What is the Center for GIS Doing for GIS Day 2011?

November 14, 2011
Jeremy

Jeremy Monn

The Center for GIS (CGIS) will be taking part in GIS Day this Wednesday, November 16, 2011.  CGIS employees, along with Community College of Baltimore County students, will travel to Lutherville Laboratory Elementary School this year for GIS Day.  The event, organized by Eric Cromwell (Coordinator of Elementary Science for Baltimore County Public Schools), will involve approximately 120 fourth grade students.  The students will be divided into groups and each group will complete a Global Positioning System (GPS) quiz consisting of multiple choice questions that have numerical answers (e.g. Abraham Lincoln was the [fill in the blank] President of the United States.).  All of the possible answers will correspond to marked locations on a field at the school.  Once the groups have completed the quiz, each will be provided with a Garmin e-Trex GPS unit and asked to walk to the locations marked with their answers while the GPS unit tracks their route.  Each group will then map the routes using Google Earth and if the group answered the questions correctly their route will appear as a star.

In addition to the event at the Elementary School, CGIS staff will also attend two events. For the past several years, CGIS has attended the Maryland State Highway Administration’s (SHA) GIS Day event located at the SHA building in Baltimore.  At this event, CGIS staff will manage a booth and provide information on current projects and initiatives that CGIS is involved in.  If you will be attending SHA’s GIS Day event stop by CGIS’ booth and see what we are up to! Also, CGIS will attend Central Pennsylvania’s GIS Day celebration that will feature an exhibit hall, geo-challenge, genius bar, workshop, demonstrations and plenty of networking.

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Posted by Jeremy Monn

Migrating MD iMap to ArcGIS Server 10 – Testing Results

October 24, 2011

Ashley

The past few weeks have been devoted to testing the migration of MD iMap to ArcGIS Server 10.  It is important to limit potential issues and ensure all services and applications function appropriately after the upgrade. If you have ever successfully done an upgrade, you know how important it is to test, test, and do more testing.

Because ArcGIS Desktop, ArcSDE and ArcGIS Server are spread out among multiple machines within the MD iMap infrastructure, we can upgrade the different components at different times.  So, we are only upgrading ArcGIS Server at this time.  And, MD iMap has seven instances of ArcGIS Server:  2 staging, 1 pre-release and 4 production servers.  We upgraded one of the two staging instances to ArcGIS Server 10 so we could test away.  The Center for GIS’ goal is have all instances upgraded by the end of November.

Please note that ArcSDE is still at 9.3.1 until we do a domain migration at the end of November.  Once the migration is complete, we will upgrade ArcSDE to 10.0 as well.

While I understand that every environment is different, I wanted to share two problems we have discovered in our upgrade testing.

No special characters in WMS-enabled services

Issue:  Several map services would not draw in ArcCatalog and we received the following error when adding them to ArcMap: “Could not add the specified data object to the map.”

Workaround:  After speaking with Esri Technical support, they confirmed this is a known bug – #NIM066837 Need to support additional special characters when using WMS.  The bug states that a WMS enabled map service that contains a comma (,), tilde (~), parenthesis (()), ² , ° , ? , and ` in the layer name won’t start.

At this point the only workaround is to either disable the WMS capability in the affected map services, or to rename the layers in the MXD.

Address Locators in 9.3.X ArcSDE Database do not work with a Geocode Service at 10.0

Issue: When trying to create or start a geocode service at ArcGIS Server 10 that utilizes an address locater in a 9.3.1 ArcSDE database, the following error appears: “Configuration GeocodeServices/MD.State.MDStatewideTest.GeocodeServer can not be started. Server Object instance creation failed on machine mdimap-XXX-X.  The connection property set was missing a required property or the property value was unrecognized.”

Workaround:  Publish the address locator from a file geodatabase.  We did this and the ArcGIS Server 10 geocode service now starts and works appropriately. I posed my question to Esri’s technical support and they said that they have seen other cases where a new address locator was needed to work past the error.  They also said that sometimes a locator built with 9.3.1 will publish to server 10, but practically speaking is finding that more often than not, they don’t. This is especially the case with customized address locator.

Tech support concluded that there are 2 options.

1. Publish the locator from a file geodatabase.  There has been some unusual behavior with older address locators stored in SDE geodatabases. **Honestly, at ArcGIS 10, you’ll get better performance with file-based locators anyway.

