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Create the Feature Download Service

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Introduction

With ArcGIS 10.2.1 for INSPIRE, the feature download service implements technical guidance (version 3.1) for the implementation of INSPIRE download services. The feature download service supports both predefined and direct download service options through a single WFS 2.0.0-based service type.

When an INSPIRE feature download service is created and started within ArcGIS 10.2.1 for INSPIRE, two stored queries are automatically created: urn:ogc:def:query:OGC-WFS::GetFeatureById for fetching feature by ID and urn:x-ii:def:query:OGC-WFS::GetDatasetByCrs for fetching data by CRS. These two stored queries can be used to extract predefined datasets through standard WFS 2.0.0 operations, and the service administrator can add additional stored queries if needed.

There is also now an Enable direct access option. This option enables direct data download through a standard WFS 2.0.0 getFeature operation without going through the stored query configured by the administrator. This option is disabled by default and can be enabled by the administrator if needed.

The data source that can be used for publishing feature download service is an enterprise geodatabase (see ArcGIS for INSPIRE System Requirements). If the geodatabase is based on the ArcGIS for INSPIRE geodatabase template, the features and respective GML encodings follow the INSPIRE data model application schemas. If the data is not yet harmonized, it can be published as is through a compliant feature download service interface (see as-is option below).

Overview

There are two methods to create, serve, and use an INSPIRE feature download service within ArcGIS. One method is to use a map document that can be created using the ArcGIS for INSPIRE desktop add-in. If the enterprise geodatabase is using the ArcGIS for INSPIRE Annex I template, publish it as an INSPIRE feature download service through ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS for INSPIRE Server Extension. The other method is to set up a connection to the INSPIRE geodatabase, publish it as a geodata service, and enable the INSPIRE feature download service. This topic provides steps for both methods. After setting up the INSPIRE feature download service using either method, you will need to configure its properties. Once the service is configured, you can use it. See Using the INSPIRE Feature Download Service for more information.

Note:

The following steps require a valid ArcGIS for INSPIRE geodatabase that includes data. The initial import of source data and the periodic process-controlled update of geodatabase data is not part of ArcGIS for INSPIRE.

Method 1: Create the INSPIRE feature download service using a map document

After creating a foundational map document for your feature download service, follow the steps below to create the service itself.

  1. In ArcMap, choose File > Share As > Service.
  2. In the dialog box that appears, choose Publish a service.
  3. Select an existing connection to ArcGIS for Server. If you don't have a connection yet, you can create one by selecting the ArcGIS Server connection option on the ArcCatalog table of contents.
  4. Provide a service name, and choose the folder where the service should be published.
  5. In the Service Editor > Capabilities interface, select the type INSPIRE Feature Download Service.
  6. Publish the service, and reopen the Service Editor.
  7. Now you will configure the INSPIRE feature download service. When you select the INSPIRE feature download service, the Properties menu item will display another dialog box with the capabilities of the INSPIRE feature download service. Configuring the properties consists of configuring basic information in the Common Properties section and additional detailed configuration in the Advanced Properties section. It is also possible to include additional stored queries if necessary.
  8. Configure Common and Advanced properties as discussed in the Configure properties section below.
  9. After setting the properties, you can complete the wizard.
  10. Starting and managing the INSPIRE feature download service is done the same way as Editing service properties in ArcGIS for Desktop; there is no further configuration needed.

