Configure utility services

As an administrator of your organization, you can configure the portal to use different services to perform the following tasks: printing, geocoding, geometric calculations, spatial analysis, and routing. These are referred to as utility services. To learn more about these services, see About utility services.

The way you configure utility services for your portal depends on the service and where it originates.

Types of utility services

Use the following links to see a description of the utility services you can use in your portal. Once you decide which utility services you want to use, proceed to the instructions to configure utility services with your portal.

• Printing
• Geocoding
• Geometry
• Directions and Routing
• GeoEnrichment
• Orthomapping Elevation
• Elevation
• Hydrology

Printing

You can add the following types of print services to the portal:

• A print service from a federated or hosting server

  Note:

  Only steps 2 through 5 below are required when you add the print service from your hosting server to the portal.

• A print service that requires credentials and is from an ArcGIS Server site that is not federated with your portal
• A print service that does not require credentials and is from an ArcGIS Server site that is not federated with your portal

Beginning at 10.3.1, when you specify a hosting server for your portal, the hosting server's print service is automatically started and configured with the portal; however, you need to share the print service to the organization to use it in the portal. If you configured a print service prior to Portal for ArcGIS 10.3, upgraded your portal, and then specified a hosting server, the URL is not updated when specifying a hosting server.

When you configure a print service with the portal, you must add the task name of the service to the REST URL. For example, add /Export%20Web%20Map%20Task for the ArcGIS Server default PrintingTools service or /Export%20Web%20Map for a custom print service. The URL will look similar to the following:

• An ArcGIS Server preconfigured print service: https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services/Utilities/PrintingTools/GPServer/Export%20Web%20Map%20Task
• A custom ArcGIS Server print service: https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services/folder/servicename/GPServer/TaskName

Asynchronous print services are not supported.

Geocoding

You can configure multiple geocoding services with your portal. The following types of geocoding services are supported:

• A geocoding service from a federated or hosting server.
• A geocoding service that requires credentials and is from an ArcGIS GIS Server site that is not federated with your portal.
• A geocoding service that does not require credentials and is from an ArcGIS GIS Server site that is not federated with your portal.
• The Esri World Batch Geocoder. You must provide credentials for an ArcGIS Online account that has credits associated with it to use this service.

The ArcGIS World Geocoding Service is configured as a geocoding utility service by default. If you want to geocode tables of addresses, configure one of the following as an additional geocoding utility service:

• An ArcGIS Server geocoding service for which the Geocoding operation is enabled.

  The URL for a geocoding service from an ArcGIS Server is in the format https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services/folder/servicename/GeocodeServer.

• The Esri World Batch Geocoder from ArcGIS Online.

  To configure the Esri World Batch Geocoder as a geocoding utility service, go to the ArcGIS Online tab and check the Geocode check box under Configure Utility Services. Be aware that the ArcGIS Online credentials you provide must have privileges in ArcGIS Online to geocode, and that using this service consumes ArcGIS Online credits.

A locator is used to search for and locate addresses and places on a map. You can specify locators that members of your portal can access. You can add a locator by referencing the URL of your own locator or by pointing to an existing locator view in your portal.

Note:

If you specify one or more locator views along with ArcGIS World Geocoding Service, users may see multiple matching suggestions when searching for locations. To ensure an optimal publishing and geosearch experience, configure batch geocoding and geosearch as appropriate when configuring locators for your portal.

To add a locator, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in as a portal administrator.
2. At the top of the site, click Organization and click the Settings tab.
3. Click Utility Services on the left side of the page.
4. In the Geocoding section, click Add Locator and do one of the following:
   • Select From URL and enter the URL to the locator—for example, https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer.
   • Select From Existing Locator and select the locator item you want. Only locators shared with your organization or with the public are available for selection.
5. For Locator Name, enter the name you want to appear in the drop-down menu of locators on the site (for example, in Map Viewer).

   Tip:

   Choose a descriptive name for the locator—for example, Restaurant Locator.

6. For Placeholder Text, enter a hint that will appear in the input box on the site.

   Tip:

   Make the hint as clear as possible—for example, Enter a restaurant name.

