ArcGIS GeoEvent Server can be deployed in a virtualized environment such as VMware vSphere. GeoEvent Server virtualization and cloud environment support are the same as for ArcGIS Server. Refer to the ArcGIS Server system requirements for the current list of supported versions.
Virtualized hardware in your infrastructure is different from cloud infrastructure, which is managed by a cloud provider. When using a virtualized environment, you still own, operate, and maintain the hardware infrastructure on which the virtual machines run. You may choose to use virtualized hardware to increase resource efficiency, improve disaster-recovery capabilities, or test a new operating system, all while maintaining the infrastructure on-premises. GeoEvent Server can also be deployed on cloud infrastructure, which transfers responsibility for powering and maintaining physical infrastructure to the cloud provider. To learn more about GeoEvent Server in the cloud and Esri cloud deployment tools, see ArcGIS Enterprise in the cloud.
Best practices for virtualized environments
Physical hardware is typically preferred over a virtual environment. However, GeoEvent Server can perform well in a virtual environment if that environment offers full resource isolation. Virtual instances that are isolated at the hardware level provide the dedicated resources GeoEvent Server will benefit from and the failover and scaling features that most virtual environments offer provide additional flexibility and resiliency. Issues with performance, reliability, and resiliency have all been observed in virtual environments that do not provide resource isolation and dedication.
In addition to resource isolation, selection of system resources is key. Optimized CPU, RAM, and local storage all make a difference on any machine (physical or virtual). For more information on resource selection, see Allocating machine resources. When deploying GeoEvent Server in a virtualized hardware infrastructure, several best practices should be followed to optimize stability and performance.
- Ensure enough resources are available or directly assigned to the host hypervisor, including CPU and memory resources. If specific guidance is needed on the number of resources to leave available and how to assign those resources, refer to the documentation for the hypervisor provider.
- Because GeoEvent Server can be very disk-intensive, ensure individual virtual machines do not run on the same single physical disk. If possible, use high-performance solid-state drives (SSD's).
- Install and run GeoEvent Server side-by-side with other ArcGIS Enterprise components in a single virtual network to avoid disrupting communications.
- Event feed partitioning with multiple machines is much more effective when scaling the system than adding additional resources to a single machine.
If configuring failover, high-availability, or separate ArcGIS Server sites for separate purposes, follow the recommendations above to determine the size of machines in each site.
Deploy GeoEvent Server on VMware
GeoEvent Server can be deployed on VMware in much the same way it is deployed on physical hardware. Both Windows and Linux are supported.
Follow the steps below to deploy GeoEvent Server on VMware.
- Create a VMware template with ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS GeoEvent Server installed.
- Launch a virtual machine (VM) from your template, rename the machine, and reboot it.
- Create the ArcGIS Server site on the VM.
- Optionally, launch additional VM's and join them to the site.
- Configure services, applications, and optionally ArcGIS Web Adaptor (which integrates the site with your enterprise web server).
Below are some considerations for deploying GeoEvent Server on VMware.
Create a VMware template with GeoEvent Server installed
First, create a VMware template as a primary copy of the GeoEvent Server virtual machine (VM). This template can be used to create and provision additional identical virtual machines. When building the template, consider the following:
- Install ArcGIS Server, create the single-machine site, install ArcGIS GeoEvent Server and authorize it. Since GeoEvent Server is deployed on a single-machine ArcGIS Server site, joining a site later is not necessary.
- Optionally, import a GeoEvent Server configuration into GeoEvent Server. Each virtual copy of the template will use the same GeoEvent Server configuration, saving time if a machine needs to be duplicated or recreated.
- On Windows, GeoEvent Server is configured to start automatically with a delay when the operating system starts. On Linux, this needs to be configured manually.
GeoEvent Server is compatible with virtualized environments and does not need special configurations to run on VMware or connect to an ArcGIS Enterprise running on VMware.
Launch a VM from a template and rename the machine
For details on utilizing a VMware template with ArcGIS Server, see Deploy an ArcGIS Server site on VMware.
Renaming the machine does not affect the GeoEvent Serverconfiguration if one was loaded into the template. If machine specific resources exist in the GeoEvent Server configuration, it is recommended to create the configuration after the VM is launched or import one from an XML configuration file (which can be modified in a text editor).
The machine can be added to the network, if necessary, so it can reference the other enterprise GIS components.
Backup and recovery of a site
One advantage of virtualized environments such as VMware is the ease of backing up your site and recovering it in case of issues. VMware templates can be used to preserve the machine settings. The backup and restore utilities provided by ArcGIS Server are not applicable or available with GeoEvent Server.
GeoEvent Server will store backups of the configuration to the local disk. Consider copying and storing the backup files (GeoEventBackup-<date>.xml) on a machine separate from the site and on a physical server if possible.
For details on backing up GeoEvent Server, see Automatic backup and Backup configuration file.