There are multiple ways to publish web layers that reference registered data to federated servers in an ArcGIS Enterprise deployment.
- You can publish from ArcGIS Pro.
- You can place prebuilt caches in a folder or cloud storage data store and create a 3D tiles layer, scene layer, tile layer, or vector tile layer in the portal that references the caches.
- If you own a database data store item that references a relational database, you can publish all accessible feature classes and tables from the data store item in the portal.
- If your organization has a raster analysis or image hosting server, you can create imagery layers from files in a folder or cloud data store you access from the portal. However, these layers are hosted imagery layers and do not maintain a reference to the files in the data store.
- You can create a feature layer that references a custom data provider if one has been registered to a federated server.
Once published, you can use the layers described in the next sections in the maps and apps you create.
What you can publish to federated ArcGIS Server sites from ArcGIS Pro
To publish layers from ArcGIS Pro that reference your source data, you must register the folder or database that contains the data with the federated server. You can register the data source in ArcGIS Pro or add the data source as a data store item in the portal. You can then publish to one of the federated servers with which you registered your data source.
For instructions to publish from ArcGIS Pro, see Introduction to sharing web layers and its related pages in the ArcGIS Pro help.
What you can publish from a data store item
When you add a data store item to your organization, it registers the data source with the federated servers you specify. When you publish content from this data store item in the portal, you publish to one of those federated servers. See User-managed data stores in ArcGIS Enterprise for more information on what you can publish from each type of data store item.
Imagery layers that run on federated sites
If you have raster files in a registered folder or cloud data store, you can create imagery layers from the Content page in your ArcGIS Enterprise portal. When you publish from the data store, the files stay in the source location. This saves time when publishing because the data does not have to be copied to a federated ArcGIS Image Server. It also saves on duplicating storage space for the same data. An imagery layer item is added to the portal and the underlying image service runs on the federated ArcGIS Image Server.
The option to create an imagery layer is available if the organization administrator configured a raster analysis or image hosting server for the portal.
Feature layers that reference custom data providers
To publish feature layers that reference custom data providers, the data providers must be registered with a federated server. This can be done using ArcGIS Server Manager, the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory, or from the command line. You can then create feature layers from your organization's Content page.
Item and service dependencies
How an item is created affects the relationship between the portal item and the underlying service, which, in turn, affects how you manage the portal item. See Services and portal items for information on item and service dependencies and the impact on editing and deleting items.