"},{"ID":8992,"user_firstname":"Raymond","user_lastname":"Bunn","nickname":"Ray","user_nicename":"rbunn","display_name":"Raymond Bunn","user_email":"RBunn@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2019-02-15 17:46:51","user_description":"Ray is an Architect with the Technology and Innovation Team. He leads an initiative to design and test ArcGIS systems with a focus on user experience.","user_avatar":"
"}],"related_articles":[{"ID":2950561,"post_author":"280142","post_date":"2025-12-03 07:51:26","post_date_gmt":"2025-12-03 15:51:26","post_content":"","post_title":"ArcGIS Technology & Innovation Resource Catalog","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"arcgis-technology-innovation-resource-catalog","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-03-12 09:49:39","post_modified_gmt":"2026-03-12 16:49:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2950561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2926611,"post_author":"280142","post_date":"2025-08-12 06:14:35","post_date_gmt":"2025-08-12 13:14:35","post_content":"","post_title":"Seven Ways You Should Be Using Test Studies to Support Your ArcGIS Systems","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"design-test-optimize-using-test-studies-for-more-successful-arcgis-systems","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-12-15 08:44:24","post_modified_gmt":"2025-12-15 16:44:24","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2926611","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2944659,"post_author":"280142","post_date":"2025-10-22 08:54:47","post_date_gmt":"2025-10-22 15:54:47","post_content":"","post_title":"Tackling Network Latency at the Client Tier of ArcGIS Systems","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"tackling-network-latency-at-the-client-tier-of-arcgis-systems","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-12-15 08:40:33","post_modified_gmt":"2025-12-15 16:40:33","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2944659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"short_description":"Learn about key considerations for getting the \"balancing act\" of ArcSOCs : vCPU on your ArcGIS Server instance(s) right. ","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Users expect fast and reliable performance when interacting with ArcGIS services, and ArcSOC configuration plays a critical role in meeting those expectations.<\/strong><\/p>\n ArcSOC optimization is both a science and an art:<\/p>\n \u270bOn one hand, it requires observation, measurements, and analysis.<\/p>\n \ud83e\udd1aOn the other, you also need to apply your own judgement, understanding the “story” of your services – how they are used, presently and in the future.<\/p>\n ArcSOC optimization depends on several variables.<\/a> However, in this blog we\u2019ll share insights from our recent test study<\/a>, which focuses on one key aspect: effectively balancing service instances with available compute resources.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" ArcSOCs are largely thought of with respect to the ArcGIS services they run. So, let\u2019s start from the top:<\/p>\n In general, you need enough ArcSOCs to handle the load your services receive. However, ArcSOCs consume resources – each busy ArcSOC needs an available vCPU, and even idle ArcSOCs consume memory. Therefore, you don\u2019t want to over-allocate ArcSOCs, because they will consume server resources without providing performance benefits. Similarly, allocating more server resources to support idle ArcSOCs leads to unutilized capacity (and unnecessary expenses).<\/p>\n These tradeoffs largely boil down to the optimal ratio of the number of ArcSOCs you configure per available vCPU on your ArcGIS Server instances- the focus of the test study<\/a> we\u2019re dissecting here.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":" Keep in mind \u00a0that performance issues \u00a0may also stem from other aspects of a system\u2019s design and configuration. For example, web map configuration,<\/a> database design and configuration<\/a> (attribute rules, indexing, server resources), and many other architecture design considerations<\/a> each play a significant role. All to say, ArcSOC optimization will have better results if the rest of the system is also tuned.<\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Center","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To make it as simple as possible, you need to do a bit of a balancing act by:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2952601,"id":2952601,"title":"balancingact","filename":"balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","filesize":8837,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-enterprise\/administration\/the-art-and-science-of-arcsoc-optimization\/balancingact","alt":"balance beam","author":"280142","description":"","caption":"","name":"balancingact","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2952592,"date":"2025-12-22 17:27:00","modified":"2025-12-22 17:27:17","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":500,"height":339,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","medium-width":385,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":339,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":339,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":339,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":339,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","card_image-width":500,"card_image-height":339,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/balancingact-e1766424618678.jpg","wide_image-width":500,"wide_image-height":339}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" <\/p>\n Said more succinctly, you want to optimize the ratio of ArcSOCs : vCPU on your ArcGIS Server instance(s). In other words, how many ArcSOCs you have relative to the number of vCPU available to ArcGIS Server(s). The only way to do this well is with adequate observability and testing practices.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that your organization\u2019s usage patterns typically change over time. For example, you may grow your user base, change workflows<\/a>, or add new capabilities. So, this balancing act is inherently an on-going practice<\/strong><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" In early December, we published a new test study to the ArcGIS Architecture Center \u2013 Optimizing Service Instance Configuration for Efficient System Resource Use.<\/a><\/p>\n If you\u2019re wondering who came up with that absolute mouthful of a title, you can blame me and Ray \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n Test studies are very dense and technical in nature. So, we\u2019d like to break down some of the test results published there in more bite-sized pieces.<\/p>\n We did three tests, each with a different ratio of ArcSOCs : vCPU:<\/p>\n Going through the detail and nuance of the results requires the technical depth of the test study format, which takes a full system approach, and includes a lot of system telemetry.<\/p>\n But for this blog, let\u2019s just walk through how we interpreted small snapshots<\/strong> of our test results. To help you understand the test studies a bit better, let\u2019s consider them with respect to the three \u201cbalancing act\u201d goals listed above:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To answer this question, we will look at our ArcSOC utilization charts. Here, you can see how many ArcSOCs were busy, or actively responding to requests, at any given point. You can also see the maximum configured as 8 ArcSOCs : 8 vCPUs on the left in the 1:1 chart, and 16 ArcSOCs : 8 vCPU in the 2:1 chart on the right.