Method 2: Create the INSPIRE feature download service using a geodatabase connection

To create an INSPIRE feature download service based on a geodatabase connection, follow these steps:

  1. Open ArcCatalog 10.1, and create a database connection to an enterprise geodatabase.
  2. Connect to that geodatabase.
  3. Right-click the connection entry and select Share as Geodata Service.
  4. In the dialog box that appears, choose Publish a service.
  5. Select an existing connection to ArcGIS for Server. If you don't have a connection yet, you can create one by selecting the ArcGIS Server connection option on the ArcCatalog table of contents.
  6. Provide a service name, and choose the folder where the service should be published.
  7. In the Service Editor > Capabilities interface, select the type INSPIRE Feature Download Service.
  8. Publish the service, and reopen the Service Editor.
  9. Now you will configure the INSPIRE feature download service. When you select the INSPIRE feature download service, the Properties menu item will display another dialog box with the capabilities of the INSPIRE feature download service. Configuring the properties consists of configuring basic information in the Common Properties section and additional detailed configuration in the Advanced Propertiessection. It is possible to also configure additional stored queries if necessary.
  10. Configure Common and Advanced properties as discussed in the Configure properties section below.
  11. After setting the properties, you can complete the wizard.
  12. See Approaches for publishing services with ArcGIS for starting and managing the INSPIRE feature download service; there are no further customizations needed.

Configure properties

There are two sections of properties to configure. Common properties will be discussed first; Advanced properties will be discussed later.

Common properties

Within the Common Properties section, you can define the language versions to be supported and the default language of the service. The Common Properties section appears when you select the INSPIRE feature download service capabilities in Service Editor.

The languages supported by a service instance can be configured by clicking the input field Supported languages, and clicking the desired languages from the list. This list includes all languages existing within the geographical limits of INSPIRE. Once selected, the language will be activated for the service. The default language of the service must be chosen from the Default language drop- down selection menu.

Note that adding an additional language may cause the requirement for adaptations in localization documents.

The standard mode of operation for the INSPIRE feature download service is active by default and requires INSPIRE-compliant data inside of the enterprise geodatabase. With this mode enabled, the service will expose data that strictly follows the GML application schema on INSPIRE Annex I Data Themes.

Enable direct access—This option enables the ability to access data directly through the standard WFS 2.0.0 getFeature operation without going through the stored query configured by the administrator. This option is disabled by default.

Enable stored query management through WFS 2.0.0—This option enables the ability to manage stored queries (including add and delete stored queries) by the user using the standard WFS 2.0.0 operation. This option is disabled by default so users can only access data through stored queries created by the administrator.

Use "as-is" mode for underlying data—See the detailed description near the bottom of this page regarding this option.

Advanced properties

After setting up the language version of the service in Common Properties, you will define further properties by clicking the Advanced Properties button. The properties will need to be specified for all supported languages.

There are three sections in the Advanced Properties section: properties of the service, contact metadata of the service, and properties for supported feature types. These correspond to sections in the Edit Properties interface and are described in the following table:

Advanced properties of the service

Property itemDescription and notes

Title

A title that describes the resource.

Abstract

Short summary for the content of a resource.

Keywords

Terms that capture the essence of the topic (e.g., words, expressions or formalized terms, in this case the terms are in regard to INSPIRE terms). It is recommended to use infoMapAccessService , INSPIRE, and Download Service as keywords for the INSPIRE feature download service.

Access constraints

Describes whether an access restriction exists that would protect the privacy or the intellectual property. Also provides a special restriction for accessing resources or metadata.

Default-Value: None.

Fees

Default-Value: No conditions apply.

Online resource (http/GET)

The URL under which the service is available for http/GET requests, prepopulated. Changing this is important if you run the service behind a reverse proxy.

Online resource (http/POST)

The URL under which the service is available for http/POST requests, prepopulated. Changing this is important if you run the service behind a reverse proxy.

Inspire spatial dataset identifier code

Unique Resource Identifier code.

Inspire spatial dataset identifier namespace

Unique Resource Identifier namespace.

Metadata URL

Metadata URL for use by an INSPIRE Discovery Service describing this service instance.

Metadata published at (YYYY-MM-DD)

Publication date of the metadata that describes the service.

Metadata contact organization

INSPIRE is more demanding than ISO 19115 by mandating both the name of the organization and a contact email address. The role of the responsible party serving as a metadata point of contact is out of scope of the Metadata Regulation, but—according to INSPIRE View Service TG 3.0—this property is mandated by ISO 19115.

