There are many ways to make imagery and raster data available on the web. Choose a publishing method based on what capabilities you need.
Dynamic imagery layers
Dynamic imagery layers and dynamic image services are published in ArcGIS Enterprise and are typically generated from a mosaic dataset or a collection of images. They are based on a single image or a collection of images that provide dynamic processing capabilities on the data for custom visualization in a map.
When a dynamic image service is referencing image files that are stored on and managed by ArcGIS Enterprise, it is considered a hosted imagery layer and appears in the portal as Imagery Layer (hosted). When a dynamic image service is referencing image files stored in a data store, it is no longer managed by ArcGIS Enterprise and appears in the portal as Imagery Layer. When you publish a dynamic image service from ArcGIS Pro, it is shared as a web imagery layer. Dynamic image services can be shared, queried, and analyzed in Map Viewer Classic, and processing and rendering are performed by the server.
An ArcGIS Image Server license is required to publish a dynamic image service to ArcGIS Enterprise.
Tile caches
Cached layers are organized collections of image tiles for specific geographic extents, projections, and levels of detail that are pregenerated on a server. Cached map layers include cached map services and cached image services and can be generated from a map, a raster or mosaic dataset, or an elevation dataset. Cached layers support fast visualization of prerendered maps, since the images are prerendered as many tiles and the server distributes the prerendered tiles whenever you open the layer. These map layers are created and stored on the server after you upload your data. They are appropriate for basemaps that give your maps geographic context.
Tile caches are sets of tiles (images) generated from a map, a raster or mosaic dataset, or an elevation dataset. These tiles can be displayed quickly in web maps at different scales, and they cannot be used as inputs to analysis tools. When elevation data is used to generate a tile cache, it is considered a web elevation layer.
Tile caches are not reprojected in web maps, so the projection and tiling schema must match that of the basemap, or the tile cache must be used as the basemap.
Map image layers
Map image layers are collections of map cartography organized by location and scale. These layers can include both features and imagery, and they can be displayed dynamically or as cached image tiles.
The source of a map image layer is a map service, so the feature layers contained in the service may be identifiable in a web map. However, if raster data is included in the map image layer, pixel value and band information is not available in the map image layer. You cannot perform raster analysis with a map image layer. Raster or imagery data in a map image layer operates much like a tile cache. As you browse the map, new map images are generated and displayed.
Map image layers can be dynamically displayed over basemaps that use a different coordinate system. For map image layers displayed as cached image tiles, the tiling schema must match that of the map's basemap or the map image layer must be used as the basemap.
Compare capabilities
There are various capabilities available for each option for sharing your imagery data on the web.
The following table shows capabilities available with each layer option.
| Capability | Dynamic imagery layer | Tile cache layer | Map image layer |
|---|---|---|---|
Layer can be added to a web map or an ArcGIS Pro project |  | | |
Symbology can be modified in web map | | ||
Layer can be used as input to raster analysis tools | | ||
Layer can be used as input to deep learning inferencing tools | | | |
Can get pixel values using Identify or pop-ups | | ||
Supports multiband imagery, where band information and pixel values can be accessed | | ||
Supports multidimensional data | | ||
Layer can be published with predefined raster function templates | | ||
Layer can include multiple images, optionally with different projections and pixel sizes | | ||
Supports server-side dynamic mosaicking and processing | |