Note: The following information assumes that you have used a previous release of ArcGIS Server and that you are familiar with the terms and technology used with ArcGIS Server. If you’re new to ArcGIS Server at 9.2, you can skip this topic. Similarly, the following does not include a complete list of what’s new at the 9.2 release. That can be found at http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.2/pdf/Whats_New_In_ArcGIS_92.pdf. Instead, it lists the most important changes that you need to be aware of as you migrate from a previous release of ArcGIS Server.
ArcGIS Server 9.2 is a major release which includes many new features and changes from previous releases. These changes allow you to work with the server with more ease and flexibility; however, if you’re upgrading from a previous release, you’ll need to be aware of the following information to understand how to continue using your existing Web applications and services.
When you install ArcGIS Server 9.2, you won’t notice much difference in the way the GIS server is architected and configured. For example, you’ll still work with the SOM, SOC, and Web server as components of your overall system. Server statistics, configuration files, and log files are all available for your use much as they were in previous releases. However, the default location of the configuration and log files has changed to the <ArcGIS install location>\Server\user directory.
Previously, ArcCatalog was the only application used to administer ArcGIS Server. At 9.2, you can use either ArcCatalog or ArcGIS Server Manager to view and modify the properties of your GIS server. Manager is a Web application that lets you administer your GIS server, services, and applications within one application.
In previous releases you worked with server objects to access the maps and locators on your server. If you wanted clients to connect to the server object through the Internet, you created a Web service catalog. At 9.2, server objects and Web services have become specific implementations of a single entity, called a service. You’ll now see the term “service” used often in the ArcGIS Server 9.2 user interface and documentation where you would previously have seen the term “server object” or “Web service”. An ArcGIS Server 9.2 service is configured by default to accommodate both local area network and Internet connections. You can still choose to secure your services in various ways if you want to limit connectivity.
If you’ve worked with server objects, you’ll be familiar with many of the properties of 9.2 services, such as pooling, recycling, isolation, and timeouts. These properties work in much the same way as they did before, with some improvements for performance. As needed, you can consult the ArcGIS Server Help for information on minor changes in the implementation of these properties between previous releases and 9.2.
When you install ArcGIS Server 9.2, you can still use ArcGIS Desktop to connect to and utilize version 9.1 GIS Servers. There is no change to how you work with these GIS servers.
You can similarly consume version 9.2 services with ArcGIS Desktop 9.1 and the 9.1 Web ADF.
To get the full benefits of ArcGIS Server 9.2 services, it’s recommended that you re-publish your server objects as 9.2 services; however, you can maintain your existing server objects by copying their configuration files into the appropriate directory. In previous releases, these files were located at <ArcGIS Install location>\cfg. This location is not removed by the uninstall, so your configuration files will still be there. To migrate your server object configuration files:
Server objects running on previous releases of ArcGIS Server cannot be viewed with clients built using the 9.2 Web Application Developer Framework (ADF). See below for information on upgrading Web applications to 9.2 from previous releases.
ArcGIS Server Manager cannot view server objects running on previous releases. To use Manager, you will need to re-publish your server objects as 9.2 services, or migrate them using the steps listed above.
At 9.2, the Web ADF has a multi-service architecture, meaning that you can work with maps from different types of servers and, if desired, blend those services into one map image. Because of this and other extensive changes, there is no direct migration path for working with the 9.2 Web controls in a Web application created with a previous version of ArcGIS Server. However, if you have an existing Web application, the single-service Web controls of 9.1 have been included in 9.2 so that you can directly upgrade the application.
The Developer Help contains a Migrating Applications section that covers the details of migrating Web applications to ArcGIS Server 9.2, as well as tips for moving to Visual Studio 2005 and .NET 2.0.
As you move to ArcGIS Server 9.2, you may want to consider how some of the following new features could enhance your current use of the server:
Web Mapping Application- Manager contains a wizard which helps you through the process of configuring and deploying a Web Mapping Application without having to use an IDE. The Web Mapping Application replaces the set of templates that were available at previous editions of ArcGIS Server. The Web Mapping Application contains a map that can display one or many services of multiple types (ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, WMS, or ArcWeb Services). The application also provides tools for interacting with the map and its data. See Introduction to creating Web applications with Manager to get started.
Once you’ve created the application in Manager, you can edit it in an IDE, or you can start from the Web Mapping Application template in the IDE without going through the Manager wizard.