Desktop access to the production EC2 instance. This increases security on the production instance.
   • Configure an Amazon Elastic IP address for the production EC2 instance so it can be recovered or updated with minimal downtime.
   • Optionally, create or destroy instances in response to demand, either manually or programmatically, using the Amazon Auto Scaling API. Multiple machines can be connected by an Amazon Elastic Load Balancer (ELB).

This help system describes many of the above steps. Another helpful resource is the Amazon Web Services documentation, which explains how to use the AWS Management Console and how to program with Amazon Web Services.

To read a more detailed example of the ArcGIS Server deployment process on Amazon EC, see the Simple configuration scenario.