7. Check the appropriate boxes if you want to allow geosearch and batch geocoding, and click OK.
8. Repeat the process to add additional locators.
9. You can manage the locators in the following ways:
   • To edit an existing locator, click the edit button next to the locator and make your updates. Click OK to save your changes.
   • To delete an existing locator, click the delete button next to the locator.
   • To reorder how the locators appear in the geosearch drop-down menu on the site, click the up or down arrow next to the locator.
10. Click Save.

Tip:

To reset locators back to the default locator, delete the URL and click Save. When you refresh the page, you see the default URL. If your portal needs to delete a locator item in the future, you must remove it from the list before deleting the item.

Geometry

You can add the following types of geometry services to the portal:

• A geometry service from a federated or hosting server
• A geometry service that requires credentials and is from a server that is not federated with your portal
• A geometry service that does not require credentials and is from a server that is not federated with your portal

The preconfigured geometry service included with all ArcGIS Server sites is stopped by default. You must explicitly start the service before you can access its URL, which will be in the format https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services/Utilities/Geometry/GeometryServer.

A custom ArcGIS Server geometry service URL is in the format https://gisserver.domain.com:6443/arcgis/rest/services/folder/servicename/GeometryServer.

Directions and routing

You can add the following types of directions and routing services to the portal:

• Esri network utility services on ArcGIS Online. To use these services, you must provide credentials for an ArcGIS Online organizational account that has credits associated with it. The following services are included:
  • Routing
  • Closest Facility
  • Asynchronous Closest Facility
  • Service Area
  • Asynchronous Service Area
  • Vehicle Routing Problem
  • Asynchronous Vehicle Routing Problem
  • Location Allocation
  • Routing Utilities
  • Asynchronous Routing Utilities
  • Traffic

• Your own network utility services for use in a portal that is restricted to a disconnected environment. For instructions, see these deployment steps.

GeoEnrichment

You can add the Esri GeoEnrichment Service from ArcGIS Online to your portal. To use this service, you must provide credentials for an ArcGIS Online organizational account that has credits associated with it.

The Business Analyst web app leverages GeoEnrichment as a utility service in the Enterprise portal to create sites, reports, infographics and much more. GeoEnrichment capabilities are provided with Business Analyst Server and can be configured in portal following the steps below:

1. Sign in to the portal website as an Administrator of your organization
2. At the top of the site, click Organization and click the Settings tab.
3. Click Utility Services on the left side of the page.
4. Enter the URL for your GeoEnrichment Service, for example, https://webadaptor.domain.com/arcgis/rest/services/DefaultMap/geoenrichmentserver.
5. Click Save.

Note:

The offline data included with Business Analyst Server will support GeoEnrichment with data associated with analysis locations in the United States only. An Esri Services engagement is needed for support with international data.

Orthomapping Elevation

This service is used by the Ortho Maker web app, from initial image collection creation to block adjustment and final product creation. For Ortho Maker users, if your portal is not connected to the internet, or if you have higher-resolution data you want to use with the app, you can publish an orthomapping elevation service and add its service URL here. If you do not have your own orthomapping elevation service and your portal's users have access to the internet, add the Esri Orthomapping Elevation Service from ArcGIS Online.

Elevation

The portal uses two elevation services: an elevation utility service for analysis and an elevation service used in Scene Viewer.

For analysis, you can add the Esri World Elevation Service from ArcGIS Online to your portal. To use this service, you must provide credentials for an ArcGIS Online organizational account. Alternatively, you can configure a custom elevation utility service to use if your portal is not connected to the internet.

For Scene Viewer, if your portal is not connected to the internet or you have higher resolution data you want to use for the Scene Viewer elevation service, you can publish an elevation service and update the portal's Elevation3D Service setting.

Hydrology

You can add the Esri Hydrology Service from ArcGIS Online to your portal. To use this service, you must provide credentials for an ArcGIS Online organizational account.

Configure utility services with your portal

How you configure utility services depends on where the service originates. Follow the instructions specific to the origin of the service you want to configure as a utility service for your portal.

