ArcGIS Server connects people with geographic information via Web applications and services. Organizations use ArcGIS Server to distribute maps and GIS capabilities over the Web to improve internal workflows, communicate vital issues, and engage stakeholders.
With ArcGIS Server, you can:
* Take control of your spatial data through a centralized management of data, applications, and services.
* Provide fast access to large volumes of imagery using Image services, with the option for dynamic mosaicking and on-the-fly processing, reducing storage costs and data processing overhead.
* Improve decisions and productivity with Web mapping services and applications that can be delivered to your Web, desktop, and mobile workforces.
* Leverage your existing IT architecture by integrating a GIS server and spatial data with other enterprise systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
* Rapidly meet specialized demand for focused applications by mashing up geographic content with GIS functionality.
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What's New in ArcGIS Server 9.3
Here are just a few of the quality enhancements and new features you get with ArcGIS Server 9.3.
Create GIS Web Mashups with New ArcGIS JavaScript APIs
Innovative new ArcGIS JavaScript APIs make it easy to include ArcGIS Server maps in Web pages or develop complete GIS applications. You can easily combine your services with others such as ArcGIS Online basemaps. The ArcGIS JavaScript API extensions allow you to mashup ArcGIS Server maps, data, tasks, and geoprocessing services with Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth to take advantage of those popular Web maps.
These freely available APIs dramatically simplify creating Web applications and let developers unleash a new generation of GIS mashups incorporating trusted GIS content and professional grade GIS analysis.
Test drive Web mashup demos created with the ArcGIS JavaScript API.
Improved Support for KML and Other Standards
KML support has also been greatly enhanced at 9.3. Map services you publish with ArcGIS Server 9.3 can now be accessed directly via a URL in clients that support KML network links like ArcGIS Explorer and Google Earth, and the results of geoprocessing, queries, and geocoding can also be returned as KML. People can use search engines like Google to discover maps and other services you publish and launch them directly in Web clients for easy integration with other Geoweb content.
Support for additional OGC standards has been enhanced to include to cover Web Coverage Services (WCS), Transactional Web Feature Services (WFS-T), and Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) support for WMS.
Easier to Create High Performance Cached Map Services
ArcGIS Server 9.3 makes it easier to create cached map services and gives you more control over how your cache gets built and updated. You can cache particular areas on your map or create the cache on demand as your service is used. Caching your map services for display with ArcGIS Online, Google Maps, and Microsoft Virtual Earth is much easier as those tiling schemes are now built into the caching tools.
Enhanced Security
ArcGIS Server's new role-based security at 9.3 lets you manage access to your services and applications for different users. It is easy to configure security using the new Security tab in the Server Manager. 9.3 also introduces the option to use token-based security for Web services and applications.
Better Diagnostics
More detailed logging at 9.3 makes it easier to track down problems and bottlenecks occurring on your GIS server.
Advanced Imagery Capabilities with the ArcGIS Image Server Extension
ArcGIS Image Server is now an optional extension to ArcGIS Server providing a complete imaging solution that enables you to manage and process huge volumes of raster data and provide enterprise-wide access to the data from GIS, CAD, imaging, and Web applications. Unlike simply serving your imagery as a map service, ArcGIS Image Server lets you serve image services that allow image processing and analysis to be performed directly by client applications. The ArcGIS Image Server extension dramatically shortens the time between image capture and making imagery available to end users. At 9.3, image services can be used as full raster data sources throughout ArcGIS, and performance, editing capabilities, and developer options have been improved.
New Resource Center and Improved Documentation
The ArcGIS Server Resource Center brings together the various online resources for the product including documentation, help, support pages, forums, blogs, Web basemaps, and best practices information.
Major additions have been made to the Server documentation, especially in the areas of publishing your GIS content and geoprocessing services on the Web, administering your server, and developing Web applications including many new code samples.
Also, take a look at the many enhancements to the geodatabase and ArcGIS Mobile coming with the ArcGIS 9.3 release.
For additional details, download the What's New in ArcGIS 9.3 document [PDF].
Listen to podcasts from the 2008 ESRI Developer Summit.
* Building Mash-ups Using the ArcGIS Server JavaScript API
* ArcGIS Server REST API
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Source Information : http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/whats-new/server.html
