How configuration files work

The server maintains configuration properties for both the GIS server and its services in a collection of configuration files. When the server object manager (SOM) starts, it reads these configuration files. These files use XML to define such things as the set of server object container machines, output directory locations, and properties of service configurations. There are three types of configuration files:

• The server configuration file, Server.dat, is located in the <ArcGIS install location>\Server\system folder on the SOM machine .
• Service configuration files are maintained in <service name>.<service type>.cfg files, which reside in the <ArcGIS install location>\Server\user\cfg folder. For example, the configuration file for the map service configuration Yellowstone would be Yellowstone.MapServer.cfg.
• Security configuration files contain permissions rules for a service. These are stored in <ArcGIS install location>\server\user\cfg. They follow the same naming convention as the service configuration file, but end with the .sec extension instead of .cfg.

When you modify the properties of the server or its services (either through an administrative interface such as Manager or programmatically with the server API) these changes are reflected in the appropriate configuration file.

You can add, delete, and modify configuration files manually using a text editor. Added and deleted configuration files, as well as changes made to existing configuration files, are not recognized until you restart the SOM service. If you have ArcCatalog open, you must also refresh the server to see the changes.

Although this help system documents the structure of configuration files, it is recommended that you modify their contents indirectly by using an administrative interface, such as Manager or ArcCatalog, or the Server API. If there are errors in the server configuration file, the SOM logs an error and attempts to use defaults for the missing or invalid values. If the SOM encounters a corrupted service configuration file, it logs a warning and ignores the configuration.