Geospatial Servers

Geospatial Servers#

Catalog of the server-side software and standards an operator meets when consuming, hosting, or scraping geospatial data. Organized by what the server speaks (the protocol / standard) and then by what the server is (the software implementing it).

OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) standards come first because they’re the lingua franca: a URL fragment of ?service=WMS or ?f=json tells the operator immediately what’s on the other end and what query format to send.

OGC Standards (Classic SOAP / XML era)#

The pre-2017 OGC web-services family. SOAP / XML wire formats with GetCapabilities introspection. Still ubiquitous in government, defense, and enterprise GIS estates.

Standard

Type

Notes

WMS (Web Map Service)

raster maps

Server renders a map image; client supplies bbox, layers, style. Default for slippy-map basemaps before WMTS / vector tiles. Versions 1.1.1 and 1.3.0 in production.

WMTS (Web Map Tile Service)

pre-rendered raster tiles

Cached tile pyramid; faster than WMS at fixed zoom levels. URL templates or KVP. Widely-used for production basemaps.

WFS (Web Feature Service)

vector features (read/write)

GetFeature returns GML / GeoJSON. WFS-T adds transaction support. Versions 1.0.0, 1.1.0, 2.0.0.

WCS (Web Coverage Service)

raster coverages (multi-dim grids)

DEMs, climate grids, satellite scenes. Returns GeoTIFF, NetCDF, HDF.

CSW (Catalog Service for the Web)

metadata catalog

Discover datasets via ISO 19115 / 19139 records. Federated search across nodes.

WPS (Web Processing Service)

geoprocessing tasks

Server-side analysis jobs (buffer, intersect, slope). Sync or async.

SOS (Sensor Observation Service)

sensor observations

Time-series readings from sensors (weather, water, air-quality). O&M / SensorML payloads.

SensorML

sensor metadata

Describes a sensor’s geometry, calibration, and observation procedure. Used with SOS.

O&M (Observations and Measurements)

observation data model

The data model SOS speaks. ISO 19156.

WMC (Web Map Context)

shared session

XML document describing a saved map view (layers, extent, styling). Effectively a project file.

WCPS (Web Coverage Processing Service)

server-side raster analysis

Sister to WCS; rasdaman is the reference implementation.

SLD (Styled Layer Descriptor)

styling

XML rules for how WMS / WFS layers are rendered.

SE (Symbology Encoding)

styling primitives

The lower-level companion spec to SLD.

Filter Encoding

query language

XML / KVP filter syntax used by WFS and CSW.

OGC API (REST / JSON Generation, 2017+)#

The modern OGC API family is a REST + JSON rebuild of the SOAP / XML services above. Each standard reuses the same /conformance, /collections, /items URI structure, so a single client can traverse any compliant server.

Standard

Type

Notes

OGC API Features

vector features

REST / JSON successor to WFS. Stable since 2019. /collections/<id>/items.

OGC API Tiles

tile sets (vector + raster)

REST successor to WMTS. Supports MVT, PNG, JPEG.

OGC API Maps

dynamic rendered maps

REST successor to WMS.

OGC API Coverages

raster coverages

REST successor to WCS.

OGC API Processes

geoprocessing jobs

REST successor to WPS. Sync + async jobs with status URIs.

OGC API Records

metadata records

REST successor to CSW.

OGC API EDR (Environmental Data Retrieval)

point / cube / radius queries

Optimized for environmental data (forecasts, observations).

OGC API Routes

routing

Compute / retrieve routes from a routing engine.

OGC API Styles

styling

Server-side styles for Maps / Tiles.

OGC API DGGS

Discrete Global Grid Systems

Operate on hexagonal / square global grids (H3, S2, rHEALPix).

OGC API Connected Systems

sensor systems

Successor to SOS / SensorThings unification effort.

SensorThings API

IoT / sensor data

OGC IoT standard built on OData. JSON wire format.

Adjacent OGC Formats#

Data formats the operator meets while consuming OGC servers.

Format

Type

Notes

GML (Geography Markup Language)

XML vector

Default WFS payload before GeoJSON.

KML (Keyhole Markup Language)

XML vector

Google Earth’s format; OGC standard since 2008.

GeoJSON

JSON vector

RFC 7946. Default OGC API Features payload.

GeoPackage (GPKG)

SQLite container

OGC standard portable file format for vector + raster.

