Category: Thoughts

PostgreSQL is about to get really integrated into ArcGIS workflows in 2008. First off we have ArcGIS Server Enterprise (ArcSDE) which will support PostgreSQL (ESRI and PostGIS data types) and now we have zigGIS 2.0 which will support PostGIS/PostgreSQL without the need for the traditional “ArcSDE” connection.

First and foremost, the zigGIS codebase will remain open. Secondly, personal and educational use of zigGIS will remain free…

As for our corporate users – you will need to purchase licenses per seat. Licenses will fall somewhere below $300 each. We hope this keeps zigGIS affordable to those organizations that require heavy-duty GIS capabilities. (don’t forget that the use of PostGIS + zigGIS saves you from all ArcSDE licensing costs)

If you are in an enterprise environment, ArcGIS Server Enterprise probably makes a ton of sense (especially in the ESRI server stack), but in smaller offices and workgroups why pay for all that overhead you are not using?

OK, so here is what is happening at 9.3 with ArcSDE.

1. ArcSDE finally rides into the sunset. Even though technically ArcSDE has been replaced at 9.2, it was still a separate product. Now at 9.3 it will become fully integrated into ArcGIS Server. ArcGIS Server Enterprise will be the “traditional” ArcSDE level where ArcGIS Server supports an unlimited number of users via either direct connect or connection to an application server. It offers DBMS support for IBM DB2, IBM Informix, all editions of Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and PostgreSQL. It has no data or memory limits. The Workgroup level of ArcGIS Server supports a maximum of 10 direct connect users. It includes an embedded DBMS (Microsoft SQL Server Express Spatial). It has a data limit of 4 GB and a memory limit of 1 GB.
2. ArcGIS will connect to Microsoft SQL Server via direct connect. Out of the box ArcGIS application will be able to connect to Microsoft SQL Server Express Spatial, but if you want unlimited users, you’ll need to purchase ArcGIS Server Enterprise. This is probably less than what folks wanted, but you’ll have to sort that our yourselves.
3. ArcGIS supports older versions of the Geodatabase. At 9.3, ArcGIS can connect and create geodatabases (personal, file) back to 9.0. This means you won’t need to keep older versions of the geodatabase around to share with others. You also won’t have to upgrade your geodatabases just because ArcGIS went to a new release. If you wish, you can keep your older geodatabases running at whatever release you wish (back to 9.0).
4. SQL Server 2008 Spatial will be fully supported when Microsoft releases final version of SQL Server 2008. This might mean that SQL Server 2008 support might not show up until SP1 or SP2 for 9.3. It all depends on Microsoft’s release schedule.
5. PostgreSQL support will be available at 9.3 as has been reported. There will be support for both the PostGIS and ESRI data types.
6. ArcGIS Engine will allow developing with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express so you can scale down your enterprise applications to the workgroup level. You’ll no longer be limited to working with personal for file geodatabases.
7. ArcGIS Server Enterprise will support 64bit processors. This is only the spatial database application server and not the AGS Basic, Standard and Advanced product.

So does that answer your questions about ESRI spatial database support at 9.3?

Announced earlier this month and talked about for at least a year (I think they mentioned this at the 2007 Dev Summit), ESRI is moving away from socket licensing to using the number of cores on the server.

Through November 30, 2007, ESRI licensed server software based primarily on the number of physical sockets on the server which are being utilized by CPU chips. These CPU chips can have 1 or more processing “cores,” each core providing additional computing power for the CPU chip. Licensing requirements and fees for ESRI server software are based on the combination of the number of utilized sockets on the server and the number of cores on each CPU chip.

To address recent changes in the server hardware markets, ESRI has adjusted the licensing and pricing model for ESRI server software to be based only on the number of cores on the server. This adjustment simplifies the process of determining the appropriate license requirements and license fees, especially for new hardware configurations that are continuously being introduced.

Now before you get all worked up that this will cost you more money…. DON’T. Your maintenance will not change because ESRI is adjusting the pricing model as well. It will mean you’ll have a much easier time determining your license and fees using the new chart provided by ESRI.

Amazon SimpleDB is on its way and it may just change how you use databases with your web applications (or even desktop apps). SimpleDB is a web service that leverages Amazon S3 and Amazon EC2 to store, process and query datasets. Currently most if not all of us use a RDBMS such as SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL or PostgreSQL to store our data, but that requires hardware and most of the time a DBA to administer database.

Can you imagine a spatial component to Amazon SimpleDB and how you’d integrate it with your workflows? My spine is tingling just thinking about the possibilities.

You can learn more about the details of SimpleDB here.

Update: The more I think about this, the more I realize how disruptive SimpleDB will be. It was designed to be used with web applications and will be able to scale with them easily. You just can’t do that on your own. I was writing about AWS back in June and how its ability to scale could help users provide services that only the largest companies can afford.

The news this morning out of the UK is that Microsoft has agreed to buy Multimap for approximately 50 million $50M (updated from earlier number).

Multimap owns a maps website aimed at consumers that attracted more than 4 million unique users in the UK last month, according to Nielsen NetRatings, the market researchers.

The figures place the site second in the field in the UK ‘ sandwiched between the market leading Google Maps, which attracted about 11 million users, and the third-placed Google Earth. Microsoft’s current mapping effort, Live Search Maps, languished in a distant fifth place, with about 868,000 users.

I’m not sure what this will mean for developers, but it is probably a really great move for Microsoft competing against the Google.

Multimap will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft as part of the Online Services Groups and the Microsoft Virtual Earth and Search teams.

Sanchez offers up big money to buy out Multimap

I’m traveling this week so its seems like a great time to have another open thread. Enjoy…..

The Editor is out this week

Good news for those who want to take advantage of SQL Server 2008 Spatial and ArcGIS.

ESRI’s ArcGIS 9.3 software, the next scheduled release of ESRI’s ArcGIS suite, will take full advantage of the new spatial technology in the upcoming release of SQL Server 2008. With the November SQL Server 2008 community technology preview (CTP), Microsoft Corporation is extending the use and value of spatial technology by integrating it directly within SQL Server at no additional cost.

Bring It!

It amazes me that this attitude still exists. Given all that we’ve learned over the past few years you’d think those “in power” would get the fundamental change that has happened. The geospatial revolution doesn’t need folks with that attitude, it will just pass them by. Planet Geospatial is full of blogs questioning the sanity of those involved.

It is just painful watching this stuff sometimes…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPj6viIBmU&w=560&h=315]

Time for all us geospatial folks to get together and vote for one of our own. Take a look at the videos for all the Amazon Start-Up Challenge and vote for your favorite (which I assume for most of us will be WeoGeo). Vote early and vote often. It would be great to see a geospatial entry get some good press.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-start-up-videos/weogeo.html

Rob Elkins says that there will be some complimentary pre-conference seminars at the 2008 ESRI Developer Summit next year. I have to say this is probably a good idea as many of the folks I talked to at the Dev Summit last year were well over their heads as many of the sessions are quite detailed (and many are of no value beyond marketing).

So who is planning on going to the Dev Summit next year? Is there anything that ESRI has released/done in 2007 that makes you excited or are you going to put your conference budget somewhere else?

The ESRI Developer Summit – With new Agile!