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Create a geodatabase on Amazon RDS for SQL Server

Use the Create Database Connection geoprocessing tool to connect to an existing instance of Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for SQL Server. Use the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool to create a geodatabase in the database. Run both tools from an ArcGIS client installed on an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance running in the same region as the database instance.

All geodatabases in Amazon RDS for SQL Server must be sde-schema geodatabases.

You need to create your own enterprise geodatabase in the following situations:

  • You use ArcGIS Enterprise deployment tools for Amazon Web Services (AWS) to deploy an ArcGIS Server site, but you want to customize the name or location of the geodatabase you register with your ArcGIS Server site.
  • You use ArcGIS Enterprise deployment tools for Amazon Web Services (AWS) to deploy an ArcGIS Server site, but you have multiple departments that maintain their own discrete data and require their own geodatabases.
  • You configure a stand-alone ArcGIS Server site on AWS using the Amazon Web Services Management Console. In this case, you must create your own databases, sde and data owner login roles, sde and data owner schemas, and geodatabases, and register the geodatabases with the ArcGIS Server site.

The first set of steps below describes creating additional geodatabases for an ArcGIS Server site on AWS that was created using an Esri Amazon Web Services (AWS) CloudFormation template or the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder Command Line Interface for Amazon Web Services. The second set of steps explains how to create enterprise geodatabases in Amazon RDS for SQL Server without using ArcGIS Enterprise on Amazon Web Services deployment tools.

Add a geodatabase to an existing Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance

Follow these steps to create an additional enterprise geodatabase in Amazon RDS for SQL Server to use with an ArcGIS Server site running on Amazon Web Services instances that you launched using an Esri CloudFormation template or the ArcGIS Enterprise Cloud Builder CLI for AWS:

  1. Connect to the Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance from SQL Server Management Studio using the master login. For instructions, see the AWS topic Connecting to a DB Instance Running the Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine.

    You may need to open ports in your security group to do this.

  2. Do all of the following from SQL Server Management Studio:
    1. Create a database. Store the database and log files on the D drive of the instance. Set other database configuration settings as you require.
    2. Create an sde user in the database that is mapped to the sde login.
    3. Create an sde schema and set it as the sde user's default schema.
    4. Grant the sde user the privileges necessary to create a geodatabase as listed in Privileges for geodatabases in SQL Server.
    5. Create a user who will own and publish data. Map this user to the EsriRDSAdmin login.
    6. Create a schema owned by the user created in the previous step.
    7. Grant the new user the minimum privileges listed for data creators in Privileges for geodatabases in SQL Server.

    For instructions on creating a database, login, user, and schema, see Microsoft SQL Server technical documentation.

  3. Connect to the EC2 instance where ArcGIS Pro is installed and connect from ArcGIS Pro to the new database, but connect using the sde login.
  4. Open the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tool in ArcGIS Pro and specify the database connection you made in the previous step.
  5. Specify the authorization file for ArcGIS Server.

    This is stored on the C drive of the instance in \\Program Files\ESRI\License<release#>\sysgen.

  6. Click OK to run the tool and create a geodatabase.

Once you have a geodatabase, create a connection to it and register it with ArcGIS Server.

Add an Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance to ArcGIS Server on AWS

Follow these steps to create an Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance to use with your ArcGIS Enterprise on Amazon Web Services instance; create logins, users, and schemas; grant the sde user privileges to create a geodatabase; grant the data owner user privileges to create data; and run the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tool to create a geodatabase.

  1. Follow the instructions in the AWS documentation to create a database instance running SQL Server.

    To create an instance in Amazon VPC, see the AWS help for Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and Amazon RDS.

  2. Use SQL Server Management Studio to connect to the SQL Server database instance you created in the first step.
  3. Do all of the following from SQL Server Management Studio:
    1. Create a database. Store the database and log files on the D drive of the instance. Set other database configuration settings as you require.
    2. Create a SQL Server authenticated login named sde.
    3. Create an sde user in the database that is mapped to the sde login.
    4. Create an sde schema and set it as the sde user's default schema.
    5. Grant the sde user the privileges necessary to create a geodatabase as listed in Privileges for geodatabases in SQL Server.
    6. Create a SQL Server authenticated login to be used to store and publish data.
    7. In the database, create a user that is mapped to the login created in the previous step.
    8. Create a schema, owned by the user you created in the previous step.

      The schema must have the same name as the user.

    9. Grant the new user the minimum privileges listed for data creators in Privileges for geodatabases in SQL Server.

    For instructions on creating a database, login, user, and schema, see Microsoft SQL Server Technical Documentation.

  4. Connect to the EC2 instance where ArcGIS Pro is installed and connect from ArcGIS Pro to the new database, but connect using the sde login.
  5. Open the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tool in ArcGIS Pro and specify the database connection you made in the previous step.
  6. Specify the authorization file for ArcGIS Server.

    This is stored on the C drive of the instance in \\Program Files\ESRI\License<release#>\sysgen.

  7. Click Run to create a geodatabase.
  8. From the Catalog pane, connect to the geodatabase with the login for the data owner.
  9. Use the connection file created in the last step to register the geodatabase with ArcGIS Server.

    For instructions, see Register managed data stores.