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Frequently asked questions

Listed below are questions or issues you may encounter when working with ArcGIS Data Appliance 7.2 content, as well as recommended solutions.

How does ArcGIS Data Appliance work?

ArcGIS Data Appliance contains maps that you can publish on ArcGIS Server. The maps have been cached at a set of fixed scale levels for optimum performance. Once you publish these maps to your GIS server, you can use them in any ArcGIS Server client application, such as ArcMap, or web and mobile mapping apps. See Use services for more information.

How do I set up ArcGIS Data Appliance?

You set up ArcGIS Data Appliance by connecting the appliance to your GIS server and publishing the ArcGIS Data Appliance maps through ArcGIS Server. The service definitions you'll need to publish, as well as their associated map caches, are included with each ArcGIS Data Appliance data collection.

There is a quick-start guide for your configuration included in the ArcGIS Data Appliance box. You can also view the quick-start guides online.

If you've published an ArcGIS Server service previously, you may find this process familiar. If you're new to publishing services or working with ArcGIS Server, you'll find instructions in New users.

Where does the data come from?

The content used with ArcGIS Data Appliance is the same content you see online, with minor exceptions. A complete list of data sources is included with the description for each service. See the Directory of maps and data for a list of services.

What services are available?

For a complete list of available services, see the Directory of maps and data.

Are there any use restrictions when using services?

The data is provided by multiple third-party data vendors under license to Esri for inclusion in ArcGIS Data Appliance for use with Esri software. Redistribution rights are granted by Esri and the data vendor for hard-copy renditions or static, electronic map images (for example, .gif and .jpg files) that are plotted, printed, or publicly displayed with proper metadata and source or copyright attribution to the respective data vendor or vendors. For copyright and attribution information, see the service description for a specific map service in the Directory of maps and data.

Can I view the metadata for a service?

Yes. For information on viewing metadata, see one of the following metadata topics:

Why are my map services missing some tiles at certain levels of detail?

In certain cases, when you upgrade Data Appliance from one version to the next, the new service or services may not recognize all of the new content available on the new version of Data Appliance. You can resolve this by rebooting the machine where ArcGIS Server is installed after you delete all of the services from the previous Data Appliance version.

Why does the image quality of the 2D services seem to vary in ArcMap?

ArcGIS Data Appliance uses a set of map images cached at certain scale levels. As you zoom to different scales in ArcMap, ArcMap displays the map image that corresponds to the closest cached scale level to what you're viewing. The image is then resampled to fit the scale you're viewing in ArcMap. Consequently, the clarity of some features and labels from ArcGIS Data Appliance will vary as you change scale levels in proportion to the degree of resampling taking place. You will achieve the most clarity at or around the scales at which the services were cached. You can view a list of these scale levels on the Source tab of the Layer Properties dialog box for each service.

Layer Properties Source tab showing cache scales for the USA Topographic Map service

How do I configure my server to display a Map Data Not Available tile?

There is nothing you need to do. ArcGIS Data Appliance is preconfigured so the ArcGIS Server tile handler automatically returns a blank or Map Data Not Available tile for empty map areas.

With the announcement that some raster basemaps are entering Mature Support in 2021, how does this impact the ArcGIS Data Appliance?

In 2021 as announced in the Lifecycle forEsri's hosted raster basemap services blog post, the bulk of the raster basemaps on the ArcGIS Data Appliance will be in Mature Support and this means there will be no additional updates for those basemaps. This is why we deliver the ArcGIS Data Appliance: Esri Vector Basemaps with every ArcGIS Data Appliance Advanced and Standard customer. The Esri Vector Basemaps have full equivalents to the raster basemaps, as well as numerous offerings that do not exist in raster format. The ArcGIS Data Appliance released in 2021 will be the last release to include updates for those raster basemaps. There are several raster basemaps for Imagery and Elevation that will continue to receive updates because there are no vector basemap equivalents.