Scope and structure

This website contains four main sections of content:

• The Overview introduces ArcGIS for an IT audience, providing an overview of the system’s capabilities, key software architecture concepts and design decisions, and information on Esri’s extensive support for our customers.
• ArcGIS System Patterns includes eight system patterns - common and composable examples of systems built with ArcGIS. The key capabilities of each pattern are discussed in detail, along with different deployment options, considerations for deployment, and potential integrations with other system patterns.
• The Architecture Practices section includes technical articles that provide short-to-medium length understanding, guidance and recommendations on key technologies and best practices. The six architecture pillars covered in this section are foundational technical concepts that should be considered in the design of any ArcGIS system, with special relevance to the system patterns.
• The Architecture Library contains additional resources that are either more specific, product or version-based, or more detailed than is appropriate for the system patterns and architecture practices sections. The library includes blogs, technical articles, examples of novel prototyping or functionality, and reference architectures for some popular industry-specific systems.

The ArcGIS Well-Architected Framework and Architecture Center website are intended to augment existing ArcGIS product documentation, Esri Academy or instructor-led training, or a consulting services system architecture design process.