Open Source Cloud GIS System Setup with Amazon EC2 and Geoserver

Follow these steps to set up the open source cloud based GIS mapping system.

1. Create an Amazon Web Services (AWS) account. You can find instructions for this step in the EC2 Getting Started Guide.

3. Create an Amazon EC2 instance. Instructions are also in the EC2 Getting Started Guide. When choosing an AMI make sure you choose a Windows server with IIS (and ASP.NET) already installed.

4. Connect to your Windows EC2 instance and install GeoServer. You can download GeoServer here. There are multiple setups available. Use the Windows installer. The instructions for the install are here.

5. Copy GIS data and configure map layers. The GeoServer user's manual will guide you through the steps of configuring GeoServer.

6. Start GeoServer on the EC2 instance server.

7. Seed the layers in GeoWebCache on the server. Instructions for this are here. Note that jpeg tiles are smaller than png and the default for base layers. Also png are better quality and will always be used for overlays because they can be transparent and overlays need to support transparency. Seed all layers for zoom levels 0 to 10 for EPSG:4326. If it is a base layer, seed it with jpeg files. If it is an overlay layer, seed it with png files.

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Federal Government GIS and Geospatial Conference 2013

OpenGeo is going to sponsor FedGeo Day 2013 at Washington DC on Feb 28, 2013. The theme of the conference is about Modern Tools for GIS, Geo Data & Cartography, which will introduce you to GIS, cartography, web mapping, and map publishing tools, show you what you can do with them, and walk through how and why government agencies are using them to dramatically improve their mapping, cartography, and GIS projects.

The conference announcement from their newsletter...

OpenGeo is proud to support FedGeo Day, the exciting new conference in Washington DC. The event offers a platform for those who work in or with federal agencies to share their experiences with modern open source geospatial technologies.

We’re looking forward to seeing case studies of how these tools are being used in government, what benefits they bring, and why so many agencies are shifting to open source technology. There will also be interactive demos that explore specific open source tools and applications. The schedule is packed with programming that should be particularly attractive for those for those who make technology decisions within the federal government.

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