FW: Info on MapServer

[P Kishor]

Good golly... this should be converted into a FAQ, or, into a "What
you need to know about MapServer before you begin."

Very well explained answers Frank.

On 11/6/06, Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam at pobox.com> wrote:
> Raj writes:
> >    1. Is this a complete web based engine where we could offer a web
> >       based solution on the same with around 200-300 users accessing the
> >       application simultaneously for map viewing.
>
> Raj,
>
> MapServer will support 200-300 users with an appropriately configured
> application, though I'd consider that a high load for a single machine
> serving maps and you would likely need to be quite careful about how
> your application is setup.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by a "complete web based engine".  MapServer
> is not a GIS and does not endevour to have a complete set of GIS
> functionality.  You may also find you need a variety of related projects
> to achieve some ends.  In particular there are many layered software
> packages that can be used with mapserver to make building web applications
> easier.  Packages such as CartoWeb, Chameleon, Mapbender, MapBuilder,
> and ka-Map (as a few examples).  You will want to review some of these
> higher level packages as part of your review of mapserver.
>
> >    2. Do you have any benchmarks on the map rendering speed on the web
> >       with the above load? If so kindly furnish us the same.
>
> I do not, perhaps others do.  Generally speaking you are best off
> doing some benchmarking yourself, and understanding that performance can
> be very sensitive to a variety of issues (data organization, machine
> memory, etc).
>
> >    3. Does the map engine support the following features.
> >          1. Map navigating tools zoom in, zoom out, distance,  info
> >             tool, auto pan, centering
>
> yes
>
> >          2. Does it support both vector and rastor map data set?
>
> yes
>
> >          3. Does it support MS-SQL and Oracle as backend database for
> >             the attributes?
>
> Yes, though the normal MapServer model is for the attributes to be
> conceptually stored with the spatial geometry.  Trying to do joins on the
> fly can be problematic, especially in performance sensitive situations.
>
> Note that there is good Oracle Spatial support built in.  Access to
> MS-SQL is via the OGR ODBC driver and can be considered weaker.
>
> >          4. Does it support animation layer? i.e. creating point objects
> >             on the fly over web ?for eg. Vehicle tracking.
>
> I believe you would need to use a client side toolkit such as MapBuilder
> to have AJAX style client side animation.  Or perhaps you just mean
> rendering from dynamic datasets?  This is quite possible.
>
> >          5. Does it support radial distance / search?
>
> yes
>
> >          6. Does it support buffering for line and point objects?
>
> yes, though this is a new feature, I think accessible only in mapscript.
>
> >          7. Does it support editing the layers on the web – like
> >             creating points, drawing lines etc.
>
> Generally speaking no, MapServer does not support feature editing well.
> There are some environments (Mapbender?) that address this sort of need,
> but I think they post changes back to transactional WFS'es like GeoServer.
> Use of GeoServer as a WFS and MapServer as a WMS is a fairly common
> configuration for such requirements.
>
> >          8. Does it have a distance calculator?
>
> I am not aware of one built in, though environments like Chameleon may
> include this.
>
> >          9. Which is map data format supported? Does it support both
> >             shape files (ESRI), MapInfo format as well Oracle spatial or
> >             any other geo-database format.
>
> The "native" format is shapefiles (in the sense this is the original and
> in many ways best optimized format), but Oracle Spatial is also well
> supported.  Via OGR a variety of formats are supported including mapinfo
> (mid/mif and tab), etc.
>
>    http://www.gdal.org/ogr/
>
> >    4. Does the map server have a licensing cost and does it have any
> >       restrictions with respect to number of simultaneous users?
>
> No, sorry.  We are missing this feature.
>
> >    5. What is the level of support and documentation provided for a
> >       serious user like us?
>
> I'd suggest you visit the mapserver website to judge the available
> documentation.  If you want support you can call on the mapserver
> mailing lists but for serious support you may consider contracting
> with experienced mapserver consultants including firms like DM Solutions,
> or MapGears, and individuals such as Steve Lime, or Howard Butler.
>
> I personally think that MapServer and related projects is a great solution
> for consultants and integrators willing to spend some time learning MapServer
> and who have the experience and knowledge to customize and extend things
> when required.  This gives great flexibility in providing exactly the solution
> a client needs, and ensures you aren't trapped into the licensing/pricing
> scheme of a vendor who may be insensitive to your needs or the needs of
> some of your clients.
>
> Best regards,
> --
> ---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
> I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
> light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
> and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGeo, http://osgeo.org
>


-- 
Puneet Kishor http://punkish.eidesis.org/
Nelson Inst. for Env. Studies, UW-Madison http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/
Open Source Geospatial Foundation https://edu.osgeo.org/
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