GeoTIFF

TIFF raster

OGC standard for georeferenced rasters.

GeoParquet

Apache Parquet

2024 OGC standard for columnar vector storage.

WKT / WKB (Well-Known Text / Binary)

geometry encoding

The default vector-geometry serialization in OGC / SQL/MM.

CityGML

3D city model

XML model for buildings, terrain, vegetation.

3D Tiles

3D tile sets

OGC community standard for streaming 3D content (Cesium).

I3S (Indexed 3D Scene)

3D tile sets

Esri’s competing 3D streaming format; also OGC community.

OGC Server Software#

Server implementations that speak some or all of the OGC family.

Server

Language

Protocols

GeoServer

Java

WMS, WMTS, WFS (incl. -T), WCS, WPS, CSW, OGC API Features / Maps / Tiles

MapServer

C

WMS, WFS, WCS, WMTS, SOS, OGC API Features

QGIS Server

C++

WMS, WFS, WCS, OGC API Features

deegree

Java

WMS, WFS, WCS, WPS, CSW, OGC API Features

PyGeoAPI

Python

OGC API Features, Maps, Tiles, Coverages, Processes, EDR, Records

ldproxy

Java

OGC API Features / Tiles / Styles / Records

GeoNetwork

Java

CSW, INSPIRE catalog

pycsw

Python

CSW, OGC API Records

rasdaman

C++

WCS, WCPS, OGC API Coverages, OGC API EDR

52°North SOS

Java

SOS, SensorThings API

FROST-Server

Java

SensorThings API reference implementation

THREDDS Data Server (TDS)

Java

WMS, WCS, OPeNDAP, NetCDF Subset, NCSS

ncWMS

Java

WMS extensions for NetCDF / GRIB time-series data

mapproxy

Python

WMS / WMTS / TMS proxy + tile cache

mod_tile / renderd

C

The classic OpenStreetMap tile-rendering pipeline (Mapnik)

Mapnik

C++

Render-engine used by mod_tile and many tile servers

tegola

Go

Vector tile server (MVT)

TileServer GL

Node.js

Mapbox vector + raster tile server

Martin

Rust

PostGIS / MBTiles / PMTiles vector tile server

pg_tileserv

Go (Crunchy Data)

Lightweight PostGIS vector tile server

pg_featureserv

Go (Crunchy Data)

OGC API Features over PostGIS

Tile / Map Service Hosts (Commercial / Community)#

The hosted endpoints operators reach for basemaps and slippy maps. Most expose XYZ / TMS / vector-tile / WMTS endpoints.

Provider

Type

Notes

tile.openstreetmap.org

XYZ raster

Community OSM tiles. Heavy-use clients need their own renderer.

Mapbox

vector + raster

GL Style spec, MVT vector tiles, commercial.

MapLibre

vector + raster

Open-source fork of Mapbox GL; clients consume vector tiles.

MapTiler

vector + raster

Commercial; bundles OpenMapTiles.

Stadia Maps

vector + raster

Commercial successor to Stamen tiles.

Stamen

raster

Watercolor / Toner / Terrain (now via Stadia).

Carto

vector + raster

Commercial; CARTO SQL API for spatial queries.

Esri ArcGIS Online

vector + raster + feature

Commercial; REST API distinct from OGC.

Esri Living Atlas

imagery, basemaps, datasets

Hosted Esri reference layers.

Google Maps Platform

tiles + routing + places

Proprietary REST; not OGC-compliant.

Bing Maps

tiles + imagery + routing

Microsoft; proprietary.

HERE

tiles + routing + places

Commercial.

TomTom

tiles + routing + traffic

Commercial.

OpenFreeMap

vector tiles

Self-hostable free planet tiles (2024+).

Protomaps

PMTiles

Single-file global vector tiles; CDN-friendly.

Imagery / Satellite Servers#

Provider

Type

Notes

Copernicus Open Access Hub

Sentinel imagery

ESA. OData + OpenSearch.

Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem

Sentinel, Landsat

ESA’s successor portal; STAC + S3.

Sentinel Hub

on-the-fly Sentinel / Landsat

Sinergise; commercial WMS / WMTS / WCS / Process API.

Planet Labs API

high-res commercial imagery

REST + STAC.

Maxar GBDX / WorldView

high-res commercial imagery

REST.

