Geospatial Systems Architecture Todd Bacastow

GIS Evolution

Number of Users Internet Viewer Component Hand-held Desktop Professional Functionality GIS Users

Market Forces Integrating spatial data analysis and map visualization into key business applications Moving and consolidating spatial data Moving client/server mapping applications to the web and looking to web services

What is an architecture? There is no universally agreed definition A system architecture defines the structure and/or behavior of a system Best be thought of as a representation It is also a process because a sequence of steps It can also be a discipline

Analogies Consider a community that maintains an infrastructure for a public service to homes and businesses. This infrastructure might include: – Electricity producers – Drinking water purification and distribution – Sewage treatment – Other waste disposal – Natural gas distribution – Public transport – Cable television and telephones – Roads and toll ways

Evolution business processes systems structure technical framework product technologies

Evolution business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

GIS Configuration Alternative: Stand alone business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

GIS Configuration Alternative: Connected Desktop business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

GIS Configuration Alternative: Centralized Configuration Alternative business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

GIS Configuration Alternative: Centralized Configuration Alternative business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

GIS Configuration Alternative: Federated business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

GIS Configuration Alternative: Mobile business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

Internet/Web Web Server Databases Broker Browsers Web Applications business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

Cloud Architecture Building Blocks GIS Portal Network architecture (Distributed) Loosely Coupled Internet Standards Many GeoServices Many Clients Metadata Servers Open / Interoperable Full GIS capabilities GIS Users GIS Portal Metadata Server Search Catalog and Find  Publish GIS Data & Services  Document in Catalog Connect and Use Checkout and Use World Wide Web Author, Manage, Serve Geographic Information Collections Author, Manage, Serve Catalogs business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

How? Consume and expose Web services for: – Mapping – Metadata – Data sharing and distribution – Geoprocessing Provide standard services and components for web developer (.Net, “generic XML/SOAP”, or Java API’s)

GIS Services Enterprise Web Server Databases Broker Browsers Web Applications Services business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

Integration business processes + systems structure + technical framework + product technologies

Another view of architecture Enterprise Information Computational Engineering Technology

System Architecture ISO Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) – Enterprise Viewpoint: It is directed to the needs of the users of an information system. – Information Viewpoint: It focuses on the information content of the enterprise. – Computational Viewpoint: It deals with the logical partitioning of the distributed applications independent of any specific distributed environment on which they run. – Engineering Viewpoint: It addresses the issues of system support (platform) for distributed applications. – Technology Viewpoint: The technology model identifies possible technical artifacts for the engineering mechanisms, computational structures, information structures, and enterprise structures.

Architecture Development.

Steps Defining Architecture Requirements. – to enable the system to meet the community’s goals and objectives. Defining a Candidate Architectures. – to evolve an architecture gradually. Defining Enterprise Architecture. – integrate it into an enterprise architecture model. Defining Reference Architecture. – a working example designed and proven for use in by the participants Validating a Reference Architecture.

Timing is everything

Readings GIS software architectures – Technology Technology ESRI GIS products – _Architecture _Architecture