Creating a test site
I apologize in advance if this question as been posted previously. I have been searching the forum and am not finding an exact fit for my question.
I need to create an exact replica of our production site with a copy of the mxd (or msd) and the site/viewer configuration (Silverlight 1.9 viewer). Our viewer is complex with many workflows and customizations. I would like the ability to set up a dummy site where I can do testing before implementing on the production site. I am new to GE and am unfamiliar with the processes. I found a white paper that contains directions to “Reconfigure a Silverlight Viewer to Point to a Copied Site”, but I don’t believe that is what I want to do since the REST endpoint would still be pointing to the original mxd (or msd) file.
To break it down, and hopefully make this more clear:
1) I have an ArcMap file named, MyMap_Internal.mxd. It has been converted to an msd file with the same name. I am making a copy of the MyMap_Internal.mxd and naming it MyMap_Internal_Copy.mxd. I have converted it to an msd file with the same name. I am making a copy because I will be adding/deleting layers out for testing and changing label scales and such to test performance.
2) I go into ArcServer Manager and create a service based off of MyMap_Internal_Copy.msd, I will call it MyMapCopy.
At this point, I have an ArcServer service named MyMapCopy that is an exact copy of my ORIGINAL map service. Is there a way to import MyMapCopy map service into Geocortex REST Manager and have it use the original site and viewer configuration? What it comes down to, I want it to look exactly the same as my production site with all the workflows and custom searches, I just want the REST point to be looking at a COPY of the mxd file so I can manipulate the mxd file as needed without risk of corrupting the production site.
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If I understand correctly, you should be able to use the "Copy Site" button in Essentials (beside "Edit Site" in the site list). Then edit the copy of your site.xml in a text editor (find & replace) to point to the copy of your map service.
<MapService ConnectionString= "url=http://yourserver/arcgis/rest/services/MyMapCopy/MapServer"
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Dan's suggestion is a good one. One caveat, though, whenever I've used the "Copy Site" button I've had to manually update the paths to any workflows, print templates, etc.
Also, if you're not comfortable with manually editing the site.xml file, you can change the path using the Essentials Manager. Click the Map tab, then click the "Edit Map Service" button for the map service, then click the "Edit Connection Settings" button. Enter your new URL in the "Service URL" field. If the map services are otherwise identical the change will be made. If they aren't identical you'll get a warning message.
In your situation my preference would be to have an Essentials instance dedicated to testing, so you don't have a test site and production site in the same instance. I don't know if that's an option for you, but I can explain further if you're interested.
Steve
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Thank you for the suggestions! Steve, can you please explain further? I'm not exactly sure what is meant by "the same instance". Wouldn't they already be separate if different REST points were created from a separate mxd (or msd) file?
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Hi Janice,
We're overloading the term "instance" here. In Essentials, you may install multiple named instances of Essentials to the same computer. This will result in having a completely new installation (instance!) of Essentials on your server.
Steven's suggestion is to install a new instance of Essentials with a name. For example, if you called your new instance "Test", it would default to installing to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\Test\Rest Elements (etc)
Which would be beside the default instance at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\Default\Rest Elements (etc)
However, for your purposes you should be fine with making a copy of your site, then using REST Manager to change the map service connection information to have your site reference a different service. Note again that you may only do this if the services are functionally identical (all the same layers and groups!).
Now would also be a good time to take an inventory of what map resources you are consuming. Changing the service may cause problems with workflows, particularly if the workflows are using exact URLs to perform queries. Consider the situation where you have removed a slow-running layer. The site that references that service has all of the service layers configured (perhaps with aliases). If you don't do anything, the site will stop loading because there is a missing layer. When you load the site in REST Manager, you must resolve the missing layer - if there are new unconfigured layers, you may choose to reassign it or you can remove it from the site. Now the site will load, but it might not work - removing a layer will reassign all of the layer IDs (and therefore, the layer query URLs), so your workflow that was querying a streets layer may now be querying a towns layer!
Regards,
-Malcolm
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In addition to what Malcolm said, I will also suggest taking a look at section 5.2 of the (https://support.geocortex.com/SharedFiles/Download.aspx?pageid=12&mid=14&fileid=655) Installation Guide for more information on installation options and instances. I disagree that the term "instance" is being overloaded in this discussion. In light of the documentation's use of the term, what else would one call it?
When talking about test sites, my preference is to have the test site separated from the production site. Maybe my approach is too cautious, but experience has shown me that separating "test" from "production" will save you grief in the future.
Janice, I have our development environment set up to accomplish what you're asking about, and I'm willing to continue the discussion offline if you'd like. I've received help from others in the forum and don't mind "giving back" when I can, and it seems like offline is the best place to proceed. My email is (steven.graham@wi.gov) Phone number is in my profile if you'd rather go that route.
Steve
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