2. Create a brand new address locator in ArcGIS 10.  For best practices, it is recommended that you re-create the address locators using the current version of ArcGIS.

This brings me to my last point. I inquired again to the Esri technical support person to expand on his comment “…at ArcGIS 10, you’ll get better performance with file-based locators” so I could fully understand what he meant. His response indicated that prior to 9.3.1, ArcSDE would be faster, however, at 9.3.1 and later, benchmark testing has indicated that file geodatabases are actually faster for not just geocoding services, but also for serving vector data! He said that Oracle CAN be faster with Vector data, but only if the database is tuned very well.  This has more to do with I/O against the database – and I/O is relatively limited with a file geodatabase.  He stated he would use ArcSDE when editing, with versions, etc. and he suggested a presentation on ArcGIS Server Performance and Scalability–Performance Factors and Optimization.

For those of you like me, who don’t understand what I/O is, here is how the Esri technical support person explained – “Basically, it has to do with how the bus (the part of the computer that connects the motherboard to the hard drive) sends and receives data back and forth to the database software. Fewer paging operations have to be performed against a file geodatabase because pages can be cached ‘in memory’ as opposed to accessing the database. Fewer resources are being used to achieve the same goal.”  Very cool!

While we did run in to these two issues during our testing, there are workarounds that we will put into place.  These two issues will not hinder us from pushing forward with the migration of the remaining six instances to ArcGIS Server 10.  Next steps you may ask? More testing, more research and more fun!

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Posted by Ashley Buzzeo

VIDEO: Education Meets the Workforce – Student Interns Get Hands-on GIS Experience

October 11, 2011

Jenn

Our newest Education Meets the Workforce video features student interns from Towson University’s Center for GIS. The interns, Justin Mannion, James Parmeter, and Alex Stapleton, work closely together on data collection processes in connection with the Maryland Broadband Map project. The Maryland Broadband Map allows residential and business consumers to discover the high-speed Internet services and providers in their neighborhood, anywhere in Maryland.

Watch the video to learn more about how the interns are contributing to the Maryland Broadband Map Project and to other projects at CGIS.

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Posted by Jenn Lake

“Mapping Out” Towson University’s Community Engagement

September 29, 2011

Kelsey

This is my first blog post and it is coming at a pretty great time. I have been in this new position for about a month and a half and finally feel like I know my way around TU in the Community. I have begun meeting with faculty and staff members and have even been working on a new feature that will be debuting soon!

One of the most useful features that I’ve found on TU in the Community is the Community Project Map.

With this map, you can enter an address to find community engagement projects close to you. You can click on the markers to learn about each opportunity. You can also be taken to the project listing within the TU in the Community database to find information about the project, contact information, and more.

It is a simple way to see what opportunities are available where you live or work and it’s a great way to see how you can get involved. As more faculty, staff, students and community members realize how great of a resource the TU in the Community website is, they can start collaborating with others on community engagement projects. It’s a win for everybody involved! Look at the map and get connected today.

For more information about the map or anything related to TU in the Community, contact  TUintheCommunity@towson.edu or 410-704-2678.

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Posted by Kelsey Beckett

Lessons Learned III: Creating a KML-Enabled ArcGIS Server Map Service

September 6, 2011
Jeremy

Jeremy Monn

Apparently my favorite topic to blog about is creating a KML-enabled ArcGIS Server (AGS) map service, because I find myself writing about the same topic even though I have written about this topic in two previous blog posts.  The impetus for writing about this topic a third (and hopefully final) time is that I found myself troubleshooting a KML-related issue that I am sure other GIS practitioners have or will come across.   Provided below is a description of each issue and its solution.

ISSUE ONE

When panning to a new location in Google Earth, the data that the KML-enabled AGS map service references disappears.

Explanation

The problem here likely stems from how the KML file was configured when it was created from an AGS map service.   There are specific configuration settings that deal with when or how a refresh of the KML file occurs.  In this case, one should configure the KML file so that it refreshes once the user stops panning.

Solution

Open the KML file with a text editor and search for the <viewRefreshMode> tag.  Make sure the value inside this tag is set to “onStop”.  Additionally, if any <refreshMode> and <refreshInterval> tags exist remove them if you want the refresh to be solely triggered by a user panning.

