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Deploy web GIS on Microsoft Azure

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You can take advantage of the full web GIS suite (ArcGIS for Server, Portal for ArcGIS, and ArcGIS Data Store) on Microsoft Azure.

You need the following to deploy web GIS on Microsoft Azure:

  • Microsoft Azure subscription
  • Esri images
  • ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure
  • An ArcGIS for Server Standard or Advanced license
  • Portal for ArcGIS named user licenses
  • An SSL certificate from a certifying authority that you have exported to a .pfx file and for which you have set up CNAME mapping to the cloud service domain you specify in Cloud Builder (optional, but strongly recommended)

Get a Microsoft Azure subscription

A Microsoft Azure subscription and account are required to use Microsoft Azure infrastructure and services. Contact Microsoft to purchase a subscription.

Enable programmatic deployment of ArcGIS images

Before you can use the images from the Azure Marketplace, you must enable the programmatic deployment of ArcGIS. An administrator of your Azure subscription must enable programmatic deployment once for the ArcGIS images. This enables all current and future ArcGIS images on the Azure Marketplace.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
  2. Browse to the ArcGIS image in the Virtual Machine Marketplace.
    1. Click Marketplace on the home screen.
    2. Choose Virtual Machines.
    3. Type arcgis in the search text box.
  3. Choose the ArcGIS <release> for Server image from the search results.
  4. Click Want to deploy programatically? Get Started at the bottom of the pane.

    The Configure Programmatic Deployment pane opens.

  5. Read the legal terms and Azure Marketplace Terms. If you accept their conditions, proceed with enabling programmatic deployment.
  6. Click Enable for your subscription.
  7. Click Save.

Your Azure subscription is now set to use the ArcGIS for Server image from Cloud Builder.

Obtain licenses from Esri

To deploy web GIS, you need an ArcGIS for Server license and Portal for ArcGIS named user licenses.

Get images from Microsoft Azure Marketplace

ArcGIS Server on Microsoft Azure images are available from Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Use these images with ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure to deploy either a GIS server or web GIS.

Open Microsoft Azure Marketplace in a web browser and search for esri or arcgis to find the ArcGIS Server on Microsoft Azure images.

Install ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure

Download the ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure installation file, and run it on a local Windows machine to install.

Deploy web GIS

Use ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure to deploy a web GIS.

  1. Start ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure.
  2. Sign in to Microsoft Azure.

    If you want to use the Microsoft Azure Government cloud and have an Azure Government subscription, check U.S. Government account.

  3. Choose the Azure subscription that contains the Esri image you got from the Microsoft Azure Marketplace and click next.
  4. Click deploy a site.
  5. Choose Web GIS (includes Portal for ArcGIS and ArcGIS Data Store).
  6. Choose which image to use.
  7. Either choose an existing cloud service domain or type a name for a new domain that ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure will create.

    Cloud service domain names must be unique. If you want ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure to create the domain, click Check Availability to ensure the domain name is not in use. Note that to use a certificate authority issued SSL certificate, the cloud service name must match the CNAME mapping you configured for the certificate.

  8. If you have an ArcGIS for Server workgroup license, are deploying a test or demonstration site, or only want one machine containing ArcGIS for Server, Portal for ArcGIS, and ArcGIS Data Store, click Single machine deployment. Only one Azure machine will be used for your site. If you want each web GIS component on a separate virtual machine to distribute resources, do not check Single machine deployment.
  9. Click next.
  10. Type a user name and password for the login you will use to administer the virtual machines in your site. The same login and password is used for all machines in your site.

    The user name must contain three or more characters, contain no spaces, and cannot be admin or administrator. The password must meet Windows Server 2012 complexity requirements.

  11. Choose the time zone you want your virtual machines to use.
  12. If you want Microsoft Azure to apply updates, check Enable Automatic Operating System Updates.
  13. Choose an existing virtual network from the drop-down list or click the plus sign (+) to create a virtual network.
  14. If you create a virtual network using Cloud Builder, specify the following:
    1. Type a name for the virtual network. Names must be unique within your Azure subscription.
    2. Click Check Availability to be sure the name you typed is unique.
    3. Choose the range of TCP/IP addresses (the address space class) to be used by your virtual network. See Microsoft documentation for more information on address classes.
    4. Choose the CIDR value from the VM Count drop-down list to determine the maximum number of addresses to be used in your address space.
    5. Click create.
    6. Once the virtual network is created, click close.
  15. Set virtual machine names and sizes and click next.
    • If you want ArcGIS Server Cloud Builder for Microsoft Azure to assign names and default sizes (A3 for all but the web proxy and file share machines, which use A2 by default) to all the virtual machines in your web GIS site, click Use default names and sizes for the machines.
    • If you want to specify the names and sizes of your virtual machines or the number of ArcGIS Server machines, Specify names and sizes for the individual machines. Set these properties on the next panel. Machine names must be 15 characters or fewer in length.
      License:

      Do not run ArcGIS Server on a greater number of CPU cores than you have licensed with Esri, regardless of whether the cores are in the cloud or on-premises. See this white paper on licensing in virtualized and cloud environments for more information.

  16. In the Site License section, browse to the location of your Portal for ArcGIS and ArcGIS Server license files on disk. You can use prvc, keycodes, ecp, or edn license files.
  17. In the Site Administrator section, type a user name and password. This user name and password will be used for the ArcGIS Server primary server administrator account and the initial Portal administrator account.

    Note that the user name can only contain the following ASCII characters: numbers 0 through 9, ASCII letters A through Z (upper and lowercase), or a dot (.).

  18. In the ArcGIS 'Run As' Account section, type a user name and password for the Windows login under which the ArcGIS Server service will run.
  19. Click next.
  20. Specify the SSL certificate to use for your deployment. Esri recommends you use a certificate issued by a certificate authority (CA).
    • To use a CA certificate, choose Certificate issued by a Certificate Authority, browse to and choose the Pfx File you exported from your certificate, specify the Password set on the file, and, in the Domain Name (Alias) text box, type the CNAME you mapped to your cloud service domain.
    • If you are setting up a web GIS for testing purposes and, therefore, choose not to use a CA certificate, choose Self Signed Certificate (Automatically generated), and Cloud Builder will generate a self-signed certificate for your virtual machines. Note that people connecting to your web GIS will receive warnings that the site is not trusted if you use a self-signed certificate.
  21. Click next.
  22. Review the settings in the summary window. If anything needs to be changed, click back to go to the panel where you need to change the information.

    Tip:

    Click save summary to save your site configuration information to a text file.

  23. When all settings are correct, click finish to deploy a web GIS.

When the site successfully deploys, a link to the portal appears in the message box. To connect to your portal at a later time, use the URL format https://<cloud service name>.cloudapp.net/arcgis/home.