locator.stanford.edu 

What is locator?

A windows server / ArcGIS Enterprise-based service for geocoding, auto-suggest and reverse geocoding services.

 

Currently deployed with StreetMap Premium for North America and Latin America

 

What does locator do?

Put simply, it allows researchers to augment their research data by turning implicit locations (street addresses, placenames, etc...)

into explicit locations (coordinate geometries)

Who uses locator?

We don't really know because we don't log usage!

 

Weekly support requests

 

2017-2020 Supported David Studdert and Jonathan Rodden 200+ million address geocodes 

How is locator used?

Locator currently supports processing from Esri clients:

  • ArcGIS Desktop
  • ArcGIS Pro
  • ArcGIS Online

 The REST API, allows locator to be leveraged using any clients that can create a GET request (Python, R, Javascript, Postman, etc...)

% Along Geocoding

Pain points for users

  • Lack of support for High Risk data. 
  • Lack of Global geocoding service (currently) 
  • Lack of intuitive interface for non-gis users (currently) 
  • Performance tied to traffic
  • No SLA, or active support program

Pain points for SGC/DLSS/RDS

  • Minimal support from Esri for Linux-based deploys of ArcGIS Server Enterprise
  • Network datasets are frequently (quarterly) updated. 
  • Annual licensing requirements
  • Server Hardware requirements currently prevent wide announcement and support. 
  • Currently only offering North & Latin American Geocoding services.

What opportunities for expanding locator are there?

  • Increased hardware capacity
  • Increased (global) coverage
  • SLA with performance and uptime guarantees
  • Connect to ArcGIS.com for user-friendly services

Current Plans...

  • Deploy on puppetized, multi-server Linux configuration for scalability and sustainability (in development)
  • Deploy Global Network data for Global street address and gazetteer geocoding (licensing reviewed and agreement pending)
  • Develop SLA (Uptime, Performance, Security, etc...)
  • Expand support offerings (Workshops, Support documentation, QGIS Plugin, etc...)

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