Workgroup geodatabases require ArcGIS Server workgroup licenses and ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap and its related apps). As a result, workgroup geodatabase support ends when ArcGIS Desktop support ends.
You can use workgroup geodatabases with ArcGIS Server sites until that time, but you are encouraged to begin migrating to enterprise geodatabases.
Tip:
See Enterprise geodatabases and ArcGIS Enterprise for information about how the two are used together.
The following sections provide information about migrating to Enterprise:
Apply an enterprise license to the ArcGIS Server site
See the technical article How to apply a full ArcGIS Enterprise license to ArcGIS Enterprise Workgroup for information about moving ArcGIS Server to an enterprise license.
Migrate workgroup geodatabases to an enterprise geodatabase
Use one of the following workflows to migrate a workgroup geodatabase to an enterprise geodatabase.
Change licenses in existing geodatabases
If Microsoft SQL Server Express meets your needs, you can continue to use the geodatabases with a new license. The following is a summary of steps to keep the data in place but update the licenses in the geodatabases:
- Sign in to the machine where ArcGIS Pro is installed using the Microsoft Windows login that is mapped to the dbo user in the workgroup database server.
- Create a database connection file (.sde) in ArcGIS Pro that connects to the workgroup geodatabase. Use operating system authentication for the connection.
- Copy the ArcGIS Enterprise keycodes file from the ArcGIS Server site that you migrated to an Enterprise license and place it on the ArcGIS Pro machine.
- Run the Update Enterprise Geodatabase License geoprocessing tool. Provide the database connection file that you created in step 2 and the keycodes file you copied in step 3.
Create an enterprise geodatabase and move data
If you require more functionality than SQL Server Express provides, you can create an enterprise geodatabase in a different database management system, and move the data from the workgroup geodatabases to the enterprise geodatabase.
Note:
Supported databases and cloud data warehouses indicates which databases you can use to store enterprise geodatabases and contains links to instructions to create a geodatabase in each type of database.
If you use traditional versioning in the workgroup geodatabases, do not use this method until all versioned edits have been reconciled with and posted to the default version, and the geodatabase is fully compressed. Moving the data before that time will result in lost edits.
After the enterprise geodatabase is created and configured and users exist in the geodatabase who can create data, use ArcGIS Pro to create a database connection to the enterprise geodatabase (connecting as one of the users who can create data), and create database connections to each workgroup geodatabase (as the operating system user who has access to the data in the workgroup geodatabases), and move the data using one of the following methods:
- Copy data from the workgroup geodatabases and paste it into the enterprise geodatabase.
- Import data to the enterprise geodatabase from the workgroup geodatabases.
- Export data from the workgroup geodatabases to the enterprise geodatabase.