Spectrum Spatial (SSA/LIM)

Hello 

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability. 

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far. 

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first? 

Help please? :) 

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Hi Zoe,

I have created a WMS feed for use within SSA and then used it also as a quick and easy backdrop WMS within Pro too.

Steps I took (may not be the most efficient way though) were as follows: 

1) In Spatial Manger click on Services > WMS

I then added some layers to a folder as shown below.  Each one is an already defines Layer within Spatial manager


------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Bowden
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Hi Nick 

Thank you very much for your response. 

With your defined layer that already exists in the Spatial Manager, does it match the structure of the data you are calling? I am unsure if I need to create a blank one or one with the same structure or styling and data. If so, I am not sure where to get the table structure from.. 

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Robinson
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 09:12
From: Nick Hall
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Zoe,

I have created a WMS feed for use within SSA and then used it also as a quick and easy backdrop WMS within Pro too.

Steps I took (may not be the most efficient way though) were as follows:

1) In Spatial Manger click on Services > WMS

I then added some layers to a folder as shown below.  Each one is an already defines Layer within Spatial manager

I used existing layers as I had already defined the zoom layering.

NB. note (copy) the Capabilities URL that you can see when you click Capabilities on the left hand side bar.

2) In Admin Console click on  WMS tab and click on Create New

Paste in the Capabilities URL and select Basic Authentication - it should then ask for a username etc.  (I'm not 100% clear the impact this will have on various user types in SSA as I find the whole permissions thing a little complicated).

Clicking Open should then show you the folder/layers you created in Step 1.  Add the layers you want and order appropriately (although with correct zoom levels this may not matter). Save.

3) In SSA Project select Base Maps on the left and Manage Layers > Web Mapping Services on the right hand side.  The service you created in the Admin Console should appear as below

Also,
1) You can use the same Get Capabilities statement in Pro to use the same 'map' in Pro that SSA uses.
2) All the raster layers I have used I have 'merged' into a single raster first rather than using seamless, etc.

HTH, sorry for the brevity.

Happy to chat through any of above if that's easier.

Nick
0161 773 5021

------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Bowden
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Zoe,

I'm not sure the structure of the Table that your selected layer is pointing at matters too much in this case.  A WMS only delivers, to either SSA or Pro, an image.  The structure of the table for my Carto_Text example above is, I think, unimportant.  Is this what you mean't?  Apologies if I have misunderstood the question.

Regards,

Nick

------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 10:06
From: Zoe Robinson
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Nick

Thank you very much for your response.

With your defined layer that already exists in the Spatial Manager, does it match the structure of the data you are calling? I am unsure if I need to create a blank one or one with the same structure or styling and data. If so, I am not sure where to get the table structure from..

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Robinson
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 09:12
From: Nick Hall
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Zoe,

I have created a WMS feed for use within SSA and then used it also as a quick and easy backdrop WMS within Pro too.

Steps I took (may not be the most efficient way though) were as follows:

1) In Spatial Manger click on Services > WMS

I then added some layers to a folder as shown below.  Each one is an already defines Layer within Spatial manager

I used existing layers as I had already defined the zoom layering.

NB. note (copy) the Capabilities URL that you can see when you click Capabilities on the left hand side bar.

2) In Admin Console click on  WMS tab and click on Create New

Paste in the Capabilities URL and select Basic Authentication - it should then ask for a username etc.  (I'm not 100% clear the impact this will have on various user types in SSA as I find the whole permissions thing a little complicated).

Clicking Open should then show you the folder/layers you created in Step 1.  Add the layers you want and order appropriately (although with correct zoom levels this may not matter). Save.

3) In SSA Project select Base Maps on the left and Manage Layers > Web Mapping Services on the right hand side.  The service you created in the Admin Console should appear as below

Also,
1) You can use the same Get Capabilities statement in Pro to use the same 'map' in Pro that SSA uses.
2) All the raster layers I have used I have 'merged' into a single raster first rather than using seamless, etc.

HTH, sorry for the brevity.

Happy to chat through any of above if that's easier.

Nick
0161 773 5021

------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Bowden
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your instruction, it is very useful for me. Just wondering if it is possible to remove the authentication for WMS from Spatial Manager?

Regards, Shaw

------------------------------
Shaw Shang
Tablelands Regional Council
Atherton
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 09:12
From: Nick Hall
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Zoe,

I have created a WMS feed for use within SSA and then used it also as a quick and easy backdrop WMS within Pro too.

