Installing server software can be tricky business, whether it's integrating components from multiple vendors, worrying about file and access permissions, or understanding the complex interplay of multiple server boxes. Here, we'll go over the basic installation procedure and give you some tips on how to avoid the common pitfalls.

To keep things from getting too hairy, the first strategy is to keep it simple. It is best to make sure each component is running successfully before installing the next. Please take a look at the system requirements to go over your GIS server environment before moving into the Publisher for Server installation.

There are two common installation scenarios: to a production server and to a development server.

By their nature, individual production servers should be the easiest. With fewer software components, less extraneous services, and less open ports, the more speedy, secure and stable the production server will be for your customers. The complexity comes from needing multiple, speedy boxes to serve your customers--database servers, GIS servers, web servers, web adapters, load balances, etc. Regardless of how complex the topology of your solution, in most cases, the Publisher for Server software will be installed on the same box(es) as your GIS server(s).

In contrast, a development server is often a generalist box with ArcGIS for both server and desktop plus other software needed to create new GP services and applications. Installing TerraGo Publisher for both ArcGIS server and desktop will speed these efforts. Also having Adobe Acrobat or Reader with the TerraGo Toolbar will let you quickly review your GeoPDF output.

In this section:

System requirements 

Required hardware 

• See the GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS Server Release Notes included with the installer for up to date requirements.

Required software 

• Microsoft® Windows® 10, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2. See the release notes for the latest supported versions of Windows Server. 

• ArcGIS Server. See the release notes for the latest supported version of ArcMap Server or ArcMap Advanced. 

Recommended software for development

• ArcGIS Desktop (see the release notes for the supported version). When creating new geoprocessing services using Publisher, it is often easier and much quicker to develop and test using desktop before publishing to server. 

• Publisher for ArcGIS (see the release notes for the supported version) is recommended for new GeoPDF GP service development

• Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader versions X.x, XI or DC for viewing GeoPDF files. You can download the free Adobe Reader from Adobe. The Adobe software requires hard disk space in addition to that required for GeoPDF Publisher.

• GeoPDF Toolbar for use with Adobe Acrobat or Reader to confirm the TerraGo geo-goodness has been properly added to your published GeoPDF maps. You can download the free GeoPDF Toolbar from TerraGo.

Activation code

GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS Server requires activation before running--TerraGo only offers trial licenses for our desktop products--so make sure to have the email with your activation codes handy as you install. Since there are separate license codes for server and desktop products, don't accidentally swap them.

Installing ArcGIS server

GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS Server runs on top of a working installation of ArcGIS Server. With this in mind, before you install Publisher for Server please make sure that ArcGIS Server is installed and capable of publishing map and GP services. Doing this will remove a lot of uncertainties when installing subsequent components like Publisher for Server, including having the right permissions and registration for input, output and scratch folders, users with the proper roles assigned, web adapter installed for public-facing services, etc. For production boxes, these gotchas are usually ironed out, but on developer boxes, many of these are only caught when adding new software or launching new GP/map services.

To make it easier to confirm that these issues are resolved and that Publisher for Server can actually create a GeoPDF from local services, we have a sample GP service that can optionally be installed after the normal install is complete. For this Python installer to work, we'll need an ArcGIS server administrative/publisher username and password to stand up the sample GP on your local server. 

Installation

There are separate installers the desktop and server versions of GeoPDF Publisher. You'll want the one with Server in the name: Publisher_for_ArcGIS_Server.exe.

When installing both Publisher for server and desktop, it doesn't matter the order in which you install them. 

Uninstall older versions of GeoPDF Publisher prior to installing this new version.

Testing install with a sample GP service

After installing Publisher for Server, activating the software, now it's time to see if all the pieces are in place to create a GeoPDF.

We have included a set of data and Python scripts that create a simple GP service that will use Publisher for Server on your machine to produce a GeoPDF from a static MXD. This will confirm that Publisher has been properly installed. The installer for this sample service is a Python script.