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Welcome to the ArcGIS Notebook Server (Windows) installation guide

ArcGIS Notebook Server is an ArcGIS Server role that is licensed and configured for the purpose of hosting notebooks. The server role uses containers to host and run ArcGIS Notebooks and provides a separate and secure environment for the notebooks without interfering with the host operating system.

If your ArcGIS Notebook Server site has already been set up, refer to the software user guide or administrator guide.

Starting at 10.7.1, multiple machines can be joined in an ArcGIS Notebook Server site, allowing you to expand your machine resources for hosting and executing notebooks. If you want to deploy a multiple-machine site, some additional steps are required, as detailed in Join additional machines to an ArcGIS Notebook Server site.

Use this guide to install and configure the software. The installation process for ArcGIS Notebook Server is different than for other ArcGIS Server roles. Read the installation guide carefully, and complete the installation steps in the order they are presented.

Prerequisites and constraints for Windows systems

If you deploy ArcGIS Notebook Server on Windows machines, there are a number of prerequisites and constraints to consider. These do not apply when deploying ArcGIS Notebook Server on Linux machines.

  • ArcGIS Notebook Server uses Docker, a third-party component, to manage containers. When you deploy ArcGIS Notebook Server on Windows machines, you must use the Docker Desktop Community edition of Docker. This edition does not include support or maintenance from Docker, but is considered feature-complete.
  • It's recommended you use Windows Server 2019 machines in a production environment of ArcGIS Notebook Server. Windows 10 machines are only supported for development environments.
  • If you deploy ArcGIS Notebook Server on Windows Server 2019, you can use the current stable release of Docker Desktop Community. Note that the Docker documentation for the current version does not mention Windows Server 2019 in its system requirements.
  • If you deploy ArcGIS Notebook Server on Windows Server 2016, you must use version 2.0.0.3 or earlier of Docker Desktop Community, and will not be able to upgrade Docker in the future. Newer versions of Docker Desktop Community are incompatible with Windows Server 2016.
  • ArcGIS Notebook Server uses Linux containers in its Docker component. On Windows machines, the containers in an ArcGIS Notebook Server site are managed within a Linux emulator called MobyLinuxVM, which is contained within the Hyper-V environment.
  • ArcGIS Notebook Server requires the Hyper-V role to already be installed on Windows Server and Windows 10.
  • Certain virtualization environments do not allow Hyper-V to be enabled and operated in Windows. As a result, ArcGIS Notebook Server cannot be installed and operated in such environments.
  • Starting at 10.7.1, ArcGIS Notebook Server supports multiple-machine sites. In Windows systems, Docker does not support mounting shared drives on containers, so the workspace directory must remain local on each machine. Because users can launch containers and open notebooks on each machine in a multiple-machine site, it's necessary that the content in the workspace directory be synchronized across machines. The steps to configure one method of replication are given in Configure DFS replication for ArcGIS Notebook Server.

Software installation

An overview of the steps to install ArcGIS Notebook Server is below. Complete each step in order, and review all sections of the installation guide documentation as you go.