About managing service providers

Legacy:

ArcGIS 10 is the last release of the stand-alone ArcGIS Image Server product. The image service definition (.ISDef) has been replaced by an improved geodatabase data model—the mosaic dataset—which can be published as an image service using the ArcGIS Server Image extension.

The Image Server Manager is used to configure and manage service providers. To create a new service provider, you define the computer, port number, and other configuration parameters; this information is saved in a <service provider name>.ISPConfig file, stored in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ESRI\Image Server\Server for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP and in C:\ProgramData\ESRI\Image Server\Server for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.

When a client connects to an image service, the service provider creates a connection to the client that it maintains until the client disconnects or is timed out. Thereby, requests are made from the client to the service provider, where the service provider processes the image service and returns the requested imagery to the client. Summary details about the connections are sent to the image server on disconnect or at periodic intervals. All the actions performed by the service provider are stored in log files.

Multiple computers can be set up as service providers for a server, and each service provider can host multiple image services. ArcGIS Image Server supports high loads by using additional service providers and publishing image services across multiple service providers. The service provider's architecture is multithreaded; therefore, each request runs in its own thread, and a request can be for any one of the image services it's providing. Multiple service providers can run in parallel, and each service provider can work with multiple image services.

When using ArcGIS Image Server as an extension in ArcGIS Server, you need to use the Image Server Manager to manage the server and service providers—the image services are managed by ArcGIS Server. When using ArcGIS Image Server as a stand-alone application, the Image Server Manager is used to manage the server, service providers, and image services.

When you select the Service Providers node in the Image Server Manager window and add a service provider or click the service provider in the table, the toolbar specific to service providers appears. You use these buttons to manage the service providers.

Service provider logs

The service provider log files store all the actions performed by the service provider. You can also view any of the activity on the service provider, live, by watching the Reporter application. For your visual convenience, different text colors are used in the window to represent the different parts of the request, such as the incoming request, a message stating what is done, and what is being sent back to the client. Red text represents an error. To open the ArcGIS Image Server Reporter, click Start > Programs > ArcGIS > Image Server > Reporter 10.

By default, the log files are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ESRI\Image Server\Logs for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP and in C:\ProgramData\ESRI\Image Server\Logs for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.

Learn more about the creation of server and service provider logs

The service provider log files can be written to a location of your choice by editing the Global.ISConfig file, stored in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ESRI\Image Server (for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP) or in C:\ProgramData\ESRI\Image Server (for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7). You need to add the logging location between the DefaultLogs tags. For example:

<Global>
  <FolderPathOverride>
    <DefaultLogs>C:\ServiceProvider\logs
    </DefaultLogs>
  </FolderPathOverride>

This will change the default location for the server and service provider logs. If you want the server logs to be written to a different location, you can edit the server configuration in the Image Server Manager.

Service provider data access

The key thing to remember about publishing your compiled image service definitions is the service provider must have read access to the data, both the derived images, like service overviews, and the source imagery. For example, there are many cases where clients connect to an image service. They can see the service overviews, but when they zoom in, they only get a blank display. This is often the result of the service provider not being able to connect to the location where the source imagery is stored. You can often determine this error by reading the service provider logs or viewing the information in the ArcGIS Image Server Reporter window (this error will display with a red color).

You may also be unable to publish the .ISCDef. Even though you can point to the file, the service provider cannot connect to the file.

When creating an image service definition, be sure the location of the source imagery is defined using a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path.

By default the service provider service (ESRI Image ServiceProvider) will log on using the Local System account. If your organization is using a storage area network (SAN) or implementing security measures for data access, this will often cause problems because the service provider will not likely have read access to the source imagery. When using a SAN, the service provider cannot access the SAN using the SYSTEM account. In a SAN, a server is a host to one or more logical unit numbers (LUNs) or there is a head device—a controller—that distributes and moderates traffic into and out of the SAN environment. An account besides SYSTEM must be setup on the SAN to allow the service provider to read the source imagery.

To change the account for logging on, you need to do the following:

1. Open the Windows Services.
2. Right-click the ESRI Image ServiceProvider service and click Properties.
3. Click the Log On tab.
4. Change the choice in Log on as from the Local System account to another account.
5. Close the service's Properties dialog box and restart the service to log on with the new account.
   Once this change is made, the new logon account will be used whenever the service provider is restarted.

Service provider configuration parameters

The following table lists the parameters on the service provider configuration dialog boxes. When you create a new service provider, all parameters are available. Once created, you still have access to these parameters, but you cannot edit the service provider host computer, port, or name.

Parameters	Description
Service provider host	The computer name or Internet Protocol (IP) address that hosts the service provider. The user must have administrator rights to this computer. This parameter can only be defined when the service provider is created.
Service provider port	The remote procedure call (RPC) port where the image services are published. The default is 3983. This parameter can only be defined when the service provider is created.
Service provider name	The name of the service provider being configured. Only alphanumeric characters are valid, and no spaces are allowed. This parameter can only be defined when the service provider is created.
Configuration parameters
Create logs	Uncheck if you do not want the service provider to log all its actions in the log files. Errors will still be entered in log files.
External IP address	The computer name or IP address associated with the machine to which clients outside the network have access.
Max. number of connections	The maximum number of connections allowed on the service provider. Specify a value of 0 for unlimited connections. If a value greater than 0 is specified, the service provider will reject the additional requests if the specified number has been reached.
Connection time-out	The time-out value in seconds for an idle connection to expire. The connection is reestablished when required. A default period of 60 seconds is usually used. If a client application is idle for longer than this period, the connection will be closed and made available to other users. If the client makes a new request, the connection will be automatically reestablished, possibly to a different service provider. The time to reestablish a connection is generally minimal, but it is better not to unnecessarily break and re-create connections.
Manage interval	The manage interval at which the service provider supplies the server with updates on status information, such as the number of services, connections, and load. The default interval is 60 seconds.
Auto-sync interval	The time interval after which an image service provider synchronizes itself with the corresponding service provider list. If a compiled service definition has changed, the revised service will be loaded. At the auto-sync interval, the service provider will check the date and time of the compiled image service definition. If the value is changed, it will automatically synchronize the image service by reloading it.
Power rating	The relative power or strength of the service provider. This is used in load balancing, whereby a service provider with a power rating of 2 is given double the number of similar connections than a service provider with a power rating of 1.

Service provider configuration parameters