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Essential GeoEvent Server vocabulary

An understanding of the terms below is essential when using GeoEvent Server.

Configuration

A configuration is a collection of user-created inputs, outputs, GeoEvent Services, connectors, GeoEvent Definitions, tags, geogences, data stores, and more. A configuration file (.xml) can be exported using the Configuration Store in GeoEvent Manager and allows you to archive, restore, and share your configurations.

Configuration Store

The Configuration Store in GeoEvent Manager allows administrators to import, export, and reset GeoEvent Server configurations. Importing a configuration adds and updates existing components. Resetting a configuration restores the default GeoEvent Server configuration.

Note:

Existing components are not modified unless a component with the same name is included in the configuration being imported.

Connectors

Input connectors and output connectors make it easy to get streaming data into and out of GeoEvent Server. In GeoEvent Manager, administrators can browse to the Site > GeoEvent > Connectors page to view a list of the available connectors as well as create new connectors.

See Managing connectors to learn more about connectors.

Data store

The data store in GeoEvent Manager at Site > GeoEvent > Data Stores allows administrators to register system folders and ArcGIS Server connections with GeoEvent Server. Registering is necessary because several types of input connectors, output connectors, and processors that participate in a GeoEvent Service must reference a registered data store when reading or writing event data.

Filter

Filters are components of a GeoEvent Service that filter out GeoEvents that do not satisfy specified criteria as the events are routed between input connectors and output connectors. GeoEvents that satisfy the filters criteria pass through the filter for further processing.

See Filters to learn more about the types of filters available.

GeoEvent

Data flows through GeoEvent Server as a series events, or GeoEvents. When an event stream—which can be characterized as a sequence of messages containing attribute values such as the date and time an event occurred, as well as coordinates specifying the event location—is received by an input connector, the data is interpreted and translated by the connector into a series of GeoEvents.

GeoEvent Definition

A GeoEvent Definition defines a schema for GeoEvents streaming through GeoEvent Server and identifies the attribute fields and data types (date, string, integer, and so forth) for each GeoEvent. A GeoEvent Definition must exist in order for an input connector to construct GeoEvents from a data stream. Similarly, a GeoEvent Definition consistent with the schema of a designated output must exist in order for an output connector to deconstruct a GeoEvent and dispatch the event data.

GeoEvent Service

A GeoEvent Service routes GeoEvents from one or more input connectors to one or more output connectors. Configurable filter and processor components can be included in a GeoEvent Service to identify, enrich, geotag, and further process GeoEvents as they are routed between a service's Input and output connectors.

Geofence

A geofence is a geometry, most commonly a polygon, used for spatial proximity analysis. For example, an Incident Detector Processor might be configured to detect when the coordinates of a received event are inside or outside a specified set of geofences. A GeoTagger Processor might be configured to include the name of a geofence and whether an event is discovered to be inside in the events attribute data.

Input connector (input)

An input connector is the component of a GeoEvent Service responsible for receiving and interpreting events from a data stream. The input connector retrieves attribute values from each event and constructs a GeoEvent, which can be routed through optional filters and processors to an output connector. Each input connector is configured to receive a data stream from a single specific data source. Every GeoEvent Service must include at least one input connector.

Output connector (output)

An output connector is the component of a GeoEvent Service responsible for converting GeoEvents back into a data stream to send to a specified destination. Every GeoEvent Service must include at least one output connector, but may include more than one.

Processor

Processors are the components of a GeoEvent Service that allow you to perform real-time processing on GeoEvents, such as identification or enrichment, as they are routed through GeoEvent Server.

See Processors to learn more about the types of processors available.

Stream container

A stream container is the runtime entity hosting a stream service. For example, a Jetty Web Server that supports WebSockets might be referred to as a stream container.

Stream layer

Stream services contain a stream layer, similar to how a feature service contains one or more feature layers. Each stream layer corresponds to a specific geometric type: point, polyline, or polygon. Stream services are only allowed to contain a single stream layer (unlike feature services or map services which may contain multiple layers).

Stream server

A Stream server refers to the REST endpoint of a stream service within the ArcGIS Server REST Services Directory. For example, information on a stream service named Assets can be found at the stream server http://<server>:<port>/<site>/services/Assets/StreamServer.

Stream service

A stream service is a type of ArcGIS Server service. Stream services are discoverable in Portal for ArcGIS, listed in the ArcGIS REST Services Directory for review, and can be administered using the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory. Stream services are created in GeoEvent Manager using an Send Features to a Stream Service Output Connector, which uses the Stream Service Transport.

Note:

Stream services do not contain multiple layers like map services or feature services, each stream service provides access to a single data stream.

See Stream services to learn more about stream services.

Tag

A tag is a label placed on a particular field of a GeoEvent Definition. Tags are similar to field aliases; they support consistency in expressions when different event definitions associate similar data with different field names. Certain built-in tags identify the GeoEvent Server fields containing critical information such as a TRACK_ID or GEOMETRY.

Track ID

A Track ID is a field in a GeoEvent Definition that relates GeoEvents to specific entities. For example, a truck might be identified by its license plate number or an aircraft by an assigned flight number. These identifiers can be used as Track ID's to track the events associated with a particular real-world entity or set of incidents. GeoEvent Server includes a built-in tag, TRACK_ID, which should be applied to the field of a GeoEvent Definition that supplies the unique identifier for an entity or incident.