GIS for the Internet

ArcIMS provides the foundation for distributing high-end geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping services via the Internet. ArcIMS software enables users to integrate local data sources with Internet data sources for display, query, and analysis in an easy-to-use Web browser.

ArcIMS revolutionizes the way users can access and interact with Internet mapping and GIS data.

ArcIMS is the solution for distributing mapping and GIS data and services on the Web. Whether you are operating strictly within your organization's Intranet or sharing information with hundreds of thousands of people over the Internet, you can use ArcIMS to distribute geographic data to many concurrent users and allow them to do location-based analyses.

ArcIMS is a powerful, scalable, standards-based tool that lets you quickly design and manage Internet mapping services. Using the power of ArcIMS technology, governments, businesses, and organizations throughout the world are providing a wide range of location-based data and services over the Web including city and county land use information, store location maps, real-time traffic information, home buyer services, and much more.

ArcIMS features

• Integration with ESRI's ArcGIS Desktop products including the ability to publish ArcMap and ArcPublisher documents on the Internet
• Ability to combine data from multiple sources
• Secure access to map services
• Wide range of GIS capabilities
• Highly scalable architecture
• Standards-based communication
• Support for a wide range of clients
• Useful metadata services for indexing and sharing geographic information
  

Add Routing Capabilities to your ArcIMS Web Site

You can elect to put routing capabilities on your Web site by adding the ArcIMS Route Server extension to your ArcIMS application. Users can quickly obtain point-to-point directions, locate optimal routes based on time and distance, and account for multiple stops along a route.

Use ArcIMS to Provide Location Services

ArcIMS provides a diverse set of mapping, location analysis, and routing capabilities for location service developers. All around the world, ArcIMS is allowing personnel in the field, away from their office desks, to use wireless devices to access their corporate database and link to information relevant to their current location. Service providers are using ArcIMS to deliver maps to cell phones with routing and proximity search functions, provide personalized traffic reports and alerts, develop applications for fleet management and dispatching, and much more.

Serve Spatial Data Managed in a DBMS

ArcIMS and ArcSDE (ESRI's spatial data access engine) work together as an integrated back office solution for fast Internet access to vector, raster, and survey data stored in a relational database. Supported commercial databases include IBM DB2, IBM Informix, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle.

Specifically built to serve GIS on the Internet, ArcIMS is designed to make it easy to create map services, develop Web pages for communicating with the map services, and administer sites. ArcIMS operates in a distributed environment that consists of both clientside and serverside components. Typically, the client requests information from an Internet or Intranet server. Then the server processes the request and sends the information back to the client viewer. 

The ArcIMS server technology is part of a multitier architecture. The ArcIMS framework consists of clients, services, and data management. The wide variety of supported clients and the server potential are what set ArcIMS apart from other Internet GIS competitors.

Integrate Data from Multiple Sources

Within a simple browser interface, you can access, display, and interact with data generated from professional GIS solutions throughout the world. Integrate geographic data from multiple sources for localized query and analysis. ArcIMS brings you a world of information by simultaneously accessing Web data, local shapefiles and coverages, ArcSDE layers, and images.

Easily Create, Design, and Manage Web Sites

Wizards and templates guide you through tasks for authoring and publishing maps--no programming is required. Simply create a map service, design the Web pages, and publish. Easy-to-use tools help monitor and maintain the site. For more advanced users, client and server configuration and management tools are available for building secure, reliable, and highly scalable sites.

Support for a Wide Variety of Clients

ArcIMS works with a variety of clients, from standard desktop or browser-based clients to custom browser, desktop, or wireless applications. It includes HTML and Java viewers, as well as ArcExplorer--Java Edition. You can also choose from a variety of other ESRI products, including ArcPad, ArcView, ArcEditor, or ArcInfo, to access ArcIMS services.

Highly Scalable Server Architecture

Publish GIS services from a single server or distribute services across multiple servers. By providing a highly efficient and scalable environment from the smallest Intranet to meeting the demands of worldwide Internet access, ArcIMS lets you grow your site's capabilities without rebuilding applications.

The Internet-Enabling Technology for ArcGIS

ArcIMS works seamlessly with ArcGIS, ESRI's comprehensive, integrated GIS solution. ArcGIS Desktop software, which includes ArcView, ArcEditor and ArcInfo, can connect to the map and feature services provided by ArcIMS and use ArcIMS as a data source. Once the data is accessed, the user can combine it with data from other sources and apply the advanced GIS capabilities offered with ArcGIS.

Using the ArcIMS ArcMap Server, you can also use ArcIMS to share files over the Internet that are created in the ArcGIS ArcMap application or in ArcGIS Publisher.

Wide Range of GIS Capabilities

ArcIMS lets you incorporate a variety of GIS capabilities into your Web site. You can offer image rendering, feature streaming, data extraction, geocoding, and the ability to perform both spatial and attribute queries on underlying data.

Create a Central Repository for Browsing Metadata

When used in conjunction with ArcSDE and the ArcGIS Desktop, ArcIMS 4 lets you create a central repository for publishing and browsing metadata over the Internet. Metadata can easily be authored using the ArcGIS ArcCatalog application, published to the ArcIMS Metadata Server, and then quickly searched by others. Along with ArcIMS software's metadata services, users also receive the Metadata Explorer, which is a Java Server Pages (JSP) application that can be used to build a customized, browser-based means of searching for data. Searching for data is quick and efficient because users can perform searches based on any combination of geographic extent, content type, data format, or keyword.

Secure Access to Map Services

ArcIMS offers support for Secure Socket Layers (SSL) and Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) for managing the security of your Web site. In addition, ArcIMS performs user authentication for map services, allowing you to define which users have access to GIS data. Also, when you use ArcIMS to author a Web site, you determine the GIS tools, services, and data that are available to users.

Standards-based Communication

ArcIMS clients and servers communicate using ArcXML, which is a GIS extension to standard extensible markup language (XML). ArcXML also offers an easy, yet powerful, way to customize ArcIMS applications.

Simple instructions guide you through the steps of authoring and publishing maps. The easy-to-use ArcIMS Manager is a suite of Web pages that provides access to all ArcIMS functions and tools. Through the ArcIMS Manager you can quickly set up and administer Internet services. For more advanced users, client and server configuration and management tools are available for developing secure, reliable, and highly scalable sites. You can also use ArcIMS to create HTML and Java client versions to customize client side capabilities.

Using the ArcIMS ArcMap Server, you can publish any ArcGIS map document on the Web. ArcIMS ArcMap Server lets you take advantage of all the advanced data access and cartographic capabilities you enjoy with the ArcGIS authoring environment. Author your map document using the ArcGIS ArcMap application and publish it anywhere on your corporate Intranet or send it to anyone via the Internet. ArcMap Server provides access to live, dynamic data so users always have the most up-to-date information. ArcMap Server can also use the same maps created for ArcReader.

Using ArcMap Server, you can

• Publish maps using ArcGIS advanced cartography.
• Display map layouts including legends, graticules, and scale bars.
• Support all data types supported by ArcGIS including geodatabases, coverage annotation, network data (dynamic segmentation), versioned layers in ArcSDE, and CAD drawing files (DGN, DWG, and DXF).
• And much more.

ArcIMS ArcMap Server works with all ArcIMS clients that can access ArcIMS image services including browser-based clients, ArcExplorer, and any ArcGIS Desktop product. Discover how this powerful component to ArcIMS can leverage your existing map documents and GIS databases.

Note: To unlock the ArcMap Server functionality included in ArcIMS, you will need to obtain a free keycode. Contact ESRI for more details.