1. Introduction¶
GeoCat Bridge© for Esri ArcGIS Desktop® enables the user to publish local map layers as WMS/WFS map services on a GeoServer or MapServer map server and the related metadata in a GeoNetwork Opensource catalog. You can also choose to save the metadata and Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) documents on your computer so you can use them to publish on other server software.
The extension has been developed by GeoCat. Bridge is not an Esri® product. GeoCat focuses on the development, customization and support of cutting-edge geospatial software, especially geospatial catalog software on both server and desktop. GeoCat provides all-in-one solutions for the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) that offer a geospatial catalog, map server and map client. The solutions are based on established Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects, open standard protocols and will be customized to the needs of different clients.
The founder of GeoCat worked for many years with the United Nations where he founded the GeoNetwork Opensource project. Today GeoNetwork Opensource can be considered the leading open source geospatial catalog application with numerous (inter)national geo-portal implementations.
License Levels¶
Bridge for Esri ArcGIS Desktop® is available in two license levels: Standard and Premium. A special education license is also available.
This table compares the Standard and Premium features:
Feature comparison¶
| Feature | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| One-click configuration wizard | ||
| Shapefile support | ||
| Personal geo-database support | ||
| (Geo)TIFF images | ||
| Basic metadata properties | ||
| Contacts management | ||
| Data licenses management | ||
| Local publishing | ||
| Publish to GeoServer and Mapserver | ||
| Publish to multiple servers | ||
| Profile support (INSPIRE, Dutch profile) | ||
| Publishing map data to a PostGIS server | ||
| Reference datastores GeoServer (ArcSDE, OracleNG) | ||
| MapServer MapCache Support | ||
| Bridge Commandline Interface |
Licensing¶
A GeoCat Bridge license is tied to your physical machine. On activation with your license key Bridge sends a unique identifier to the GeoCat license server to register your machine for use with GeoCat Bridge. If you want to start using Bridge on a different machine, then the one you initially registers with, you will need to contact the GeoCat helpdesk to unregister your current machine from the license server.
Citrix and remote desktop protocol¶
When running Bridge in a Citrix or Windows Server environment (connecting through remote desktop protocol, also known as RDP) GeoCat Bridge will not associate the physical machine with license, but rather the combination of the server host name and the user name. This means that in a Citrix or Windows Server environment, the license is tied to a unique user.
Floating licenses¶
GeoCat Bridge also offers floating licenses. This requires a separate license server, which your organization can only connect to. You can either choose to self host, or let GeoCat do the hosting. Contact us to get a quote on hosting of the floating license server (info@geocat.net).