CreateGPSDDraft

Summary

The function converts Result objects and result files (.rlt) into Service Definition Draft (.sddraft) files.

Note:

A draft service definition does not contain data. A draft service alone cannot be used to publish a service.

Discussion

CreateGPSDDraft is the first step to automating the publishing of a geoprocessing result to a GIS Server using ArcPy. The output created from the CreateGPSDDraft is a Service Definition Draft (.sddraft) file. A Service Definition Draft is the combination of a result file or Result object, information about the server, and a set of service properties. A Result object can be created in a Python script by setting a variable to a tool execution, for example, the following buffer result gets saved to a variable called result:

import arcpy
result = arcpy.Buffer_analysis("inPts", "output.shp", "100 Meters")

Result files can be created by right clicking a result in the Results window and choosing Save As.

Information about the server includes the server connection, server type being published to, the type of service being published, metadata for the service (Item info), and data references (whether or not data is being copied to the server).

Service properties include geoprocessing and additional capabilities of the service such as Web Processing Services (WPS). The capabilities are not exposed as a parameter. If you need to modify the value (or any nonexposed parameter), you need to publish the sddraft first and modify the draft by editing the .sddraft using XML libraries such as xml.dom.minidom. Please refer to the example of modifying an sddraft for the usage of the library. Although the example is from a map service draft, you can use the same library and method for the GP service draft since it is an XML file.

The function returns a Python dictionary containing errors and other potential issues that you should address prior to creating your Service Definition file.

A Service Definition Draft can be authored without knowing the specific server connection information. In this case, the connection_file_path parameter may be omitted; however, the server_typemust be provided. A server connection can be provided later when the Service Definition Draft is published using the Upload Service Definition tool.

The Service Definition Draft can then be converted to a fully consolidated Service Definition (.sd) file using the Stage Servicetool. Staging compiles all the necessary information needed to successfully publish the GIS resource. If your data is not registered with the server, the data will be added when the Service Definition Draft is staged. Finally, the Service Definition file can be uploaded and published as a GIS service to a specified GIS server using the Upload Service Definition tool. This step takes the Service Definition file, copies it onto the server, extracts required information, and publishes the GIS resource. For more information, see the An overview of the Publishing toolset.

Syntax

CreateGPSDDraft (result, out_sddraft, service_name, {server_type}, {connection_file_path}, {copy_data_to_server}, {folder_name}, {summary}, {tags}, {executionType}, {resultMapServer}, {showMessages}, {maximumRecords}, {minInstances}, {maxInstances}, {maxUsageTime}, {maxWaitTime}, {maxIdleTime})

