Client and geodatabase compatibility

Client and geodatabase compatibility
Release 9.3

The geodatabases described in Types of geodatabases can be accessed by various ESRI client software. These include the following:

ArcGIS Desktop

ArcGIS Engine

ArcIMS

ArcGIS Server

All these clients can use any type of geodatabase as source data except ArcIMS; ArcIMS uses file geodatabases and ArcSDE geodatabases licensed through ArcGIS Server Workgroup or ArcGIS Server Enterprise data sources.

Compatible releases

When new functionality is added to the geodatabase at a specific ArcGIS release, the geodatabase must be upgraded to take advantage of the new functionality. Upgrading the geodatabase may mean that older releases of the client application will not be able to connect to it. The following rules are used to govern how connections between different versions of ArcGIS clients and geodatabases operate:

Current releases of ArcGIS clients can connect to and use previous releases of the geodatabase. For example, an ArcGIS 9.1 client can connect to and use an ArcGIS 9 geodatabase.

If the ArcGIS client is using a direct connection to an ArcSDE 9.2 or prior geodatabase, connections cannot be made from the newer client to the older geodatabase. For example, an ArcGIS 9.2 client cannot make a direct connection to an ArcSDE 9.1 geodatabase.

Functionality specific to the current release is not available when connecting to a previous release of the geodatabase. For example, if you connect from an ArcGIS 9.1 client to an ArcGIS 9 personal geodatabase, you will only have access to functionality available at ArcGIS 9.

Previous releases of ArcGIS clients cannot connect to and use geodatabases created with later versions of ArcGIS. For example, an ArcGIS 9.1 client cannot connect to and use an ArcGIS 9.2 geodatabase.

ArcGIS 9.2 Service Pack 5 (SP5) can open and edit a 9.3 geodatabase. Be aware, though, that functionality specific to the current geodatabase release is not available when connecting from a previous release of the client application.

ArcGIS 9 can open and edit a 9.1 geodatabase.

The following table indicates which version of the client applications listed at the beginning of this topic can be used with which versions of the geodatabase.

Client release	Personal geodatabase release	File geodatabase release	ArcSDE geodatabase using a direct connection	ArcSDE geodatabase using an ArcSDE service connection
8.3	8.3	NA	8.3	8.3
9	9, 9.1	NA	9	9, 9.1
9.1	9, 9.1	NA	9.1	9, 9.1
9.2	9, 9.1, 9.2	9.2	9.2	9, 9.1, 9.2
9.2 SP5	9, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3	9.2, 9.3	9.2, 9.3	9, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3
9.3	9, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3	9.2, 9.3	9.3 If client has pre-9.3 geodatabase direct connect files* installed, can connect to 9, 9.1, and 9.2	9, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3

*Pre-9.3 direct connect drivers are an optional separate installation available on the client installation media.

To see a list of specific client releases and their compatibility with ArcSDE geodatabases, see the compatibility matrix on the ESRI Support Center Web site.

When you make a connection between releases—for example, if you make an ArcSDE service connection from ArcGIS Desktop 9.2 to an ArcSDE 9.1 geodatabase—the functionality available to you is limited by the lowest release number. In this example, you would not have access to functionality available in 9.2 since the geodatabase is still at the 9.1 release. Similarly, if you make a connection from a 9.2 SP5 client to a 9.3 geodatabase, you will not be able to open, edit, or create datasets containing new functionality available with ArcGIS 9.3, such as

Terrains with a Window Size pyramid format

Network datasets with an attribute that uses the 9.3 global turn delay and network function evaluators

For more information on connections made to ArcSDE geodatabases, see Compatibility between clients and geodatabases. For more information on compatible file and personal geodatabase connections, see Upgrading file and personal geodatabases.

When do you need to upgrade a geodatabase?

In many cases, upgrading the geodatabase is optional. You would want to upgrade, though, if either of the following is true:

The client release you are using cannot connect to the geodatabase release you want to use.

You want to take advantage of functionality available in a newer release of the geodatabase.

To learn how to upgrade a file or personal geodatabase, see Upgrading file and personal geodatabases.

To learn how to upgrade an ArcSDE geodatabase in SQL Server Express, see Upgrading geodatabases on ArcSDE database servers.

For information on upgrading ArcSDE geodatabases licensed through ArcGIS Server Enterprise, see Upgrade summary for ArcSDE geodatabases. For specific upgrade instructions, consult the ArcSDE installation guide specific to the database management system implementation you are using.

Why wouldn't you upgrade a geodatabase?

There may be situations in which you are unable to upgrade your geodatabase. If your organization has clients who must or will remain at previous releases of ArcGIS, you will have to wait until the clients can be upgraded to a compatible release before you upgrade the geodatabase.

For example, before updating your geodatabase to 9.3, you want to ensure that all clients using previous versions of ArcGIS, such as 9.2 or 9.1, can be upgraded to ArcGIS 9.3 or 9.2 SP5 so they can connect to the geodatabase. If all clients cannot be upgraded, you need to decide whether it is the appropriate time to upgrade your geodatabase.

In the case of ArcSDE geodatabases, the release levels must be the same if you have the ArcSDE component installed on the same server as ArcIMS or the ArcGIS Server server object manager (SOM) or server object container (SOC) components. You will not be able to upgrade your ArcSDE geodatabase until you can also upgrade those other products or until you move those products to another server.

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