Open source GIS tools

Question

Hi

I’ve been looking at Open Source GIS tools. In particular MapServer and GeoServer.

The problem I’m seeing is that to actually deploy these to the public you can’t use a regular $5/ month (or free) hosting service because you have to install these services on the server in ways that are not accessible in the average hosting scheme. So you either have to use a host that has MapServer installed (many of which look unreliable) or have a dedicated server or VPS. All of these options have a significant cost barrier ($30 - $200/month). I’m just doing this for fun.

Are there any free or inexpensive ways to have your GIS services hosted? Or are there any products that install in a way that you don’t need to access the root structure of the server?

I have tried OpenLayers and GeoExt but I don’t think a client side option will work for me because of the size of the datasets I am using. My base data will be vector data not WMS data (or something similar). I haven’t tried Google maps yet, but I will be looking into it.

Also, any thought on using SVG for GIS purposes?

Thanks

Answer 1

How about using google app engine with their spatial data store http://code.google.com/apis/maps/articles/geospatial.html

So while not open source, it should be free.

I am not sure what Azure has to offer but I am pretty sure I heard it was backed by SQLServer which also has a spatial data model. Might be a good place to look as well.

Answer 2

Any language preferences?

If you use Python then have a look at http://mapfish.org/ - this includes GeoExt (I think they'll mergre soon) on the client, and then a Pylons framework on the server. If you prefer .NET there is SharpGIS.

There is always the option to just use a spatially enabled database (PostGIS, SQL Server 2008 - pretty much any modern database), and create your own queries and web handlers for searching and selecting. As mentioned in another replyAzue, which now has spatial functionality, could be an option here.

I find MapServer invaluable for WMS services, but if you are only using vector then you can server data direct from a database (KML, GeoJSON, GeoXML). For display of the features you can styles, icons etc. to vector features when in OpenLayers.

SVG used to be popular, but always required the Adobe plugin, so dropped in popularity. Maybe HTML5 will change that, but in the meantime KML seems to be a more widely used format (and has also become an open standard).

Answer 3

What about just using something like Amazon Web Services and creating a custom AMI that includes the software stack you desire. This should keep the costs down, unless you get a spike of usage.