• If the service is provided by Esri and requires credentials from an ArcGIS Online account, use the ArcGIS Online tab on the Settings page of your portal to select the service to be configured and store the account credentials. See Configure ArcGIS Online utility services for steps on how to do this.
• If the service is from a federated server, start the service, share the service, and configure it as a utility service.
• If the service is not from a federated server and requires credentials, add the service as an item in your portal, specify credentials to the service, share the service, and configure it as a utility service. Services from secured ArcGIS Server sites are added in this way.
• If the service is not from a federated server and does not require credentials, add the URL directly to the Utility Services dialog box.

Note:

If your portal accesses any of the utility services over HTTPS, but the ArcGIS Server site on which the utility service runs uses a certificate that is either self-signed or issued by an internal Certificate Authority, you must configure the portal to trust that certificate. For instructions on how to do this, see Configuring the portal to trust certificates from your certifying authority.

If the service is from a federated server

1. On the ArcGIS Server site that you have federated with your portal, start the services that you want to configure as utility services. You can do this by logging in to ArcGIS Server Manager with a portal member account with administrator privileges. Manager is typically available through a URL such as https://gisserver.domain.com:6443/arcgis/manager. The ArcGIS Server preconfigured print and geometry services are stopped by default.
2. Sign in to the portal website as an administrator of your organization and click the My Content tab of the content page.
3. Click the name of the service that you want to configure as a utility service to open the item's details page.
4. On the Overview tab, click Share and specify who can access this service.

   How you share a service depends on who needs to use the functionality the service provides. For example, if you want anyone who connects to the portal to see thumbnails and print maps, share the print service with Everyone. If you want to allow your portal members to geocode locations, but you don't want anonymous users to do this, share the geocode service with the portal organization. If you want to restrict the use of analysis tools that require GeoEnrichment to the members of specific groups, share the GeoEnrichment service with those groups only.

5. Click OK to apply the Share settings.
6. Copy the URL at the bottom of the Overview tab.
7. Open the Organization page of the portal website and click the Settings tab.
8. Click Utility Services.
9. Paste the service URL into the appropriate utility service field. Ensure that you append the task name to the service if it is a print service or route service. See the sections on specific utility services above for details.
10. Click Save.

If the service is not from a federated server and requires credentials

1. Sign in to the portal website as an administrator of your organization and click the My Content tab of the content page.
2. Click Add Item > From the web .
3. On the Add item from the web dialog box, select the ArcGIS Server web service option and specify the URL to the service.
4. Since this is a secure service, you must provide credentials to access it. Type a valid user name and password to access the service, and select Store credentials with service item. Do not prompt for authentication. to save the credentials.
5. Enter a title and tags for your service and click Add Item.

   The details page for the item appears.

6. On the Overview tab, click Share to specify who can access the service.

   How you share a service depends on who needs to use the functionality the service provides. For example, if you want anyone who connects to the portal to see thumbnails and print maps, share the print service with Everyone. If you want to allow your portal members to geocode locations, but you don't want anonymous users to do this, share the geocode service with the portal organization. If you want to restrict the use of analysis tools that require GeoEnrichment to the members of specific groups, share the GeoEnrichment service with those groups only.

7. Click OK to apply the Share settings.
8. Copy the URL at the bottom of the Overview tab.
9. Open the Organization page of the portal website and click the Settings tab.
10. Click Utility Services.
11. Paste the service URL into the appropriate utility service field. Ensure that you append the task name to the service if it is a print service or route service. See the sections on specific utility services above for details.
12. Click Save.

If the service is not from a federated server and does not require credentials

1. Sign in to the portal website as an administrator of your organization.
2. At the top of the site, click Organization and click the Settings tab.
3. Click Utility Services.
4. Paste the service URL into the appropriate utility service field. Ensure that you append the task name to the service if it is a print service or route service. See the sections on specific utility services above for details.
5. Click Save.
6. Repeat these steps as necessary to configure other services as your utility services.

Tip:

To reset the utility services back to their default URLs, delete the URL for each utility service you have configured and click Save. When you return to the Utility Services page, the URLs will be reset to their defaults.