Tutorial: Publishing a map service

This tutorial gives you the steps for publishing a map service using ArcGIS Server Manager. If you've just installed ArcGIS Server, you need to complete some preparatory steps before you can log in to Manager or publish services. You can find these steps in the Getting started after install topic of this help system.

Before you create a map service, you should have created an ArcMap map document (.mxd) that resides in a shared location visible to all server object container (SOC) machines in your GIS server. The SOC account you created during the postinstall must also have permissions to read the map document and all the data that the map document references.

Creating the map service

Follow these steps to create your first map service:

1. Start ArcGIS Server Manager and log in. For additional help with this step, see Logging in to Manager.
2. Click the Services tab.
3. Click Publish a GIS Resource.
4. Use the Resource drop-down list to browse to the map document (.mxd) that you want to publish.
5. Type a name for the service in the Name text box. The name cannot be more than 120 characters long, and may contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores.
6. Accept the default folder level by clicking Next.
7. Click Next again to accept the default capability of Mapping.
8. Review the information about the service you are about to create, then click Finish to create the service.

Verifying that the service is running

To ensure that the service is working correctly, follow these steps:

1. Click the Services tab in Manager.
2. Make sure the "Services in" drop-down list contains your server name (the root level of the server) and not a folder name.
3. Click the plus (+) button to expand the information about the service you just published. If you can see a preview image after a few seconds, your service is running correctly.