Steps I took (may not be the most efficient way though) were as follows:

1) In Spatial Manger click on Services > WMS

I then added some layers to a folder as shown below.  Each one is an already defines Layer within Spatial manager

I used existing layers as I had already defined the zoom layering.

NB. note (copy) the Capabilities URL that you can see when you click Capabilities on the left hand side bar.

2) In Admin Console click on  WMS tab and click on Create New

Paste in the Capabilities URL and select Basic Authentication - it should then ask for a username etc.  (I'm not 100% clear the impact this will have on various user types in SSA as I find the whole permissions thing a little complicated).

Clicking Open should then show you the folder/layers you created in Step 1.  Add the layers you want and order appropriately (although with correct zoom levels this may not matter). Save.

3) In SSA Project select Base Maps on the left and Manage Layers > Web Mapping Services on the right hand side.  The service you created in the Admin Console should appear as below

Also,
1) You can use the same Get Capabilities statement in Pro to use the same 'map' in Pro that SSA uses.
2) All the raster layers I have used I have 'merged' into a single raster first rather than using seamless, etc.

HTH, sorry for the brevity.

Happy to chat through any of above if that's easier.

Nick
0161 773 5021

------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Bowden
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Hi Shaw Shang,

You can remove the authentication requirements for WMS services you're hosting following this instruction in the admin guide - http://support.pb.com/help/spectrum/18.2/en/webhelp/AdministrationGuide-WebUI/index.html#Spatial/source/Administration/config/repository/turnoffsecurity.html 

If that's not the right version (18.2) for you, the process has been the same across Spectrum versions for a little while.

There are probably some security issues to consider, I'll leave that to others to comment on, but will add we have done this on our internal servers only to host some services for the last of the Exponare users to still consume.

Cheers,

Will

------------------------------
William Dean
Cairns Regional Council
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2020 19:49
From: Shaw Shang
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your instruction, it is very useful for me. Just wondering if it is possible to remove the authentication for WMS from Spatial Manager?

Regards, Shaw

------------------------------
Shaw Shang
Tablelands Regional Council
Atherton

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 09:12
From: Nick Hall
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Zoe,

I have created a WMS feed for use within SSA and then used it also as a quick and easy backdrop WMS within Pro too.

Steps I took (may not be the most efficient way though) were as follows:

1) In Spatial Manger click on Services > WMS

I then added some layers to a folder as shown below.  Each one is an already defines Layer within Spatial manager

I used existing layers as I had already defined the zoom layering.

NB. note (copy) the Capabilities URL that you can see when you click Capabilities on the left hand side bar.

2) In Admin Console click on  WMS tab and click on Create New

Paste in the Capabilities URL and select Basic Authentication - it should then ask for a username etc.  (I'm not 100% clear the impact this will have on various user types in SSA as I find the whole permissions thing a little complicated).

Clicking Open should then show you the folder/layers you created in Step 1.  Add the layers you want and order appropriately (although with correct zoom levels this may not matter). Save.

3) In SSA Project select Base Maps on the left and Manage Layers > Web Mapping Services on the right hand side.  The service you created in the Admin Console should appear as below

Also,
1) You can use the same Get Capabilities statement in Pro to use the same 'map' in Pro that SSA uses.
2) All the raster layers I have used I have 'merged' into a single raster first rather than using seamless, etc.

HTH, sorry for the brevity.

Happy to chat through any of above if that's easier.

Nick
0161 773 5021

------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Bowden
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Original Message------

Hi Shaw Shang,

You can remove the authentication requirements for WMS services you're hosting following this instruction in the admin guide - http://support.pb.com/help/spectrum/18.2/en/webhelp/AdministrationGuide-WebUI/index.html#Spatial/source/Administration/config/repository/turnoffsecurity.html 

If that's not the right version (18.2) for you, the process has been the same across Spectrum versions for a little while.

There are probably some security issues to consider, I'll leave that to others to comment on, but will add we have done this on our internal servers only to host some services for the last of the Exponare users to still consume.

Cheers,

Will

------------------------------
William Dean
Cairns Regional Council
------------------------------

​Hello

Sorry for the slow response. I have been trying to do this a different way as I think maybe I was doing it wrong through Spatial Manager and explaining it wrong.