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
result [result,...]	A reference to one or multiple Result objects or result files (.rlt) on disk. Multiple results must be supplied in a list format. The following example demonstrates multiple results as input to the CreateGPSDDraft function. import arcpy r1 = arcpy.Buffer_analysis("inPts", "output.shp", "100 Meters") r2 = arcpy.GetCount_management("FireStations") arcpy.CreateGPSDDraft([r1, r2], "output.sddraft", "myservice")	Result
out_sddraft	A string that represents the path and file name for the output Service Definition Draft (.sddraft) file.	String
service_name	A string that represents the name of the service. This is the name people will see and use to identify the service. The name can only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores. No spaces or special characters are allowed. The name cannot be more than 120 characters in length.	String
server_type	A string representing the server type. If a connection_file_path parameter is not supplied, then a server_type must be provided. If a connection_file_path parameter is supplied, then the server_type is taken from the connection file. In this case, you can choose FROM_CONNECTION_FILE or skip the parameter entirely. ARCGIS_SERVER —ArcGIS for Server server type FROM_CONNECTION_FILE —Get the server_type as specified in the connection_file_path parameter (The default value is ARCGIS_SERVER)	String
connection_file_path	A string that represents the path and file name to the ArcGIS for Server connection file (.ags).	String
copy_data_to_server	A Boolean that indicates whether the data referenced in the result will be copied to the server or not. The copy_data_to_server parameter is only used if the server_type is ARCGIS_SERVER and the connection_file_path isn't specified. If the connection_file_path is specified, then the server's registered data stores are used. For example, if the data in the result is registered with the server, then copy_data_to_server will always be False. Conversely, if the data in the result is not registered with the server, then copy_data_to_server will always be True. (The default value is False)	Boolean
folder_name	A string that represents a folder name to which you want to publish the service definition. If the folder does not currently exist, it will be created. The default folder is the server root level. (The default value is None)	String
summary	A string that represents the Item Description Summary. Use this parameter to override the user interface summary, or to provide a summary if one does not exist. The summary provided here will not be persisted in the map document. (The default value is None)	String
tags	A string that represents the Item Description Tags. Use this parameter to override the user interface tags, or to provide tags if they do not exist. The tags provided here will not be persisted in the map document. (The default value is None)	String
executionType	Asynchronous and synchronous define how the client (the application using the task) interacts with the server and gets the result from the task. When a service is set to synchronous, the client waits for the task to finish. Typically, a synchronous task executes quickly—five seconds or less. An asynchronous task typically takes longer to execute, and the client must periodically ask the server if the task has finished and, if it has finished, get the result. A web application using an asynchronous task must have logic implemented to check the status of a task and handle the result once execution is finished. ArcGIS Desktop clients handle both execution types natively. (The default value is Asynchronous)	String
resultMapServer	When publishing a geoprocessing service, you can choose to view the result of all tasks with the service as a map (in addition to other results of your task). The map is created on the server using a Map Service for transport back to the client as an image (a .jpeg, for example). The symbology, labeling, transparency, and all other properties of the returned map are the same as the settings of your output layer. Remember, if you are creating result layers within the Python scripting environment (outside ArcMap), default symbologies will be used. To maintain control over symbology you will need to pre-create layer files with rich symbology and use them to modify the output symbology of your task. When you choose this option, a map service is automatically created on the server with the same name as your geoprocessing service. (The default value is False)	Boolean
showMessages	A string setting the message level for the geoprocessing service. The following is a list of valid message levels the service will return to the client. None —No geoprocessing messages are returned to the client, only whether the execution was successful or failed. Error —Only tool messages that produce an error are returned to the client. Warning —All tool error and warning messages are returned to the client. Info —All tool messages from execution are returned to the client. (The default value is None)	String
maximumRecords	The maximum number of results the service can return to a client. Setting this value to a large number means your GIS server can handle sending a lot of individual records or features to the client. If you don't want to return any features, set this value to 0 (zero). Typically, you set this value to zero only when you enable View result with a map service. (The default value is 1000)	Integer
minInstances	An integer value representing the minimum number of instances a service will start and make available for use. For heavily used services you may want to increase this value. (The default value is 1)	Integer
maxInstances	An integer value representing the maximum number of instances a service can start and make available for use. For heavily used services you may need to increase this value. Ensure the server has adequate hardware to support the maximum number of instances you will allow. (The default value is 2)	Integer
maxUsageTime	The maximum time, in seconds, that a service can be used. You may need to increase the default of 600 seconds (10 minutes) for long-running geoprocessing tasks. Alternatively, you may need to reduce this time to ensure a client will not abuse your services. (The default value is 600)	Integer
maxWaitTime	The maximum time, in seconds, that a client will wait to connect with an instance before timing out. When all instances are busy processing requests, subsequent requests are queued. If this time-out elapses before an instance becomes available, the task will fail. The default is 60 seconds (1 minute). (The default value is 60)	Integer
maxIdleTime	The maximum time, in seconds, that an instance will continue to be active before pool shrinking occurs. Any instances above the minimum number of instances that have not been used will be shut down once the idle maximum time value has elapsed. (The default value is 1800)	Integer

Return Value

Data Type	Explanation
Dictionary	Returns a Python Dictionary of information messages, warnings, and errors.

Code sample

CreateGPSDDraft example 1

The following script demonstrates the complete publishing of a geoprocessing service through Python scripting. Automating the publishing of geoprocessing services uses a combination of ArcPy functions and geoprocessing tools in the Publishing toolset. The workflow begins by executing a geoprocessing task that you want to publish. After you have successfully run the geoprocessing task, and have saved a result file, use the ArcPy function CreateGPSDDraft to create a service definition draft. Note that the Item Description, Summary, and Tags for the input geoprocessing result are overwritten using the summary and tags parameters. Next, you should analyze the service definition draft for issues that could prevent you from publishing successfully by using the AnalyzeForSD function. After analyzing the service definition draft and addressing serious issues, it is time to stage the service definition. Staging takes the service definition draft and consolidates all the information needed to publish the service into a complete service definition. Use the Stage_Service geoprocessing tool to stage the service definition. Finally, use the Upload_Service_Definition geoprocessing tool to upload the service definition to the server and publish the geoprocessing service.

