How to change network analysis settings in a service from a web app

Question

I'm a basic/novice user with ArcGIS Server, so I'd like to know if I publish a network analysis service using ArcGIS for Server, will the user be able to change analysis settings as one would in ArcMap e.g. changing impedance from distance to travel time, adding time options etc?

I've looked at the server help for NA as well as the network analysis service help, but it doesn't really say. After some looking around, it seems that creating a model with the Network Analyst tools I need (such as Make Route Layer), making the attributes and other relevant components model parameters, and publishing it as a geoprocessing service would be the way to go.

Answer 1

You might also like going through a tutorial on building a network analysis service available here.

What I think is really powerful with Server 10.1 release, is that you don't have to build any model for getting the task you've described above as a service. There are already GP tools available out-of-the-box with 10.1 that incorporate this logic. The difference here, though, would be that you need to publish a GP service, not a map service with Network Analysis capability on.

I've used these tools for several times myself and found them to be a very efficient way of getting the routing functionality on the web even for someone having pure ArcGIS Desktop competence.

After publishing such a GP service, any web application that can talk REST with ArcGIS Server 10.1 will be able to consume the functionality exposed. If you need to see how it works as a proof-of-concept, consider using ArcGIS Viewer for Flex or Silverlight that are able to consume the GP service natively and handle the graphic interface, results visualization, and user experience.