Lesson 1: System Design Process

The purpose of this lesson is to share a system design methodology that promotes successful deployment of geographic information system (GIS) technology. This system design methodology includes guidelines for identifying business requirements, making appropriate software selection, using properly configured data sources, and providing sufficient hardware to meet user productivity needs. This lesson focuses on system performance and scalability - building a GIS that will perform during peak operational loads. Much more can be said about business requirements analysis (GIS User Needs) and available software functionality - GIS business planning is not the focus of this course. Dr Roger Tomlinson (Father of GIS) provides an excellent book that shares a proven framework for comprehensive GIS planning called Thinking about GIS. Understanding the information products you want out of the GIS and identifying the software candidates you might use to produce these information products is a prerequisite for completing your system architecture design. The Planning for Building a GIS video series shares an overview of this business process analysis planning methodology. 
 * Thinking about GIS



Reference documentation

 * 1) What is System Architecture Design
 * 2) What is the System Design Process?
 * 3) Building a GIS: Implementation strategy
 * 4) Capacity planning terminology
 * 5) GIS business planning
 * 6) Monitor performance compliance

Reference documentation

 * 1) GIS business planning
 * Pre-design efforts
 * CPT tab: Workflow Loads Analysis
 * System Design Process
 * CPT demo: User requirements analysis
 * CPT demo: Network suitability analysis
 * CPT demo: Platform architecture selection
 * CPT demo: Software configuration
 * CPT demo: Enterprise system design

Exercise 1: Use the Platform Capacity Calculator to identify the best platform selection
Your company has approved funding to purchase new hardware for your upcoming ArcGIS Server deployment. You are interested in purchasing a server with an entry-level ArcGIS Enterprise Advanced license. You will use the Platform Capacity Calculator to identify performance and capacity for the available server candidates.


 * Download the Arc19CapacityPlanning0201 CPT for use in the class exercises
 * Click here for Exercise 1 where you will perform the following tasks:
 * Use performance metrics from your current operational environment to establish a performance baseline for your existing ArcGIS Server REST mapping services.
 * Evaluate peak capacity for each of the offered bundle configurations.
 * Evaluate the effect of user productivity on your peak concurrent user estimates.
 * Finally, evaluate optional virtual server deployment options.

"Best practice: Questions on SADSwiki content can be answered through the GeoNet Implementing GIS Architecture and Security forum."

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Specific license terms for this content System Design Strategies 26th Edition - An Esri ® Technical Reference Document • 2009 (final PDF release)