Moving to ArcGIS Server 9.3

This topic provides an overview of things to consider when moving from ArcGIS Server 9.2 to 9.3. To learn about additions to the product, see What's new in ArcGIS Server 9.3.

If you are migrating to 9.3 from ArcGIS Server 9.1 or previous, read Moving to ArcGIS Server 9.2 in the ArcGIS Server 9.2 Help before you read this topic.

The GIS server and services

At ArcGIS Server 9.3, you'll notice little has changed in the GIS server architecture and the way that services are configured. The services that you created at 9.2, along with their respective caches, should transfer to 9.3 without any intervention from you.

At ArcGIS Server 9.3, there are some new service types that you can use:

• Image services allow you to publish raster imagery and ArcGIS Image Server services to your GIS server.
• A geometry service can be configured to run in the background to make calculations for projection and densification operations.
• Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) WFS and WCS services allow you to publish vector and raster data through an open specification.

These new service types do not affect the behavior of your existing services.

All capabilities that were available at 9.2 are available at 9.3. However, when you publish a map service at 9.3, the KML capability will be enabled by default in addition to the Mapping capability. At 9.3 you have new options for retrieving and generating Keyhole Markup Language (KML) from your services.

Learn more about KML support in ArcGIS Server 9.3.

Map and globe caches that you created for your services at 9.2 will continue to work in 9.3. Workflows for creating and updating caches have changed at 9.3, especially for map caches.

Learn more about creating map caches in 9.3.

Connecting between 9.2 and 9.3 servers

With ArcGIS Server 9.3, you can make user connections to 9.2 servers. This applies to user connections in ArcCatalog and services that you add to Web Mapping Applications in Manager.

ArcGIS 9.2 clients such as ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and ArcGIS Server Web Mapping Applications can make user connections to 9.3 servers unless token-based security is enabled. Token-based security is new at 9.3, and 9.2 clients cannot connect to 9.3 token-secured services.

Learn more about the token service.

With ArcGIS Server 9.3, you cannot make administrative connections to 9.2 servers. If you try to add an administrative connection to a 9.2 server using ArcCatalog 9.3, you will see an error message. You will also see the message if you attempt to re-establish any existing 9.2 administrative connections that you have in the Catalog tree.

This limitation also applies to geoprocessing tools. When you start a Server Tool from 9.3, such as Manage Map Server Cache Tiles, you cannot enter a 9.2 server name in the Host text box.