Metadata contact mail

Metadata contact email, see above.

Service created at (YYYY-MM-DD)

To be compliant with the INSPIRE Metadata Regulation, and with ISO 19115, one of following dates shall be used: date of publication, date of last revision, or date of creation. Date of last revision is preferred. The date shall be expressed in conformity with the INSPIRE Metadata Regulation.

Service last revised at (YYYY-MM-DD)

See above.

Service published at (YYYY-MM-DD)

See above.

Individual temporal extent value covered by the service (YYYY-MM-DD)

See above.

Begin of temporal extent covered by the service (YYYY-MM-DD)

See above.

End of temporal extent covered by the service (YYYY-MM-DD)

See above.

Bounding box: minX value

X value of lower left corner. Used for service bounding box in capabilities response.

Default-Value: -180 (if left empty).

Bounding box: minY value

Y value of lower left corner. Used for service bounding box in capabilities response.

Default-Value: -90 (if left empty).

Bounding box: maxX value

X value of upper right corner. Used for service bounding box in capabilities response.

Default-Value: 180 (if left empty).

Bounding box: maxY value

X value of upper right corner. Used for service bounding box in capabilities response.

Default-Value: 90 (if left empty)

Degree of conformity

Choose conformant or not conformant when the conformity to the cited specification has been evaluated. In the case where the evaluation has passed, the degree is conformant; otherwise it is not conformant. Choose not evaluated when the conformity to the cited specification has not been evaluated. The default value is not evaluated.

GEMET keywords

Additional keywords can be defined using the INSPIRE GEMET vocabulary. The keywords chosen here will be added to the KeywordList element.

Contact metadata of the service—The party responsible for the metadata of the INSPIRE feature download service is specified in this section. The interface provides default placeholder values that you should update accordingly.

Supported Feature Types—This part of the dialog box allows you to choose the feature types to be supported by the service. This section is available only when using the ArcGIS for INSPIRE geodatabase template. If you set up the feature download service based on an ArcGIS Map Service, the number of feature types to be selected is limited to those feature types corresponding to the layers in your map document. For feature download services based on a geodatabase connection, you can check or uncheck those feature types you want to be available/unavailable.

Note:

For an As-Is feature download service, the feature type is automatically set as the feature class name. The available feature types can be configured by modifying the value in wfsUseDataAsIsFeatureTypes through the REST admin page.

Add Stored Query—An administrator can add additional stored queries by clicking the Add Stored Query button. Add stored query can also be done through an HTTP POST operation if the Enable stored query management through WFS 2.0.0 option is enabled.

To Add Stored Query, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Add Stored Query button
  2. Paste the stored query XML into the text field. The query XML needs to be in the format conforming to WFS 2.0.0. The following is an example:
    <wfs:CreateStoredQuery service="WFS"
    version="2.0.0"
    xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/wfs/2.0"
    xmlns:fes="http://www.opengis.net/fes/2.0"
    xmlns:gco="http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gco"
    xmlns:gmd="http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gmd"
    xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml/3.2"
    xmlns:gml31="http://www.opengis.net/gml"
    xmlns:gsml="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/GeoSciML-Core/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlbh="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/Borehole/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlc="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/Collection/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlem="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/EarthMaterial/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlga="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/GeologicAge/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlgm="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/Geomorphology/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlgt="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/GeologicTime/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlgu="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/GeologicUnit/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlla="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/LaboratoryAnalysis-Specimen/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlpp="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/PhysicalProperties/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlst="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/GeologicStructure/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmltrs="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/TemporalReferenceSystem/3.0"
    xmlns:gsmlu="http://xmlns.geosciml.org/Utilities/3.0"
    xmlns:ogc="http://www.opengis.net/ogc"
    xmlns:sld="http://www.opengis.net/sld"
    xmlns:swe="http://www.opengis.net/swe/2.0"
    xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs/2.0"
    xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
    xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
    xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
    
