Connecting to GIS servers
Release 9.3 Last modified May 9, 2012	Print all topics in : "Building the Catalog"

About connecting to GIS servers

Note: This topic was updated for 9.3.1.

To access services provided by an ArcIMS, ArcGIS Server, or Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC), Web Map Service (WMS) server or an OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS), you make a connection to it in the ArcCatalog GIS Servers folder. To connect to either server over the Internet, you must provide the Universal Resource Locator (URL) that uniquely identifies the server on the Internet. For ArcGIS Servers, you can also connect over your local network; to connect, you must provide a local area network (LAN) address such as the name of the computer.

In the case of connections to ArcGIS servers or ArcIMS servers, your connection can either access all the services provided, or you can choose the specific services in which you are interested. In addition to services that are freely available, you may have permission to access secure services. For ArcIMS servers, to include secure services in the list, you must provide a user name and password before clicking Get List.

Upon starting ArcCatalog, all GIS servers are disconnected; a little red x will appear on the icon, indicating that it is unavailable. The first time a GIS server is selected, the Catalog connects to it. If your login information isn't saved with the connection, you will be prompted for that information. If the connection attempt is successful, the x disappears and you can access the available services.

Learn more about GIS servers and services.

How to connect to GIS servers

Connecting to an ArcIMS Server

1. Double-click GIS Servers in the Catalog tree.
   
2. Double-click Add ArcIMS Server.
   
3. In the dialog box that appears, type in the URL of the Internet Server to which you want to connect.
   
4. If you only want to access particular services on this server, click Get List.
   
A list of all services that are available on the server appears.

5. Check the services you want to be able to access from this server.
   
6. Click OK.
   

Accessing secure ArcIMS services

1. Double-click GIS Servers in the Catalog tree.
   
2. Double-click Add ArcIMS Server.
   
3. Check Show secure services.
   
4. Type the user name and password for accessing the available secure services.
   
5. If you don't want to connect to all services, click Just the following service(s) and click Get List.
   
The list of services that appears includes all free services provided by the ArcIMS Server as well as the secure services that you have permission to access.

6. Check the services you want to use. Uncheck the services you don't want to use.
   
7. Click OK.
   
8. Type a new name for the ArcIMS Server.
   
9. Press Enter.
   

Connecting to an ArcGIS Server

1. Double-click ArcGIS Servers in the Catalog tree.
   


2. Double-click Add ArcGIS Server.
   
3. Click Use GIS Service.
   
4. Click either Local or Internet, depending on the type of connection you want to make.
   
5. Type the name of the ArcGIS Server or URL of the ArcGIS Server to which you want to connect.
   
6. If required, type your user name and password for accessing the server, then uncheck Save Name/Password if you don't want this information saved with the connection.
   
7. Click Finsh.
   
8. If you want to rename the ArcGIS Server, right-click the ArcGIS Server name, click Rename, then enter a new name.
   

Connecting to a WMS Server

1. Double-click the GIS Servers folder in the Catalog tree and double-click the Add WMS Server.
   
2. In the dialog box that appears, type the URL to the WMS service. This will create a connection to the server on which the service is running.
   
The URL you specify for a WMS service needs to be the complete URL, not just the server domain as when you make a connection to an ArcIMS server. All WMS URLs end either with a ? or & character, and this character needs to be included in the URL. Here are two common formats for WMS URLs:
http://www.example.com/maps/wms.cgi?
http://www.example.com/servlet/com.esri.wms.Esrimap?ServiceName=Name&


NOTE: If you enter a URL without the required character at the end, ArcCatalog automatically adds it for you when you make the connection.



3. Double-click the server connection to see the WMS service it contains.
   

NOTE: When you look inside a WMS Server in ArcCatalog, you don't see multiple services as you do with ArcIMS or ArcGIS servers. With OGC WMS, the server and the service are really the same thing.

Connecting to a WCS Server

1. Double-click the ArcGIS Servers folder in the Catalog tree and double-click the Add WCS Server.
   
2. In the dialog box that appears, type the URL to the WCS service. This will create a connection to the server on which the service is running.
   
The URL you specify for a WCS service needs to be the complete URL, not just the server domain. Here are two common formats for WCS URLs:
http://myServer/arcgis/services/Japan/Tokyo/mapserver/wcsserver?
http://www.myServer.com/mpgc/?id=gvsig&L=2


3. Double-click the server connection to see the WCS service it contains.
   

Tip

You cannot add the whole WCS service to ArcMap, and you will need to work with each coverage individually as one WCS layer.

Please visit the Feedback page to comment or give suggestions on ArcGIS Desktop Help.
Copyright © Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.