I have found this which is what I am trying to do: https://community.pitneybowes.com/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=25&MessageKey=f79967ee-0da4-4f90-b7e7-61793e27f80b&CommunityKey=733ec9ea-dfe1-4a55-ab29-11f0f86019a6&tab=digestviewer&ReturnUrl=%2fcommunities%2fcommunityhome%2fdigestviewer%3fCommunityKey%3d733ec9ea-dfe1-4a55-ab29-11f0f86019a6%26tab%3ddigestviewer 

This explains how to do it through the Admin Console. However, I have put the URL in, selected basic authentication, put the username and password in and then I get an error message stating "Either the WMS URL entered is invalid or there was an error processing your request. Please try again later".

Do you know why this might be happening please?

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Robinson
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 09:12
From: Nick Hall
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hi Zoe,

I have created a WMS feed for use within SSA and then used it also as a quick and easy backdrop WMS within Pro too.

Steps I took (may not be the most efficient way though) were as follows:

1) In Spatial Manger click on Services > WMS

I then added some layers to a folder as shown below.  Each one is an already defines Layer within Spatial manager

I used existing layers as I had already defined the zoom layering.

NB. note (copy) the Capabilities URL that you can see when you click Capabilities on the left hand side bar.

2) In Admin Console click on  WMS tab and click on Create New

Paste in the Capabilities URL and select Basic Authentication - it should then ask for a username etc.  (I'm not 100% clear the impact this will have on various user types in SSA as I find the whole permissions thing a little complicated).

Clicking Open should then show you the folder/layers you created in Step 1.  Add the layers you want and order appropriately (although with correct zoom levels this may not matter). Save.

3) In SSA Project select Base Maps on the left and Manage Layers > Web Mapping Services on the right hand side.  The service you created in the Admin Console should appear as below

Also,
1) You can use the same Get Capabilities statement in Pro to use the same 'map' in Pro that SSA uses.
2) All the raster layers I have used I have 'merged' into a single raster first rather than using seamless, etc.

HTH, sorry for the brevity.

Happy to chat through any of above if that's easier.

Nick
0161 773 5021

------------------------------
Nick Hall
Mapchester LTD
nick.hall@mapchester.co.uk

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Bowden
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------

Zoe,
Sorry for the confusion but let me try and explain what I think is the misunderstanding here.

Spectrum Spatial (the server) has long supported being a WMS (and WFS, WMTS) server delivering data in response to those OGC standards. We test and receive official OGC compliance for these services.  This allows the administrator of the server to deliver the data stored in your environment that they want.
These services can be used by any client application that knows how to talk to these services. These clients ​include MapInfo Pro as well as many others not developed by us or from custom applications that you build. The important piece is that the data being delivered is the data in your organization. 
Spectrum Spatial Analyst (the web application) has also long allowed organizations to pull WMS data from outside services having nothing to do with Spectrum Spatial.  These settings have long been in the adminconsole application (as Nick mentioned) but in 2019.1 are now set in the Spatial Manager which has a whole new section for administering properties for Spatial Analyst (projects, functionality profiles, external WMS, geocoding, routing ….).
Again the important piece here is that this is for using Analyst to be a client to data residing externally as long as you have the URL and credentials. The requests for this data do not go through Spectrum Spatial server at all but go directly from wherever Analyst application is installed to the WMS server that you configure.
So very similar terminology but totally different use case. One is for serving up your data. The other is for accessing someone else's. 
As to why you would expose WMS data from Spatial into SSA, well Nick has one example but you can choose to expose your data as normal layers and maps in SSA and still expose the same data as WMS to MapInfo Pro, for example. 
Note that Pro will support the GetFeatureInfo piece so you can click on a WMS map and see attributes by clicking on the map just like you do in Analyst with the attribute panel.  SSA does not support this. This means that currently the best way to share data for Pro and Analyst is to use WMS for Pro and regular layers and maps for SSA.

------------------------------
Eric Blasenheim
Spectrum Spatial Technical Product Manager
Troy, NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-07-2020 06:49
From: Zoe Robinson
Subject: WMS - Idiots Guide

Hello

We haven't done anything with WMS and SSA. However, I want to start looking at this capability.

I have tried reading documentation and attempting but I don't seem to get very far.

I get stuck when trying to set up a new WMS connection in the Spatial Server Manager because it asks for a table to reference. Does this table need to be a replication of the data that I am receiving from the WMS? Does it just need the correct structure or data too? Can it be blank? Is there anything I need to do in MapInfo first?

Help please? :)

Thank you

------------------------------
Zoe Bowden
Corporate Information Officer
Flintshire County Council
Mold
------------------------------