ISSUE TWO

The KML-enabled AGS map service used returns a URL when a feature is identified in Google Earth, but the URL does not work.

Explanation

An obvious reason why this might occur is because the URL provided in the dataset’s attribute  table was entered incorrectly.  Another less obvious reason is that special characters in the URL are being replaced by other characters.  For example, the “&” character may be replaced by the “&amp” string.

Solution

Obviously if the data was entered incorrectly in the source data’s attribute table then one has to correct the mistake.  However, when one has an issue where the “&” character is being replaced    by the “&amp” string then one should find out what MXD is being used for the AGS service,      save it as a MSD file, and re-point the AGS service to the newly created MSD file.  Once the AGS service is refreshed, the URLs should be correct in the service’s KML file.

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Posted by Jeremy Monn

Guest Blogger: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is great in Maryland, and it just got better!

August 15, 2011
Kenny Miller Headshot

Kenny Miller

GIS is a strategic, core business enabler, and a valuable analysis and communications tool state agencies use in their work with other state resources and the public. GIS mapping products are increasingly integrated in the state’s accountability and business processes, as well as in publicly available applications. Scores of live, dynamic maps–AgPrint, GreenPrint, GrowthPrint, Stream Health, Recovery, Budget, Energy, Broadband, PlanMaryland, and VisitMaryland, to name just a few–are readily accessible through www.maryland.gov.


Virtually all of Maryland’s GIS applications are built on Esri technology platforms and products. Esri is the GIS software leader and has become the state’s de facto GIS standard. Standardizing on Esri GIS enables the state’s agencies and business partners to keep the geospatial train on the same gauge of track, thereby securing the benefits of consolidation, interoperability, and cost efficiency. But this is only part of Maryland’s Esri GIS story. We’ve been working with Esri to forge an Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) that covers widespread GIS software use and support across state agencies and are pleased to announce that on August 10, 2011, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved the contract.

The ELA offers numerous advantages: lower unit cost of Esri software; fixed predictable overall costs over the life of the agreement; flexibility to deploy Esri software products when and where needed; streamlined procurement processes; increased leverage for achieving statewide GIS standards and interoperability; offer of GIS to agencies that otherwise could not afford GIS; and continuous support of the geospatial data and mapping requirements driven by agency and administration initiatives.

The major cost benefit of the ELA is its offer of unlimited use of Esri mainstream software products, upgrades, maintenance, and support for a fixed price. These items are unique and proprietary to Esri and are not available from an alternate source. Besides economizing the anticipated uptick in GIS use by the primary GIS agencies, the ELA encourages smaller or current non-GIS user agencies to start deploying GIS. The increase in deployment of Esri technology throughout state government will lower the unit cost.

The final price of the ELA was negotiated to a level approximately equivalent to current spending for Esri products and support. A nominal annual price escalation is permitted during the life of the contract. There are 56 state agencies and entities named in the ELA, with the option to add others. The fixed contract cost will be distributed to each agency in a proportion to its level of license consumption.

The ELA will become effective September 1, 2011. The Department of Information Technology will be responsible for Esri ELA contract administration, management and oversight, and is currently developing processes and a web presence for requesting and delivering products covered by the ELA.

Kenny Miller has held many leadership positions in Maryland at the Departments of Natural Resources and Information Technology, as well as professional organizations promoting the adoption of GIS technology in the state.

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Guest Blogger: The 2011 Esri International User Conference Experience

July 21, 2011

Ken Juengling

In my role as Project Manager for the Center for GIS, I am involved in many interesting efforts that leverage GIS technology to solve critical issues in today’s ever changing world.  Having just gotten back from the premier GIS conference, the Esri International User Conference, I feel a little overwhelmed – as I do every time I get back – and energized by Jack Dangermond’s plenary session that opened the conference.

Here are a few of my thoughts from the conference, which attracted over 15,000 attendees (about 5,000 were there for the first-time!).

Hopefully, you’ll have the opportunity to attend next year’s User Conference, which happens July 23-27, 2012.


