ArcGIS Web Adaptor (IIS) allows ArcGIS Server to integrate with your existing web server. See the system requirements page for more information about supported operating systems for ArcGIS Web Adaptor (IIS).
The Web Adaptor is an application that runs in your existing website and forwards requests to your ArcGIS Server machines. It polls your site at a regular interval to learn which machines have been added or removed. It then forwards traffic to only the currently participating machines. When you prepare to expose your ArcGIS Server site to an external audience, you should install the Web Adaptor or implement comparable request forwarding and security technology.
Benefits of the Web Adaptor
The Web Adaptor provides the following benefits:
Allows you to integrate ArcGIS Server with your organization's existing web server. By including a web server in your site, you gain the ability to host web applications that use your GIS services.
Allows you to provide a single endpoint that distributes incoming requests to the ArcGIS Servers in your site.
Allows you to expose your ArcGIS Server through your organization's standard website and port. Use the Web Adaptor if you don't want users to see the default port 6080 or the default site name arcgis.
Allows you to block the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory and ArcGIS Server Manager from the view of external users.
Allows you to block ArcGIS Desktop users from establishing administrative or publisher connections to ArcGIS Server.
Allows you to use your organization's identity store and security policies at the web-tier level. For example, if you're using IIS, you can use Integrated Windows Authentication to restrict who enters the portal. You can also use a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) if the web server has built-in or extensible support. This allows you to provide a single sign-on or other custom authentication experience when logging in to use services, web applications, and ArcGIS Server.
Web Adaptor deployment scenarios
The Web Adaptor can be used in various ArcGIS Server site configurations. For example, in a site with a single ArcGIS Server machine, you can install the Web Adaptor on the same machine as the ArcGIS Server machine, or offload it to a dedicated web server. In a multiple-machine deployment, you can have one entry point into your site by installing the Web Adaptor on a single web server, or you can establish redundancy at the web server tier by installing the Web Adaptor on multiple web servers.
The Web Adaptor's version must always match the version of its registered ArcGIS Server site. If you've configured multiple Web Adaptors on a single web server, you can use different version numbers for all the Web Adaptors.
Legacy:
In version 10.2 and earlier, all Web Adaptors on a single web server were required to use the same version number; running the setup upgraded all existing Web Adaptors to the latest version.
The Web Adaptor is platform independent of ArcGIS Server; therefore, the Web Adaptor you deploy does not have to match the operating system platform of your ArcGIS Server site. For example, if you have a site comprised of Linux machines, you can deploy the ArcGIS Web Adaptor (IIS) to work with ArcGIS Server.
For a detailed description of the different ways you can integrate the Web Adaptor into your existing site architecture, see Deployment scenarios.
Accessing your services with the Web Adaptor installed
After installing and configuring the Web Adaptor, the URLs that you use to access your services will change. Below are some examples of URLs that would change after installing a Web Adaptor to use port 80:
Services Directory (REST web services)
Without the Web Adaptor: http://gisserver.domain.com:6080/arcgis/rest/services.
With the Web Adaptor: http://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services. For example, if the machine hosting your Web Adaptor is named wa with the domain myorg.net and your Web Adaptor is named arcgis, you'll access the Services Directory using the URL http://wa.myorg.net/arcgis/rest/services.
SOAP web services
Without the Web Adaptor: http://gisserver.domain.com:6080/arcgis/services.
With the Web Adaptor: http://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/services. For example, if the machine hosting your Web Adaptor is named wa with the domain myorg.net and your Web Adaptor is named arcgis, you'll access SOAP web services using the URL http://wa.myorg.net/arcgis/services.
The Web Adaptor setup experience
The Web Adaptor has its own setup and installation guide which is separate from the ArcGIS Server installation. You must install the Web Adaptor on a machine running a web server. This can be a machine already running an ArcGIS Server site or a separate machine.
To learn more about the setup experience, see An overview of implementing the Web Adaptor with ArcGIS Server.