TerraServer-USA
A Geo-Spatial Raster Store
Built on SQL Server
Web Services
Bay Area Research Center
Tom Barclay & Jim Gray
What is TerraServer?

A remote sensing image store
 Images are “shredded” into small, uniform sized tiles
 Multiple input images are mosaic’d into a single “scene”

An HTML based web application
 Navigate by point-n-click, gazetteer or coordinates
 Pan-n-zoom by clicking on simple navigation buttons
 (No fancy java, activex, flash controls)

An XML based Web Service
 Meta-data and tiles accessible via W3C web service API

An OpenGIS compliant Web Map Server
 Tiles merged into single “map” image
 Re-projection from UTM to “geographic” supported
TerraServer is designed to be used on the web.
It doesn’t have to be, but every design choice is
based on how browsers or the web works.
TerraServer History

MS Research project commissioned by MS SQL Server
Team (April 1996)
 Goal: Test & Demo scalability of SQL 7.0

Image Server chosen as test/demo vehicle
 Lot of cheap bytes, no translation, interesting

Partners between 1996 and 2004:
 UCSB, USGS, SPIN-2, DEC, Compaq, HP, ADIC, Veritas, Legato,
Encarta, Home Advisor, MapPoint, .NET Framework

TerraServer Today:
 40k – 80k visitors per day, 1 to 1.5 million page views, 5-8 million
“tiles” per day
 3.4 TB of compressed imagery [and growing]
 Programmable Web Service and OpenGIS Web Map Server used by
USDA, EPA, USGS (National Map) and others
Application Goals

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4
BIG — 1 TB of data including catalog, temporary space, etc.
PUBLIC — available on the world wide web
INTERESTING — to a wide audience
ACCESSIBLE — using standard browsers (IE, Netscape)
REAL — a LOB application (users can buy imagery)
FREE — cannot require NDA or money to a user to access
FAST — usable on low-speed (56kbps) and high speeds(T-1+)
EASY — we do not want a large group to develop, deploy, or
maintain the application
Available – Always, 24x7x52 99.99% of the time
Programmable – .NET applications can integrate TerraServer data
into their apps
http://terraserver-usa.com
Image Coverage


Urban Area Cities
Seattle, Portland, Stockton,
Modesto, Fresno, Sacramento,
Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta,
Amarillo, Houston, Lubbock,
Springfield, Birmingham, Dallas,
Albuquerque, Oklahoma City,
El Paso, Lincoln, Lexington,
Tampa, Washington DC, Mobile
Ft Wayne, Colorado Springs,
Baton Rouge, …
100% U.S., Topo Maps (light green)
2m to 1024m resolution
97% 48 Conterminous States, (dark green)
Ortho Imagery, 1m to 1024m resolution
USGS Image Data

Digital OrthoQuads

 18 TB, 305,000 files
uncompressed
 Digitized aerial imagery
 97% coverage
conterminous US
 1 meter resolution
 < 15 years old
Urban Area

1 foot resolution
Natural Color
133 major U.S. cities
37 (3.4 TB) received
as of May 2004
 2001 or later
 Produced by NIMA for
Homeland Security


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Digital Raster Graphics
 1 TB compressed TIFF,
65,000 files
 Scanned topo maps
 100% U.S. coverage
 1:24,000, 1:100,000
and 1:250,000 scale
maps
 Maps vary in age
New “Urban Area” Data
Microsoft Campus at 4 meter
resolution
Ball field at .25 meter
resolution
Redwest Campus
What is a Web Service?
Open
Internet
Protocols

Web
Service
A programmable application
component accessible via standard
Web protocols
Provide a Directory of Services on the
Internet

You can ask a site for a description of the
Web Services it offers

Web Services are defined in terms of the
formats and ordering of messages

Web Service consumers can send and
receive messages using XML

All these capabilities are built using open
Internet protocols
UDDI
Universal Description, Design, and Integration
SOAP
Discovery
SOAP
Contract Language
SOAP
XML & HTTP
TerraServer Web Service
“TerraService”

Motivation:
 Interface for remote applications (direct access to our
data vs. our UI)
 Access to meta-data instead of imagery (tabular data
vs. blobs)
 Enables “Web-GIS” applications on-top of TerraServer
database

Requirements:




Re-use code developed for Web Map Servers
No changes to existing database schema
No additional development resources
No additional hardware resources
Web Service Benefits

W3C Standard
 Supported by many vendors
 Inter-operable between different hardware and software
architectures

Strong Tool Support on Windows (ASP.NET)
 Programming against a web service feels like
programming against a local class – SOAP, XML
document handling automatically performed by .NET
runtime
 Implementing a web service IS exactly like
implementing a local, reusable class
.NET TerraService Architecture
Standard
Browsers
Map UI
Web Forms
Map Server
Http Handler
Smart
Clients
Windows
Forms
.NET
Framework
http://terraservice.net
Existing
Database
TerraServer
Web Service
750+ m
Rows
SQL 2000
ADO.NET
Web Server
3.6 TB Db
OLEDB
Web Service Methods

Place Search


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GetPlaceFacts
GetPlaceList
GetPlaceListInRect
CountPlacesInRect
Projection


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ConvertLonLatPtToUtmPt
ConvertUtmPtToLonLatPt
ConvertLonLatTo NearestPlace
GetTheme
GetLatLonMetrics

Tile

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GetAreaFromPt
GetAreaFromRect
GetAreaFromTileId
GetTileMetaFromLonLatPt
GetTileMetaFromTileId
GetTile (Image)

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
GetLandmarkTypes
CountOfLandmarkPointsByRect
GetLandmarkPointsByRect
CountOfLandmarkShapesByRect
GetLandmarkShapesByRect
Landmark
http://terraservice.net
Production Application
TerraServer Web Services
Steve
Ekblad
Data Gateway Functional Overview
ITC - Fort Collins, Colorado
NCGC - Fort Worth, Texas
Customer Orders
Data
Terra
Server
Navigation
Service
Soil Data
Viewer
XML
XML
Billing
Services
Rimage
CD
Service
XML
ASP
Catalog
Service
FTP
Services
Ship
Service
<<Requests Products>>
Send order info
validate (dtd)
Insert into SQL
@@Identity / GUID to client
return est time
raise OrderMgr.event
Order
Placer
Package
Service
Product Catalog Updates
Order
Database
Called by anyone
rasies to stats svc'
XML Request for data
Logger
Selects from
Listen for OrderPlacer Raised
Event
Select sequenced Item
Output XML
rasie event : stats.delivery start
Geospatial
Data
Data
Services
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Soil Viewer Uses TerraService
Order Process
Lighthouse
Select
Identify
your
shipping
returns
formats
products
information
confirmation
Locate data
area
Custom End Product
WebInterpretation
XML
Soil
Soil Report
Data Viewer
Map
2002 InfoWorld Top 100!
 USDA
NRCS Easements app rated #56 out
of 100
 Top 100 companies share a dedication to
innovative IT solutions
 http://www.infoworld.com/features/fe2002i
w100.html
TerraService Summary
Launched in October 2000 with .NET Beta 1
 Daily usage has grown to 500k – 1.2m web
method calls per day
 Wide range of new applications
Average WebService Calls

800,000
700,000
709,183
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
 “Web GIS” applications
like USDA NRCS, EPA215,795
200,000
 Homeland Security 100,000
applications (USCG inland waterway
36,840
6,436
0
tracking system)
2001
2002
2003
2004
 Recreational applications – hunting, kayaking, golf, etc.
 Real estate, insurance, engineering and others
 None
of the new applications required
our involvement!