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Posted by Guest Blogger

Starting and Stopping AGS Services Using a Python Script

July 7, 2011
Jeremy

Jeremy Monn

Updating datasets used by an ArcGIS Server (AGS) service can be tedious and time consuming. The major reason for this is that a dataset stored in a file geodatabase or SDE that is used by an AGS service is locked.  This means that it you want to replace the dataset with an updated dataset you first have to stop any AGS service using the dataset.  The time consumed increases if multiple AGS services use the same dataset or if there are several copies of a single AGS service using the dataset.  The tediousness of the task is apparent when one must navigate throughout ArcCatalog to 1) rename and import the updated dataset into the appropriate file geodatabase or SDE instance and 2) to start and stop the AGS service(s) using the dataset.  This blog entry focuses on a Python script I wrote that addresses the later by reducing the need to navigate throughout ArcCatalog to start, stop, and restart services that need updated.

My search for a solution began by perusing the ESRI ArcScripts page for a script that starts and stops services on an AGS server.  Luckily I came across the AGSSOM script, which not only allows one to start and stop services on one or more AGS instances, but it also allows one to restart and publish services.  If one wants to run the executable from Windows command line, the README documentation provides clear instructions.  However, my goal was to call the AGSSOM.exe from a model I built using Model Builder.  In order to do this, I wrote a Python script that stops, starts, or restarts a user-specified service on two AGS instances and incorporated the script into a model that the user runs from ArcToolbox.  The script is provided below with descriptive comments italicized.

# Import system modules

import sys, string, os, arcgisscripting, re

# Create the Geoprocessor object. 

gp = arcgisscripting.create()

# User of Geoprocessing Tool specifies the name of the service being updated (ServiceName) and whether the service is to be started, stopped, or restarted (OperationGUI)

ServiceName = gp.GetParameterAsText(0)

OperationGUI = gp.GetParameterAsText(1)

#The user’s choice for starting, stopping, or restarting the service is translated to the appropriate string used as an argument to run the AGSSOM.exe 

if OperationGUI == ‘Start’:

Operation = ‘-s ‘

if OperationGUI == ‘Stop’:

Operation = ‘-x ‘

if OperationGUI == ‘Restart’:

Operation = ‘-r ‘

# Execute the AGSSOM.exe in order to start, stop, or restart the user-specified service on two AGS instances (StagingAGS and PreReleaseAGS)

os.system(r”D:\AGS\AGSSOM.exe StagingAGS ” +Operation+MDiMapServiceName)

os.system(r”D: \AGS\AGSSOM.exe PreReleaseAGS ” +Operation+MDiMapServiceName)

It is important to note that the script above will only work properly if the user has administrative rights to the specified AGS instance(s).  Additionally, one must note that only the AGS instance names (StagingAGS and PreReleaseAGS) are specified above.  This means that the script will only work properly if the AGSSOM.exe is stored on a computer than is on the same network as the AGS instances.  Therefore, the script above must be tailored to the specific environment in which it is used.

Excluded from this blog post is a description of a second model I created that simplifies the renaming and importation of newly updated datasets used by an AGS service.  This model, employed with the model that utilizes the Python script described above, significantly reduces the time and tediousness of updating datasets used by an AGS service.  A description of the second model will be provided in a future blog post.

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Posted by Jeremy Monn

Lessons Learned II: Creating a KML-Enabled and WFS-Enabled ArcGIS Server Map Service

May 26, 2011
Jeremy

Jeremy Monn

A couple weeks ago I found myself trying to remember how to create a KML-enabled ArcGIS map service through ArcGIS Server Manager.  Luckily for me I wrote a blog on this topic about a year and a half ago.  Reading the blog helped me with the task at hand, but I felt an update would be valuable. Therefore, this month’s blog post focuses on returning attribute data from KML-enabled ArcGIS map services as well as things to watch out for when WFS-enabling ArcGIS map services.

Why doesn’t my KML-enabled map service display tabular data???
In my previous post, I described the steps involved in creating the map service’s KMZ file on an ArcGIS server.  However, I didn’t relay how one goes about ensuring that the tabular data tied to the features in that service will be returned when a user clicks on the feature in Google Earth.  In order to do this, one must enable the feature layer’s HTML Popup tool within the map service’s MXD.  For detailed instructions on how to complete this task, refer to the “How to set HTML properties for feature layers” section.