import arcpy

result = "c:/gis/gp/Analysis.rlt"
connectionPath = "c:/gis/conections/myServer.ags"
sddraft = "c:/gis/gp/drafts/AnalysisDraft.sddraft"
sd = "c:/gis/gp/sd/AnalysisDraft.sd"
serviceName = "AnalysisService"

# Create service definition draft
arcpy.CreateGPSDDraft(
    result, sddraft, serviceName, server_type="ARCGIS_SERVER",
    connection_file_path=connectionPath, copy_data_to_server=True,
    folder_name=None, summary="Analysis Service", tags="gp",
    executionType="Synchronous", resultMapServer=False,
    showMessages="INFO", maximumRecords=5000, minInstances=2,
    maxInstances=3, maxUsageTime=100, maxWaitTime=10,
    maxIdleTime=180)

# Analyze the service definition draft
analyzeMessages = arcpy.mapping.AnalyzeForSD(sddraft)

# Stage and upload the service if the sddraft analysis did not
# contain errors
if analyzeMessages['errors'] == {}:
    # Execute StageService
    arcpy.StageService_server(sddraft, sd)
    # Execute UploadServiceDefinition
    arcpy.UploadServiceDefinition_server(sd, connectionPath)
else:
    # If the sddraft analysis contained errors, display them
    print(analyzeMessages['errors'])

CreateGPSDDraft example 2

This example demonstrates the creation and publishing of the extract data workflow and ensures the data is registered with the server. The Extract Data task takes input layers and allows the user to extract an area of interest, convert to another output type and receive a zip file back as output. The Extract Data tool only uses layers as input. This example creates multiple layers using the Make Feature Layer tool, runs the tool, creates a service definition draft and uploads the service definition to be used in service creation. Any layer that was created in the Python session of the workflow will be considered as possible input in the final service and available as a choice selection.

import os
import arcpy

connPath = "c:/gis/conections/myServer.ags"
sddraft = "c:/gis/gp/drafts/ExtractionDraft.sddraft"
sd = "c:/gis/gp/sd/AnalysisDraft.sd"
serviceName = "DataExtractor"
arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/gis/citydata"
aoi = "c:/gis/citydata/extract.shp"

# Create layers which will be available as input
arcpy.MakeFeatureLayer_management('Wiarton.gdb/places/Cityhall',
                                  'CityHall')
arcpy.MakeFeatureLayer_management('Wiarton.gdb/places/Airport',
                                  'Airport')
arcpy.MakeFeatureLayer_management('Wiarton.gdb/places/FireStations',
                                  'FireStations')

# Run the extract data task and assign it to the 'result' variable
# only the cityhall layer was used as input, but the airport and
# firestation layers will be used in the service creation
result = arcpy.ExtractDataTask_server(
    "CityHall", aoi, "File Geodatabase - GDB - .gdb", "ESRI GRID - GRID",
    os.path.join(arcpy.env.scratchFolder, "output.zip"))

# Make sure the folder is registered with the server, if not, add
# it to the datastore
if arcpy.env.workspace not in [
        i[2] for i in arcpy.ListDataStoreItems(connPath, 'FOLDER')]:
    # both the client and server paths are the same
    dsStatus = arcpy.AddDataStoreItem(
        connPath, "FOLDER", "CityData", arcpy.env.workspace,
        arcpy.env.workspace)
    print("Data store : {0}".format(dsStatus))

# Create service definition draft
arcpy.CreateGPSDDraft(
    result, sddraft, serviceName, server_type="ARCGIS_SERVER",
    connection_file_path=connPath, copy_data_to_server=False,
    folder_name=None, summary="Extraction Service",
    tags="extract data, clip")

# Analyze the service definition draft
analyzeMessages = arcpy.mapping.AnalyzeForSD(sddraft)

# Stage and upload the service if the sddraft analysis did not
# contain errors
if analyzeMessages['errors'] == {}:
    # Execute StageService
    arcpy.StageService_server(sddraft, sd)
    # Execute UploadServiceDefinition
    upStatus = arcpy.UploadServiceDefinition_server(sd, connPath)
    print("Completed upload")
else:
    # If the sddraft analysis contained errors, display them
    print(analyzeMessages['errors'])