Raster analysis is supported on imagery layer items shared on ArcGIS Online. The analysis request can be sent from Map Viewer, Scene Viewer, ArcGIS API for Python, or ArcGIS Pro. A user type of Professional or Professional Plus with the Image Analysis privilege is required to gain access to the raster tools and functions in Map Viewer or Scene Viewer.
ArcGIS Online has many layers that can be added to a web map or web scene and visualized, but not every layer can be used for raster analysis. While some layers can be visualized as imagery in the map or scene, not all of these layers are recognized in raster analysis tools or raster functions.
The publisher of the imagery layer can control whether the image layer can be used in analysis by either blocking or allowing analysis to be performed with the imagery layer as input. You can set these properties when you create the imagery layers. Layers publicly available on ArcGIS Online or through ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World may have properties set that prevent their use in analysis. When these layers are used as input, you may receive an error message indicating that it may not have analysis enabled or a warning indicating that the spatial extent exceeds the limit imposed on the imagery.
The sections below contain information to confirm that an imagery layer is ready for analysis based on the restrictions imposed by the creator of the imagery layers.
Confirm the type of layer
Not all layers that are available in ArcGIS Online are suitable for raster analysis. Many raster analysis tools and raster functions are designed to work on dynamic or tiled imagery layers from ArcGIS Online or imagery layers from ArcGIS Image Server. Review the type of layer to determine its analysis readiness.
Verify analysis is enabled in the service properties
Whether a layer can be used in analysis is controlled by the allowAnalysis service property. When this value is null or true, the imagery layer can be used in analysis. When the value is false, the imagery layer cannot be used as input for analysis. By default, analysis is enabled for the dynamic or tiled imagery layers from ArcGIS Online or imagery layers from ArcGIS Image Server. The value of the allowAnalysis flag can be retrieved from the service information page. For more information about the allowAnalysis flag, review the help documentation for the parameters.
Consider the request size limit for dynamic imagery layers or image services
In addition to the allowAnalysis flag, the dynamic imagery layer has default settings to restrict the size of the analysis from a single request through maxImageHeight and maxImageWidth. In the settings of the imagery layer, the settings are reported as max rows and max columns as shown in the following table:
| Type of imagery layer | Max rows | Max columns |
|---|---|---|
Hosted dynamic imagery layer | 4,000 | 4,000 |
ArcGIS Image Server image service | 4,100 | 15,000 |
The values of these two settings define the maximum number of rows and columns that a single analysis request can retrieve from the imagery layer.
The layer publisher can also change the settings to values other than the default.
For a hosted dynamic imagery layer on ArcGIS Online, there is a global limit for maximum rows and columns of 4000 by 4000. This global limit does not apply to an ArcGIS Image Server image service or ArcGIS Living Atlas dynamic imagery layer.
When using the layer for analysis, the analysis request size for the numbers of rows and columns is calculated from the analysis extent and the analysis cell size. The number should not exceed the limit set for the layer.
For example, to perform analysis on a 10-meter resolution image from a dynamic imagery layer, the maximum extent you can process in a single request is 10 x 4,000 = 40,000 meters (40 kilometers) by 40 kilometers.
If you use ArcGIS Living Atlas dynamic imagery layers for analysis, the request size limit setting is configured by the layer publisher and may not be the default value listed above. Review the settings value before you start the analysis job.
Raster analysis with ArcGIS Living Atlas imagery
ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World has included a variety of global Earth observation imagery layers. These layers allow you to perform visualization and analysis directly within ArcGIS Online without the need to download large datasets. While you could persist the results of analysis, those imagery layers are also subject to the conditions set by the layer publishers as described above, whether analysis is enabled or not, and the request size limit setting.
You can now perform raster analysis more efficiently on select ArcGIS Living Atlas imagery layers, enabling support for significantly larger areas of analysis. This capability is currently available for the following layers:
- Landsat Level-2
- Sentinel-1 RTC
- Sentinel-2 Level-2A
- NAIP
- Sentinel-2 10m Land Use / Land Cover Time Series
When this capability is enabled, the analysis server accesses imagery data directly from cloud storage instead of streaming pixels through the image service. This direct access removes many of the limitations typically associated with remote pixel access, allowing for analysis requests of larger areas.
The analysis is executed in the same cloud region where the imagery is stored, improving performance and scalability. To support this, you must authorize the temporary transfer of your analysis inputs—such as raster function templates or deep learning models—into the region where the imagery resides. Outputs are also temporarily stored in that region before being returned to your organization.
This feature is disabled by default. Organization administrators can enable this feature by going to Security on the Settings tab of the Organization page.