I can’t WFS-enable my ArcGIS Server map service, why???
If one is interested in providing users of their dynamic ArcGIS Server map service with the ability to use the data within the service in geospatial analysis scenarios, then one solution is to WFS enable the service.  Just like KML enabling, the process of actually WFS enabling the ArcGIS map service is quite simple.  However, there are two very important things to keep in mind when WFS enabling an ArcGIS map service.

1) If one’s ArcGIS map service is published using a MSD, as opposed to a MXD, then the map      service cannot be WFS enabled.  The solution is publishing the service from the service’s MXD.

2) If one’s ArcGIS map service consists of at least two layers that reference the same feature class then the map service cannot be WFS enabled.  A solution is to create a copy of the feature class and reference one of the layers to the copy.  NOTE: This solution can be painful from a  data management perspective, especially if one is working with large datasets that are   frequently updated.

Hopefully now that I have written these tasks in a blog I will not forget them.  However, it is nice to know that if I do I can always refer back to my blog for guidance.  I guess blogging can sometimes be viewed as a unique type of documentation.

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Posted by Jeremy Monn

Guest Bloggers: How to get Active with GIS in Maryland

April 21, 2011

Ashley Buzzeo & Erin Lesh

If you are interested in getting involved with GIS in Maryland, there are several avenues you can pursue, including statewide committees and initiatives as well as local user groups and conferences.

MSGIC
You can start by becoming a member of the Maryland State Geographic Information Committee (MSGIC).  This volunteer organization is made up of members from all levels of government, academia, regional organizations, and private industry.  There is an Executive Committee that meets the second Wednesday of every month in Columbia at 9am.  While this meeting is open to all, there is a larger quarterly meeting that is held on the second Wednesday of January, April, July and October.  This venue is perfect for networking with fellow GISers and keeping up with statewide coordinated activities. The next quarterly meeting is April 27th at the Caroline County Health and Public Services Building in Denton MD.  MSGIC has a group on LinkedIn: MSGIC

MD iMap
Another great resource is Maryland’s Internet Map (MD iMap), which provides a wide variety of products and services to the citizens and government employees in Maryland at no charge. It represents a centralized collection of the most commonly used, best available GIS data and applications in the State.  Take a look at the MD iMap Portal.  This website details the current MD iMap initiatives in Maryland.  You can also get involved with the MD iMap initiative by joining the MD iMap Technical Committee, which meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at MDE from 1 – 3 pm.  Follow MDiMap on Twitter: @MDiMap

MD iMap Portal

Local User Groups & Conferences
There are also several regional users groups in Maryland – central, western, and eastern.

  • The Central Maryland User’s Group (CMUG) is the largest local user’s group, focusing on GIS activities in Central Maryland.  A meeting was just held on April 15th, and the next meeting will be in the mid-August timeframe.  Be sure to check out the blog for more details.
  • The Western Maryland GIS User’s Group (WMUG) meets 3 times a year – the third Friday of May, August, and November. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 20 at Frederick City Hall.  Contact Elizabeth Stahlman at Allegany County for more details.
  • The Midshore Regional GIS committee (MSRGC) meeting is April 20 from 9 to 11:30 at the Public Safety Building in Easton, and the next meeting is October 26 in the morning, location TBD. Contact Lauren McDermott at Salisbury University for more details.

The ESRI Mid-Atlantic User Group (ESRI-MUG) is an organization of GIS users in PA, DE, NJ, MD, DC, VA and WV.  This group helps to identify and educate users regarding GIS trends, ESRI product development, local/regional applications, and events of interest.  They also have an annual conference for all users, which is a great place to see what how GIS is being applied in the mid-Atlantic region.  Follow ESRI-MUG on Twitter: @Esri_MUG.

The TUgis conference is held by the Department of Geography and Environmental Planning at Towson University.  This conference has some excellent presentations and is a great place to network with GIS users from all over Maryland.  The 25th annual conference will be held in March, 2012.

GIS Day Events
Another option to be more active or to learn more about GIS in Maryland is to attend a GIS Day event on November 16, 2011.  GIS Day is intended to promote GIS and Geography awareness.  You can find a GIS Day event near you by searching on ESRI’s GIS Day website.

Ashley Buzzeo works at Towson University Center for GIS (CGIS) as a project manager.
Erin Lesh works at Maryland Environmental Service (MES) as a GIS specialist IV.

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