USGS EarthExplorer

Landsat / NAIP / Hyperion

Bulk-order portal + M2M API.

NASA Earthdata

MODIS, VIIRS, ASTER, ICESat

CMR (Common Metadata Repository) API; OPeNDAP; STAC.

NASA GIBS (Global Imagery Browse Services)

daily satellite imagery

WMTS + Tile-and-Subset endpoints.

Microsoft Planetary Computer

STAC + Azure

Hosted Sentinel / Landsat / NAIP / and dozens more in STAC.

AWS Open Data (Earth)

S3-hosted COGs

Sentinel-2, Landsat, NAIP, others. STAC catalogs on S3.

Element 84 / EarthSearch

STAC API

Aggregator over AWS open-data buckets.

SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC)

imagery catalog standard

The cross-platform JSON catalog spec most modern imagery archives speak.

Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF (COG)

imagery container

HTTP range-read TIFF; STAC’s preferred raster payload.

Scientific / Atmospheric / Oceanographic#

Service

Type

Notes

OPeNDAP / Hyrax

subsetting protocol

DAP protocol for subsetting NetCDF / HDF without download.

THREDDS Data Server

aggregation + OPeNDAP

Unidata. Catalogs + WMS + WCS + NCSS + OPeNDAP.

ERDDAP

subsetting + visualization

NOAA. Re-serves environmental data in many formats.

NetCDF Subset Service (NCSS)

subsetting

Time / space subsetting of NetCDF holdings.

GRIB / NetCDF

container formats

The atmospheric-science payload formats.

GeoMesa

big spatial datastore

Scala / Accumulo / HBase / Cassandra spatial.

GeoMesa Pulsar / Kafka

streaming spatial

Real-time spatial streams.

Routing / Navigation Servers#

Server

Type

Notes

OSRM

routing engine (car / bike / foot)

Open Source Routing Machine, OSM-based.

Valhalla

routing engine

Mapzen / Mapbox heritage; multimodal.

GraphHopper

routing engine

Java; commercial offering plus open core.

pgRouting

routing extension

PostgreSQL / PostGIS extension; in-database routing.

OpenTripPlanner (OTP)

multimodal

Java; transit + bike + walk.

Nominatim

geocoding

OSM-based reverse + forward geocoder.

Photon

geocoding

OSM / komoot; Elasticsearch-based.

Pelias

geocoding

Mapzen heritage; aggregates multiple sources.

Real-Time / Tracking / IoT#

Service

Type

Notes

ADS-B Exchange

aircraft tracking

Unfiltered ADS-B feed.

OpenSky Network

aircraft tracking

Academic / public ADS-B feed.

FlightAware

aircraft tracking

Commercial; ADS-B + FAA SWIM.

MarineTraffic

AIS ship tracking

Commercial; AIS receiver network.

VesselFinder

AIS ship tracking

Commercial AIS provider.

GTFS-RT

transit positions

Google Transit feed spec, real-time variant.

SiriusXM / GEOS

vehicle telemetry

Commercial fleet tracking.

Discovery and Common URL Patterns#

How to recognize and probe a geospatial endpoint from a single URL.

URL pattern

Tells you

?service=WMS&request=GetCapabilities

classic OGC WMS endpoint

?service=WFS&request=GetCapabilities

classic OGC WFS endpoint

?service=WMTS&request=GetCapabilities

classic OGC WMTS endpoint

?service=WCS&request=GetCapabilities

classic OGC WCS endpoint

?service=CSW&request=GetCapabilities

classic OGC CSW catalog

/wms?, /wfs?, /ows?

GeoServer / MapServer endpoint

/conformance, /collections

OGC API server (any of Features / Maps / Tiles / etc.)

/tiles/{tileMatrixSet}/{z}/{y}/{x}

OGC API Tiles

/collections/{id}/items?f=json

OGC API Features

/processes/{id}/execution

OGC API Processes

/stac/v1 or /search returning "type":"FeatureCollection"

STAC API

/arcgis/rest/services/.../MapServer

Esri MapServer (REST)

/arcgis/rest/services/.../FeatureServer

Esri FeatureServer (REST)

/SensorThings/v1.1

SensorThings API

/{z}/{x}/{y}.png or .pbf

XYZ raster or MVT vector tiles

.pmtiles

Protomaps single-file vector-tile archive

References#

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