Preinstallation 1.2.2

There are two parts to a Geoportal Server system. The first part is the system hosting the geoportal endpoint and web application itself. The second part is the end user system made up of the machines that access the deployed geoportal. System requirements differ between the two parts, and are described in the sections below.

Geoportal host system requirements

The geoportal host environment requires an operating system, a database, a full Java JDK, a web application server, and access to ArcGIS Server services (ArcGIS Server map, locator, and geometry services for the geoportal search map and place finder). The geoportal connects to an organization's LDAP structure, and thus needs access to a directory server.

Please refer to each subsection below to verify that your environment meets the particular system requirement before proceeding with a Geoportal Server installation.

Note: System configurations not listed in this topic may work for your implementation; however, ones listed here were tested and any compatibility issues were documented or resolved, whereas deploying the Geoportal Server in an unlisted system configuration may result in unknown issues.

Operating System

The following operating systems are supported for the Geoportal Server:

RedHat Enterprise Linux AS/ES 5
Windows XP SP2
Windows 2003 Server SP2
Windows 2008 Server Standard
Windows 2003 Server 64-bit
Windows 2008 Server Standard 64-bit
Windows 7 Ultimate, Professional Edition 32-bit, 64-bit
Windows Server 2008 R2

Note: When installing any of the Geoportal Server components on a 64-bit system, they must be installed into the Program Files (x86) directory.

Database

The Geoportal Server supports the following databases. The Geoportal Server database can be deployed on the same server or a different server than the geoportal web application:

Oracle 10g
Oracle 11g
PostgreSQL 8.4 (32 and 64 bit)
PostgreSQL 9.1 (32 and 64 bit)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP2 and SP3
Microsoft SQL Server 2008
MySQL 5.5

Java

Java JDK 6 (32 or 64 bit) or Java JDK 7 (7 if you're using Tomcat 7.x) is required on the server hosting the geoportal web application.

Servlet Container

The geoportal web application is based on Java Servlet technology and therefore requires the use of a Servlet container. The following software provide Java Servlet support and have been tested and verified to run the geoportal web application.

Apache Tomcat 6.0.32 and higher 6.x versions, and Tomcat 7.0.x.
GlassFish 3.1 and Glassfish 3.1.2
Oracle WebLogic 11g

Note: Exposing the geoportal web applications on port 80 (the default Http port) will require planning and coordination with your organization's IT and network staff. For example, Tomcat can be configured as a web container to support network requests on port 80. However in most cases, Tomcat is configured to respond to requests on a port different than port 80 (e.g. port 8080). In those cases, a redirect from a web server (e.g. IIS or Apache HTTP) or from a reverse-proxy server will be required to send URL requests for a geoportal web application to Tomcat for handling. In the case of WebLogic and GlassFish, they are application servers that also provide web server support. WebLogic or GlassFish may be configured to provide front-end port 80 Http support for the geoportal web applications. Alternatively, a reverse proxy may be used to provide URL redirection requests for a geoportal web application to either the web application's Http web server or to the Servlet container.

Mail Server Access

A Mail server is necessary for the following notification functionality:

Feedback function to contact geoportal administrators.
Data download notification functionality
Harvesting Notifications

If a mail server with a network accessible URL is not available, the features listed above will not work correctly.

Directory Server and LDAP

For full functionality of user-based roles, an LDAP-enabled Directory Server is required for the authentication. You may use an existing Directory Server that supports LDAP v.3, if you already have one in your organization. If you currently do not have a LDAP Directory Server, and you wish to have user-based role functionality, you will need to install a Directory Server. Instructions for installing Apache Directory Server (an open source directory server) are available in the Geoportal Server installation guide.

Simple authentication option: When no LDAP Directory Server is available, the geoportal may be configured for a single administrative account. This is a quick option for an introductory setup, but is not recommended for production environments. Users wishing to use simple authentication need not install additional directory server software. Setting up simple authentication can be achieved solely via the geoportal configuration file and is described in detail in the installation guide.

ArcGIS Server services

Using the Geoportal Server does not require an ArcGIS Server license. The geoportal web application may consume ArcGIS Server services hosted by your or another organization. The geoportal web application may use the following ArcGIS Server services:

An ArcGIS Server Map Service, with a REST URL endpoint.
An ArcGIS Server Locator Service. If you do not have the means to create a locator service, you may use the publicly available one at: http://tasks.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Locators/ESRI_Places_World/GeocodeServer
An ArcGIS Server Geometry service. If you do not have the means to create a geometry service, you may use the publicly available one at: http://tasks.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Geometry/GeometryServer

For help on how to create Map services, Geocode services to be used for the Locator, and Geometry services, refer to the ArcGIS Server Help for each at:

Esri JavaScript API

By default, the geoportal will reference the JavaScript API available online to render the geoportal Search Page search map, the Preview Page map, the Search Widget for HTML Sample, and the map used to render the footprint of the metadata on the Details page. If you are deploying the Geoportal Server on an intranet system where the JavaScript API online cannot be referenced, then you can reference a locally installed instance of the JavaScript API instead. Instructions for installing the JavaScript API locally are part of the ArcGIS JavaScript API product. The following Geoportal Server files will need to be updated with the local JavaScript API reference:

//geoportal/WEB-INF/classes/gpt/config/gpt.xml
//geoportal/catalog/skins/lookAndFeel.jsp
//webapps/geoportal/widgets/example.jsp
//webapps/geoportal/widgets/searchjs.jsp

A note about ArcIMS

The Geoportal Server uses its own servlet web application for allowing ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.x instances to connect through the Geoportal Publish Client. You must uninstall ArcIMS on the machine hosting the geoportal's servlet.war file, as ArcIMS has its own servlet.war file and this will conflict with the geoportal's. If you do not uninstall ArcIMS and delete the ArcIMS servlet.war file, users will not be able to publish to your geoportal using the Publish Client in an ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.x environment.

Geoportal end user system requirements

The supported browser and Esri software requirements are recommended for users to connect to and use the deployed geoportal. These browsers and Esri software are not required for the system hosting the geoportal, but instead for the user environments connecting to it.

Browser Support

The Geoportal Server has been tested for use on the following browsers.

Internet Explorer 7.0, 8.0 (Note: For correct display of the geoportal Search page map and Preview maps, verify that you are running Internet Explorer 8 in Compatibility Mode. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956197 for details), and 9.0
Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and 3.5
Google Chrome
Apple Safari

Note: Chrome and Safari browsers parse out the XML tags when viewing raw XML. This will affect the ability to view the raw metadata in the geoportal, as users only see text and not the associated metadata parameter tags. This behavior is a Web Browser behavior not geoportal behavior. The workaround to view raw metadata XML is to view the metadata XML page's source, or install appropriate plugins available for the browsers for viewing XML.

ArcGIS Desktop

ArcGIS Desktop 10 or 10.1 is required for using the Geoportal Clients for ArcGIS Desktop. The Geoportal Clients are offered in versions specific to your ArcGIS environment; i.e., use the 10.1 Geoportal Clients with ArcGIS 10.1, and the 10 Geoportal Clients with ArcGIS 10. The Geoportal Clients allow users to connect to the geoportal from within ArcGIS Desktop to publish and search. Caution: The ArcGIS Desktop .NET Framework option must be enabled during installation of ArcGIS Desktop on any machine that will be using the Geoportal Clients.

Return to Installation

Esri/geoportal-server