An ArcGIS Enterprise deployment optimized for your needs may require several machines or a machine with a large amount of memory or disk space. Using a cloud deployment through Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides flexibility and scalability for deploying the machines you require. To simplify the creation of ArcGIS Enterprise deployments on AWS, use ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services.
ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services includes a graphical user interface application and the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder Command Line Interface for Amazon Web Services utility, which allows you to automate cloud deployments of ArcGIS Enterprise. To use either of these applications, confirm you meet the prerequisites and download the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services file from My Esri.
Both the app and command line interface use Esri AWS CloudFormation templates to deploy software stacks.
Note:
When you use ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services to create an ArcGIS Enterprise deployment, Cloud Builder creates a separate Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance to use as a file share for the base deployment and one for each federated server machine. At this time, you cannot create a single EC2 file server for all parts of an ArcGIS Enterprise deployment, nor can you use existing EC2 file shares for deployments you create using Cloud Builder.
Prerequisites
Before you run the Cloud Builder app or command line utility, you need the following items. Ask your IT administrator if you are unsure how to obtain them.
- An AWS account.
- An AWS access key and corresponding secret access key, or an AWS profile name set on the machine where you will run Cloud Builder.
- License files for Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS GIS Server, and any ArcGIS Server licensing roles you have in addition to the base deployment. All license files must be for the same ArcGIS version.
- An SSL certificate file or files (.pfx) and corresponding passwords.
- A Microsoft Windows machine to run Cloud Builder.
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 installed on the machine where you'll run Cloud Builder.
- The latest 64-bit version of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio installed on the machine where you will run the Cloud Builder app.
Accept AWS terms
Before you use an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) for the first time, including new versions of an AMI you used before, you must read and accept the AWS Marketplace terms. Cloud Builder 11.2 uses Microsoft Windows Server 2019 and Ubuntu Server 20.04 machine images by default. If you have not used those images before, you may need to accept AWS Marketplace terms so that ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services can use the images to create or upgrade deployments.
Download ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services
Download the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services file from My Esri and double-click the file to run the setup wizard.
When you install ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services, a working directory is created for Cloud Builder. The default location is C:\Users\<Windows_userid>.esri\ArcGIS\CloudBuilder<release#>\AWS. This is where Cloud Builder stores log files, configuration information, and other output files in the following directories:
- Configuration
- Logs
- Output
If multiple users share the same computer, each user has a working directory containing the directories and content listed above. Each time someone runs the Cloud Builder app or command line utility, Cloud Builder checks that this user is the person who installed it or has run the app or utility before. If the user is not the person who installed it or has not run the app or utility before, a new working directory is created for the user.
Having a working directory for each user allows all users on the machine, not only Windows administrators, to use Cloud Builder. In addition, because there are separate working directories for each person who runs Cloud Builder from the same machine, no one can access anyone else's AWS credentials in the configuration files.
ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for AWS 11.2 is supported on the following Windows operating systems:
| Operating system | Latest update or service pack tested |
|---|---|
| Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise (64 bit) | Sept 2023 update |
| Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise (64 bit) | Sept 2023 update |
| Windows Server 2022 Standard and Datacenter | Sept 2023 update |
| Windows Server 2019 Standard and Datacenter | Sept 2023 update |
| Windows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter | Sept 2023 update |
ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services app
Use the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services app if you want an interactive experience for provisioning resources and deploying ArcGIS Enterprise on AWS. Decide what ArcGIS components you need before deploying, as the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services app does not currently include functionality to add components to an existing deployment.
- Deploy ArcGIS Enterprise on a single Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance and the federated servers you require.
- Create a highly available ArcGIS Enterprise deployment and the federated servers you require.
- Create a stand-alone ArcGIS Server site.
Once it is installed, you can open the app from the Start menu on your computer.
Set preferences (optional)
You can set a default AWS region for your deployment and a default size for the root drives of the Amazon EC2 instances in the deployment. As you move through the app, the region and drive size options will be prepopulated with the preference values you set.