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2952607,"id":2952607,"title":"SOCsoptimizationenough","filename":"SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","filesize":123360,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-enterprise\/administration\/the-art-and-science-of-arcsoc-optimization\/socsoptimizationenough","alt":"ArcSOC utilization chart comparison with 8 versus 16 ArcSOCs configured per vCPU","author":"280142","description":"","caption":"","name":"socsoptimizationenough","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2952592,"date":"2025-12-22 17:36:31","modified":"2025-12-22 17:38:35","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":703,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":58,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":127,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":211,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":527,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":422,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":562,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":227,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsoptimizationenough-scaled.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":527}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" In our 1:1 configuration, all the ArcSOCs on the hosting server were busy throughout most of the test. In general, this could be a sign that users might be experiencing (or are about to experience) longer wait times. This happens when a service receives a request but no \u00a0ArcSOC is available to process it.<\/p>\n Alternatively, on the right we can see with 16 ArcSOCs running, the maximum in use at any time throughout the test was 14, with 16 running. This results in a more balanced usage with more \u201cwiggle room\u201d than the alternative, assuming the Hosting Server has sufficient resources to support the additional ArcSOCs.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To answer this question, you can evaluate the same ArcSOC charts, but instead consider whether the additional service instances provided any benefit for the server resource consumption tradeoff. In this case, we can see there were the same number of ArcSOCs busy at any time with the 4:1 as with the 2:1 ratio. This means that these additional ArcSOCs were consuming server resources unnecessarily, without providing any benefit to performance or user experience.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2952606,"id":2952606,"title":"SOCoptimizationtoomany","filename":"SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-scaled.png","filesize":115123,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-scaled.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-enterprise\/administration\/the-art-and-science-of-arcsoc-optimization\/socoptimizationtoomany-2","alt":"ArcSOC utilization comparison looking at ArcSOCs running versus those actively in use.","author":"280142","description":"","caption":"","name":"socoptimizationtoomany-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2952592,"date":"2025-12-22 17:36:23","modified":"2025-12-22 17:38:57","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":717,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-scaled.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":130,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-scaled.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":215,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-scaled.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":538,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-1536x430.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":430,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-2048x574.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":574,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-826x231.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":231,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCoptimizationtoomany-1-1920x538.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":538}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To answer this question, let\u2019s look at the ArcGIS Server utilization charts across tests with different ArcSOC: vCPU ratios. For example, compare the GIS Server (in our case, supporting versioned database editing) charts for 2:1(left) versus 4:1 (right). You can see that memory (purple) with the 2:1 ratio (left) peaked at about 80%, whereas with the 4:1 ratio (right) was near 100% for the full test run. You can also see a significant increase in CPU utilization between the two charts. With all other aspects of the system held constant, this demonstrates the impact the additional ArcSOCs have on the ArcGIS Server utilization.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2952608,"id":2952608,"title":"SOCsOptimizationServer","filename":"SOCsOptimizationServer-1-scaled.png","filesize":229864,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-scaled.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-enterprise\/administration\/the-art-and-science-of-arcsoc-optimization\/socsoptimizationserver-2","alt":"ArcGIS Server utilization comparison between a 2:1 and 4:1 ArcSOC:vCPU ratio configuration","author":"280142","description":"","caption":"","name":"socsoptimizationserver-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2952592,"date":"2025-12-22 17:36:41","modified":"2025-12-22 17:39:14","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":682,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-scaled.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":124,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-scaled.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":205,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-scaled.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-1536x409.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":409,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-2048x545.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":545,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-826x220.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":220,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SOCsOptimizationServer-1-1920x511.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":511}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" It\u2019s important to remember that these are small snapshots of the larger system, to help you understand certain aspects of the test results. However, there are many possible influencing factors to delivering good system performance and user experience.<\/p>\n For example, in the same test study we also looked at the impacts of database resources<\/a>\u00a0on the system\u2019s ability to handle load, even with ample GIS Server resources. The results from these tests provide an example of how long user wait times could stem from an issue at many places across a system.<\/p>\n Broad<\/strong> system testing and observation practices are absolutely critical to make good configuration and design choices.<\/strong><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" There\u2019s more to all these things than we can cover in one blog, but now you should understand a bit more about:<\/p>\n We hope you use this information to help deliver more performant ArcGIS systems that provide a positive end-user experience for your organization:<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f You can also find our full catalog of test studies and blogs\u00a0here<\/a><\/p>\nWhat’s an ArcSOC?<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
\n
Looking at the ratio of ArcSOCs : vCPU<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
\n
How to interpret test study results<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
\n
1. Were there enough ArcSOCs available to efficiently handle the defined load?<\/h3>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
2. How often were ArcSOCs inactive?<\/h3>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
3. Were there enough resources on the ArcGIS Server EC2 instances (virtual machines) to adequately handle the load and stay below acceptable thresholds?<\/h3>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
Looking at the entire system<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
Next steps to take<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
\n
\n