Back to Top

Automate ArcGIS software deployment

Esri provides a variety of deployment automation tools and patterns that assist with the deployment of ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Enterprise, and other software that a user would deploy to an IT environment.

While there are a wide variety of automation tools that can be used with ArcGIS, from shell scripting to tools like Puppet or Ansible, Esri builds and releases two primary tool sets for this type of automation:

  • Provider-specific tools
  • Technology-based deployment tools

Provider-specific tools

Provider-specific tools are either programs that help to deploy into a specific provider environment, or artifacts that can be edited and then used to initiate a deployment into a specific environment. In either case, understanding your existing cloud footprint, network architecture, and existing assets is an important precursor to considering or selecting a tool. These tools include:

In either case, understanding your existing cloud footprint, network architecture, and existing assets is an important precursor to considering or selecting a tool.

Note:

It is also recommended to consider existing organizational standards for software deployment automation, and to align to those where possible. Suggesting a cloud builder when an organization prefers to use Terraform will introduce confusion and potentially slow down a deployment.

Technology-based tools

Technology-based tools are based on a specific automation technology and include Chef Cookbooks for ArcGIS and PowerShell DSC for ArcGIS. These are common technologies used by enterprise IT organizations to automate the deployment of a wide variety of software, and Esri’s commitment to alignment with IT standards has led to the preparation of these technology-specific tool sets.

These tools can be combined with other IT automation tools or systems such as Ansible or Puppet, and other automation steps, to achieve a useful level of deployment automation. The implementation of these tools is often configured specifically for an organization’s IT environment, but by integrating the technology-based deployment tools, a suitable degree of automation can generally be achieved. Some organizations might automate infrastructure deployment, install the software, and then create an image, relying on further automation to create the actual site contents or configurations based on environment-specific variables or considerations.

ArcGIS Pro software deployment automation

Organizations are often interested in automating their deployments of ArcGIS Pro, and while Esri does not release specific tooling for this pattern, these deployments are often compatible with other systems, such as Microsoft Systems Manager. For more information on automated deployments of ArcGIS Pro, see how to Install ArcGIS Pro Silently. With this approach, updates can also be installed automatically.

Additional considerations for organizational deployments of ArcGIS Pro include:

  • It is important to understand whether Pro is deployed to physical or virtual clients. Given the important graphic card requirements for ArcGIS Pro, a physical deployment automation may differ from a virtual deployment in the configuration parameters.
  • If using ArcGIS Pro with either Concurrent Use licensing or Named User licensing with ArcGIS Enterprise, ensure that clients where ArcGIS Pro is deployed have direct access to the ArcGIS License Manager through the required ports. See Named User licensing in ArcGIS Enterprise for more information.
  • Using ArcGIS Pro effectively at an organizational level also requires specific planning as to how data, content, projects, and templates will be accessed. For example, while a large file share approach may work with an on-premises deployment, a service-oriented approach to sharing data and configurations is recommended for a cloud-based deployment. Many item types including web maps or web scenes can be shared to and stored in ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online.
  • ArcGIS Pro performance testing tools like ProPAT can also be used to tune virtual configurations to support a higher rate of success with automated deployments.

Related resources:

Top