To set these preferences, open the app, sign in to your AWS account, and click the Preferences link at the bottom of the Deployments page of the app.
Manage deployments
Deployments you create using ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for Amazon Web Services appear in a list of existing deployments when you open the app. From this list, you can do the following:
- Stop or start a deployment.
- View information about the deployment.
- Access the portal and ArcGIS Server Manager.
- Create a deployment that is similar to an existing deployment.
- Delete a deployment and its resources.
- Upgrade a deployment (applies to specific ArcGIS versions created using the Cloud Builder app).
Deployments you create using other methods do not appear in this list.
ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder Command Line Interface for Amazon Web Services
The ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder Command Line Interface for Amazon Web Services utility is an intuitive tool for automating cloud deployments of ArcGIS Enterprise.
To create an ArcGIS Enterprise deployment on Amazon Web Services (AWS) using ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS, you use two JSON files, your Microsoft Windows computer's command prompt, and the AWS Management Console in your browser. The two JSON files—one to prepare for installation and another to deploy—can be modified from the sample files available in the Configuration folder in the Cloud Builder installation location. Always keep your configuration file in the Cloud Builder installation location.
Use a text editor, such as Notepad ++, to edit the JSON files. Once you alter the JSON files, open a Command Prompt console, change directories to the folder where you extracted Cloud Builder, and run the Cloudbuilder.exe. Specify the correct JSON file and the required command to prepare (PREP) or create (CREATE) a deployment.
- Cloudbuilder.exe PREP -j <prepfilename.json>
- Cloudbuilder.exe CREATE -j <createfilename.json>
The other commands do not require JSON files. They are as follows:
- Cloudbuilder.exe LIST --aws-access-key <access key> --aws-secret-access-key <secret access key> or Cloudbuilder.exe LIST --aws-profile-name <aws profile name>
- Cloudbuilder.exe STOP -d <deployment name> --aws-access-key <access key> --aws-secret-access-key <secret access key> or Cloudbuilder.exe STOP -d <deployment name> --aws-profile-name <aws profile name>
- Cloudbuilder.exe START -d <deployment name> --aws-access-key <access key> --aws-secret-access-key <secret access key> or Cloudbuilder.exe START -d <deployment name> --aws-profile-name <aws profile name>
- Cloudbuilder.exe DELETE -d <deployment name> --aws-access-key <access key> --aws-secret-access-key <secret access key> or Cloudbuilder.exe DELETE -d <deployment name> --aws-profile-name <aws profile name>
- Cloudbuilder.exe {-v | --version}
- Cloudbuilder.exe {-h | --help}
The PREP command automates several tasks that you are required to complete before creating a deployment. It creates a network stack and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) bucket for your deployment, uploads all necessary authorization files and the SSL certificate to the bucket, and imports your SSL certificate to AWS Certificate Manager. The PREP command is only necessary the first time you create a specific ArcGIS Enterprise deployment, if you have not already done these steps manually.
The CREATE command creates a base ArcGIS Enterprise deployment and can create and federate one additional machine for each ArcGIS Server licensing role you specify. Once you have run the command to create your initial deployment, you can run it later with an updated file to add more sites to the deployment. A file server instance is created for the portal, and one file server instance is created for each ArcGIS Server site in the deployment.
The LIST command returns a list of all deployments in your account that you created using the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for AWS app or command line interface. The list contains five columns: Deployment Name, AWS Region, ArcGIS Version, Deployment Status, and Deployment State.
The STOP command stops all Amazon EC2 instances associated with the deployment you specify. You can only use this command to stop deployments created using the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for AWS app or command line interface.
The START command starts all Amazon EC2 instances associated with the deployment you specify. You can only use this command to start deployments created using the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for AWS app or command line interface.
The DELETE command deletes your deployment and associated AWS resources. It can only delete a deployment created using the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS or ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder for AWS app.
The version or -v option returns the current version of ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS.
The help or -h option displays syntax and examples for ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS commands.
To get started using ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS to create a deployment, see Prepare deployment resources using the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS PREP command.