ArcGIS Server Custom Data Feeds allow you to access and use data from data sources that are not natively supported with ArcGIS. Data from Custom Data Feeds can be served to web clients, desktop apps, and field apps as read-only feature services.
The ArcGIS Server Custom Data Feeds implementation is a customization and administration workflow. It involves multiple ArcGIS Enterprise software components configured together. To implement a custom data feed, you must have the following software components described below configured correctly.
ArcGIS Server
You must have a federated or stand-alone ArcGIS Server site ready to deploy custom data package files (.cdpk) and host feature services that serve data through your custom providers.
See the ArcGIS Server installation guide for information on installing and configuring ArcGIS Server to meet your organization's requirements.
ArcGIS Enterprise SDK
Install the ArcGIS Enterprise SDK on your client machine to configure the Custom Data Feeds (CDF) command line tool. The CDF command line tool allows you to create, test, and package custom data providers that can be registered with ArcGIS Server. You must install a version of Node.js between 16.19.1 and 18.17.0 before installing the ArcGIS Enterprise SDK. It is highly recommended that your development machine is running the same OS as your ArcGIS Server machine.
For information on installing and configuring ArcGIS Enterprise SDK, see the ArcGIS Enterprise SDK documentation.
ArcGIS Server Custom Data Feeds Runtime
The ArcGIS Server Custom Data Feeds runtime powers the execution
environment for custom data providers. The runtime contains all binaries
necessary to execute the provider source code written in JavaScript. For
the CDF runtime to function, it must be the same version as your ArcGIS
Server installation.
The diagram below illustrates how the different software components are
configured together as part of a custom data feed implementation.
Implement a Custom Data Feed
The following sections provide an overview of the steps to implement a custom data feed.
Develop a Custom Data Provider
You must use the CDF command line tool to create custom data providers that fetch data from your data sources. The tool offers several commands that help you quickly build, test, and package custom data providers. When creating a custom data provider, the tool generates boilerplate code allowing you to focus on implementing the core functionality. You must be familiar with Node.js to develop a custom data provider.
To learn more about the CDF command line tool, see ArcGIS Server Custom Data Feeds CLI reference. For more information about developing a custom data provider, see Create a custom data provider.
Deploy a Custom Data Provider to ArcGIS Server
The first step in deploying a custom data provider is to upload the custom data package file to ArcGIS Server using the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory. Once the file is uploaded, use the Administrator Directory to register your custom data provider with ArcGIS Server.
For more information about deploying a custom data provider to ArcGIS Server, see Register a custom data provider.
Create a Feature Service
After registering your custom data provider with ArcGIS Server, use the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory to create a feature service. The feature service will be read-only and have query capabilities enabled on all layers. When creating a feature service, you must ensure that the feature service JSON object includes the correct provider name and other associated properties.
For more information about creating a feature service, see Create and consume a feature service.
Consume a Feature Service
Once your feature service is ready, it can be consumed by ArcGIS clients like ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and ArcGIS Enterprise. The ArcGIS client must be able to render the feature service, display its attribute table, and query its data.
For more information about consuming a feature service, see Create and consume a feature service.