ArcGIS Notebooks

ArcGIS Notebooks provides an integrated web interface in ArcGIS to create, share, and run data science, data management, and administrative scripts. As a notebook author, you have access to ArcGIS Server and its analytical engines; ArcGIS geospatial analysis libraries; and open source analytical, statistical, and machine learning libraries.

With notebooks, you can perform analysis, automate workflows, and immediately visualize data and analysis results in a geographic context. Notebooks are an efficient, modern environment that combine code, real-time visualizations and maps, and data tools.

ArcGIS Notebooks uses Esri Python resources: the ArcGIS API for Python and ArcPy. Python is a part of ArcGIS, and ArcGIS Notebooks brings Python scripting directly to your ArcGIS Enterprise portal. The API allows you to incorporate dynamic maps and geospatial data tools into your notebooks.

When your ArcGIS Notebook Server site is federated with an ArcGIS Enterprise portal where other specialized ArcGIS Server roles are federated, you can use those analysis tools in your notebooks. For example, in a deployment that includes an ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server site, the notebook editor will include GeoAnalytics Tools that can be added to notebooks; in a deployment that includes an ArcGIS Image Server site designated for raster analytics, the notebook editor will include raster tools.

How ArcGIS Notebook Server works

ArcGIS Notebook Server is installed on a server operating system and is configured and federated with an ArcGIS Enterprise portal. As with other ArcGIS Server roles, a web adaptor can be deployed in front of the ArcGIS Notebook Server software.

ArcGIS Notebook Server uses containers—virtualized operating systems—to isolate each notebook author's environment. Containers allow each author to use a subset of your server resources without their work or resource use interfering with others.

These containers are allocated and maintained by a container engine, a third-party software component. Before installing ArcGIS Notebook Server, you must install either Mirantis Container Runtime or Docker, and once ArcGIS Notebook Server is installed, you must configure it to work with your chosen container engine.

The Mirantis Container Runtime and ArcGIS Notebook Server topic provides an overview of the container engine, explains how it's used with ArcGIS Notebook Server, and contains information about available editions.

ArcGIS Notebook Server allocates one container per runtime to each notebook author in the site. Only they can work in the container, and the computing resources they use when running notebooks do not affect other authors' containers.

When a portal member with corresponding privileges opens their first notebook, a container is launched on the ArcGIS Notebook Server site. This session between the notebook and the container is ongoing through the duration of the notebook.

Starting at 10.7.1, ArcGIS Notebook Server can join multiple machines in a site. Machines in such configurations are configured to be identical, and each machine can run ArcGIS Notebooks.

ArcGIS Notebook Server and ArcGIS Server

ArcGIS Notebook Server has functions and an architecture unique to ArcGIS Server roles. The differences between ArcGIS Notebook Server and other ArcGIS Server roles are as follows:

• Other ArcGIS Server roles primarily host services—to draw maps, perform analysis, run geoprocessing tasks, and so on. ArcGIS Notebook Server primarily hosts ArcGIS Notebooks.
• ArcGIS Notebook Server uses containers to isolate notebook authors' environments. The processing resources that each author uses within their container do not affect the resources used by other authors in their own containers.
• ArcGIS Notebook Server uses Mirantis Container Runtime and Docker for container allocation. You must have one installed and configured on your machine prior to installing ArcGIS Notebook Server.
• ArcGIS Notebook Server has its own installer, which you obtain from the My Esri website. Other ArcGIS Server roles use the ArcGIS Server installer but are assigned a particular role during the authorization process.
• ArcGIS Notebook Server has an ArcGIS Notebook Server Manager application accessible at https://portal.domain.com/home/notebook/manager.html and the ArcGIS Notebook Server Administrator Directory at https://notebookserver.yourdomain.com:11443/arcgis/admin. All administrative tasks can be performed in this directory, either manually in a browser or through programmatic requests.

Once ArcGIS Notebook Server is federated with your portal, a notebook can be created in the same way as a layer or web app from the portal website. ArcGIS Notebooks use identity-based security in your portal, and administrators have control over who can create, share, edit, and view a notebook.