    <StoredQueryDefinition id="urn:x-ii:def:query:OGC-WFS::GetDatasetByCrs2">
              <wfs:Title xml:lang="en">Get Dataset by ID</wfs:Title>
           <wfs:Parameter xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs/2.0" name="CRS" type="xs:anyURI"/>
              <wfs:QueryExpressionText isPrivate="false"
                   language="urn:ogc:def:queryLanguage:OGC-WFS::WFSQueryExpression"
                   returnFeatureTypes="au:AdministrativeBoundary">
                   <wfs:Query srsName="${CRS}" typeNames="au:AdministrativeBoundary">
                   </wfs:Query>                                      
              </wfs:QueryExpressionText>
         </StoredQueryDefinition>
    </wfs:CreateStoredQuery>
  3. Click the Test button to validate and test the query XML. If the XML is validated, click on Apply to create the stored query.
  4. After the stored query has been created, restart the service
  5. Use the stored query following standard WFS 2.0 operation.

Delete Stored Query: To delete a stored query, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Show Details button next to a stored query.
  2. Click the Delete button, and click OK.
  3. Restart the service
Note:

if the Enable stored query management through WFS 2.0.0 option is enabled, predefined queries can be added and deleted through respective WFS 2.0.0 CreateStoredQuery and DropStoredQuery operations.

To manage queries, the ArcCatalog user must have file-level access to the ArcGIS for Server config store folder and subfolders. Alternatively, predefined query administration can be managed using standard WFS 2.0.0 web based operations.

Save and reuse INSPIRE service properties

It is possible to save the properties for reuse by other services; for example, you can save the INSPIRE feature download service properties file for reuse, and load it when you start editing another INSPIRE feature download service. The steps are the same as those for an INSPIRE view service. See Create the INSPIRE View Service for detailed instructions.

Enable/Disable caching

When the caching option is set to true (configurable), ArcGIS for INSPIRE will pregenerate the getCapabilities response at the service start-up; this will improve the getCapabilities operation response time, especially for services with a large number of layers. Caching is set to true by default. Follow the steps below to enable/disable caching:

  1. Go to the REST admin page (e.g., http://servername:6080/arcgis/admin).
  2. Choose Services > Select the service > edit > find parameter "cacheGetCapabilities".
  3. Set its value to true/false accordingly.
  4. Save the edits.

Create an INSPIRE feature download service using the As-is mode

Starting at ArcGIS 10.2.1 for INSPIRE, it is possible to publish non-harmonized INSPIRE data via an INSPIRE-compliant feature download services based on WFS 2.0.0 through the use "as-is" mode for underlying data option within ArcGIS for INSPIRE. When this option is enabled, all features are encoded and exposed as-is, and feature types will reflect the feature classes defined by the map document or included in the geodatabase (for geodata service).

To configure the INSPIRE feature download service for the as-is mode, complete the following steps:

  • Click the use "as-is" mode for underlying dataoption.
  • Provide the prefix for the inspire data. The prefix is required. The prefix and layer name together uniquely define the feature type described in the WFS getCapabilities document under the namespace specified in the next step.
  • Provide the namespace for the inspire data. The namespace is required.

Note:
  • When using the as-is mode with an enterprise geodatabase not based on the ArcGIS for INSPIRE geodatabase template, the PredefinedDatasets table available in the template must be copied into the geodatabase, and the connecting user needs to have write permission for the table.
  • When creating the map document, the .mxd can reference only one geodatabase.
  • Currently, the as-is mode does not work if the geodatabase or the .mxd contains raster layers.
  • If publishing the as-is service using the .mxd, those layers in the .mxd will be made available by default. If publishing the as-is service using the geodata service, those layers in the geodatabase will be available by default, and the list of the layers available can be controlled by modifying the value for the wfsUseDataAsIsFeatureTypes parameter through the ArcGIS Server Rest admin page. The syntax of the value is "/featureclassname1/featureclassname2/…/".