FME Version
Full Guide: FME Flow Troubleshooting Guide
Introduction
To read and write from Esri Geodatabase formats, like ArcSDE and File Geodatabase, FME Flow requires that ArcGIS Server software be installed and licensed on the same machine (with an exception for the File Geodatabase Open API Reader/Writer).
Connecting FME Flow to ArcGIS Server
ArcGIS Server must be installed and licensed on the same machine as the FME Flow Engine Service. The ArcGIS version must be compatible with FME: Notes on FME and Esri Versions and Compatibility. There are no additional configuration steps required.
If you have distributed Engine hosts, ArcGIS Server must be installed on every host. Alternatively, you can make use of Queue Control to route jobs using Esri formats to run on a specific engine host. For more information on using job routing for your Esri-dependent workflows, please see Guide to Manage Esri Jobs using Queue Control.
Connecting to Esri Applications from FME Flow without a license
An ArcGIS Server license is required to connect with the following Esri Geodatabase formats:
- ArcSDE Geodb
- File Geodb*
- Personal Geodb
*Except File Geodb Open API
However, there are alternative options that allow you to connect with Esri Applications without making use of these Readers/Writers:
- The File Geodatabase Open API Reader/Writer allows you to work with File Geodatabase without an installed Esri product.
- Read and write to hosted features with the ArcGIS Portal Reader/Writer or ArcGIS Online Reader/Writer.
- Upload and access hosted online content and files, like File Geodatabase, with the EsriArcGISOnlineConnector . Please see How to use the EsriArcGISOnlineConnector for instructions.
- Use an Esri Web Tool to write to an Enterprise Geodatabase: How FME Flow (or Form) can write to ArcGIS Enterprise with no local ArcGIS install.
- ArcGIS Portal Readers/Writers can read and write to an Enterprise Geodatabase if it is a referenced registered data store. Note any limitations of working with Geodatabases in Feature Services.
FAQ
“Can I use ArcGIS Pro with FME Flow?”
No, ArcGIS Pro cannot be used with FME Flow. Please see Esri’s article on this topic, "How does Data Interoperability relate to FME? " for more information, or contact your Esri account manager for more clarification of Esri’s licensing terms.
Comments
6 comments
Is ArcGIS Server Standard licensing (opposed to Advanced) sufficient for FME Flow?
carmijo According to ESRI, you only need ArcGIS Server Basic for FME Flow:
Source: How does Data Interoperability relate to FME?
Why exactly is this, and when did it become a requirement? We're looking to upgrade to Flow, but I don't know that we have ArcGIS Server installed with our current FME Server and it's been working fine.
This also seems problematic for cloud architecture environments. What if we want to keep ArcGIS Server separate from Flow due to security rules, or just the fact that I have a ton of routines to schedule on Flow that I don't want to bog down my ArcGIS Server with? Or are you saying I should just add an extra installation of ArcGIS Server onto my machine hosting Flow, purely for the license, in which case I'd have to maintain/upgrade two installs of ArcGIS Server in my environment?
We have enterprise gdb's that we need to interact with via Flow, so not having an Esri license isn't really an option, but what you're laying out here seems like a terribly clunky alternative. Do I have any other options?
How does this issue work when utilising a Flow Remote Engine?
Does the main install of Flow have to be on the same server as Arc Server, or can we have the main Flow elsewhere, and put a Remote Engine on the same server as Arc Server?
Yes, you're right, the ArcGIS Server just has to be on the server the FME Flow Engines are on. So it does not have to be on the main server if you are not processing jobs there, but it is required to be on the server that a Remote Engine or a Distributed Engine is running on if you want to process ESRI SDE jobs there.
Fabulous, thank you Richard Mosley
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