Install ArcGIS Server

After installing any prerequisites as detailed in the system requirements, begin installing the ArcGIS Server software. The most common configuration for a single-machine deployment is to install all components.

The ArcGIS Server Installation Guide contains detailed information about the software installation process. It also contains a list of system requirements and prerequisites for ArcGIS Server. You can open the guide by clicking the Install Guide button on the first panel of the setup.

During installation, you will be prompted to provide a name and password for the ArcGIS Server account. You can choose an existing account, or you can create a default account on the local machine during set up. Remember that the account you specify does not have to be part of the Administrators group. For production systems, it's recommended that you use an existing account that resides in your domain or active directory and follows your organization's security policy. Creating a local account during the installation is primarily for the convenience of quickly installing ArcGIS Server. To learn more about the ArcGIS Server account and best practices for configuring it, see The ArcGIS Server account.

Sign in to Manager and create a site

ArcGIS Server Manager is a web application you can use to administer ArcGIS Server. The first time you log in to Manager, you're helped through the process of creating an ArcGIS Server site. See Log in to Manager and Create a new site for more information.

Install and configure the Web Adaptor

If you are preparing your site for a production deployment, install ArcGIS Web Adaptor. Web Adaptor provides a link between your enterprise web server and your ArcGIS Server site. It allows you to choose the port, address, and authentication settings you want to use for incoming requests. It also prevents outside users from accessing Manager and the Administrator Directory. For more information, see About the ArcGIS Web Adaptor.

Integrate the server with ArcGIS Enterprise

Though it can be deployed as stand-alone software, integrating ArcGIS Server with the ArcGIS Enterprise portal enables efficient workflows for your organization. There are three ways in which ArcGIS Server can be used with a portal:

1. You can federate one or more ArcGIS Server sites with the portal to integrate its security and sharing models.
2. You can assign a federated ArcGIS Server site to act as the portal's hosting server, allowing users to publish data and maps to a wider audience as web services.
3. You can register individual services from any ArcGIS Server site with the portal, whether or not it is federated (or even if it is your own server).

Learn more about integrating your server with ArcGIS Enterprise

Connect to the server in ArcGIS Pro

Most of your work publishing services occurs in ArcGIS Pro, where you create your maps, tools, and other content.

Connect to a GIS server explains the three types of connections between ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Server: user connections, publisher connections, and administrative connections.

In ArcGIS Pro, you can make a user connection to your ArcGIS Server site. With a user connection, you can browse the server site's content from within your desktop application and add it to your maps. A user connection alone does not allow you to publish to the server or make administrative changes.

If you are working in ArcGIS Pro, you can connect to your ArcGIS Enterprise portal to share web maps, web layers, and other GIS content. The sharing process publishes one or more services to a federated ArcGIS Server site, which will power the content in the portal. You do not need to establish a direct connection with the server if it's federated with your portal. If you have a stand-alone ArcGIS Server site at 10.6 or later, you can make a publisher connection from ArcGIS Pro to publish services.

Grant permissions to data directories

Any data referenced by its services must be read by ArcGIS Server. The data is read using the ArcGIS Server account you specified when you installed the software.

The items you publish are copied to the server where the ArcGIS Server account has been granted access. Usually, these items reference other data sources; for example, a map often references multiple feature classes and raster datasets that comprise its layers. If you do not want all of this other data to be copied to the server automatically, explicitly grant the ArcGIS Server account permissions to read the data, and register the location with ArcGIS Server (see Register data below).

1. If the folder is shared, grant at least read share permissions to the ArcGIS Server account for the folder.

2. Grant at least read file permissions to the ArcGIS Server account for the folder.

If your data is accessed through an enterprise geodatabase, ensure that your username and password are saved in the database connection. For detailed help with accessing enterprise geodatabases through ArcGIS Server services, see Make your data accessible to ArcGIS Server. This topic also explains what to do if your data is stored on a machine where no other ArcGIS Server components are installed.