We have moved our FME Server infrastructure from on-premise to in the cloud in the last few years. This presentation will showcase some of the challenges and things to consider when moving into a large environment while in production.

1. Moving from a large on site FME
Server to a large FME Azure
environment

2. FME
User
Conference
20
22 Data Architect / Senior FME Specialist
Wants to make boring GIS-data available to everyone,
everywhere!
Software:
FME Desktop: Since 2011
FME Server / Cloud: Since 2013
Cityplanner / OpenCitiesPlanner: Since 2016
PostGIS: Since 2013
Also experienced since 2018 in: Gemini, Novapoint, Jira,
Projectwise, Navisworks, AutoCAD, Revit

3. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
FOCUS ON
Learn key points to
when moving your FME workspaces
to new environments

4. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Agenda
Today we will show 3 different
clients and how/why they
changed FME Server
environment.

5. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Norkart
- Large GIS/IT company in Norway
NorEnergyCo (NEC) *
- Large energy company in Norway
* - not real name of company
NorRoadConstruct (NRC) *
- Large country- wide road construction company in Norway

6. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
NorRoadConstruct (NRC)
- Building roads and other infrastructure
projects in whole of Norway.
- Operating income + 250 000 000 Euro /
year
- Large GIS / Survey department
- People familiar with FME Desktop: 0,5
- People familiar with FME Server: 0

7. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
NorRoadConstruct (NRC)

8. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Current solution in FME Cloud:
- Process rasterdata from drones
- Every other night
- Want to run more often
- Add more processing
- Work with internal data / databases
- From 1-2 hours processing to 24/7/365

9. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Database
Azure – VM with FME Server

10. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Lession learned:
Problem: Make a recursive Clipper
Solution is in the FME Community
https://community.safe.com/s/question/0D54Q00008ZS2XuSAL/q
uiz-difficulty-hard-make-a-recursive-clipper

11. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
NorEnergyCo (NEC)
- Responsible for the electrical grid for a large region
of Norway
- One responsibility is to manage their own GIS-data
(electrical grids, poles, equipment, wires etc)
- Need to receive new data from contractors and
verify that they are correct.
- Number of people familiar with FME Desktop: 3+
- Number of people familiar with FME Server: 1

12. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
NorEnergyCo (NEC)
Azure Marketplace – FME Server

13. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
They receive data every day,
validate and return data. This is
done by e-mail to various people
in the company and with various
tools. They want to automate
this process.

14. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Critical functionallity
• Gallery Apps
https://www.safe.com/webinars/cre
ating-no-code-web-apps-with-fme-s
erver/
• Azure AD
https://community.safe.com/s/articl
e/Create-an-FME-Server-Azure-Activ
e-Directory-Web-Connection-in-FME-
Desktop

15. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Norkart
- One of Norways oldest GIS-companies started in
1961
- Creates custom software to manage GIS data for
the Norwegian municipalities
- Reseller and bigtime user of FME Desktop / Server
- Creator of one of Norways largest and most
complete map-data portals: https://e-torg.no/
- Number of people familiar with FME Desktop: 10+
- Number of people familiar with FME Server: 6+

16. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
NorRoadConstruct (NRC)
On-premise
Azure - Kubernetes

17. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Office and server room was going to be demolished and
our main production environment was inside. Both on
single machines and on servers.

18. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Azure running FME Server in Kubernetes
• Azure: Large market share
in Norway
• Familiar environment,
knowledge, ease of use etc.
• Kubernetes looked
promising due to flexibility,
scaling up/down small/large
instances.
• Some jobs works well with
lots of CPU/RAM, other is ok
with smaller requirements.
- Initial testing looked good!
- Very scalable.
- Engine running on
2CPU/4GB RAM or
64CPU/128GB RAM based
on repository/workspace.
- Good failover environment.

19. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Something happened!

20. 20
22
FME
User
Conference

21. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
New strategy: Split environment
FME Cloud:
- External facing processes
- Independet of data
FME Server VM on site:
- Windows
- 3rd party libraries
- Access to local data
FME Server Kubernetes:
- Non-windows
- Scale to large instances

22. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Backup / restore vs
Publish to FME Server
Backup/Restore
FME Server 2020 FME Server 2022
FME Desktop 2022
Publish

23. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Why take the long way to “Publish to FME Server”?
- Switch single workspaces from production
environment 1 to 2
- Multiple people work on different repositories
- Clean up!
- Rearrange!
- Add functionality!
- Speed up and improve functionality!
https://twitter.com/GeoGaard/status/15552202431
77431041?s=20&t=gMlpQZqCidzIC_9NTKkqD
A

24. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
How to get test-data for your new FME Server?
Notifications/
Automations
New FME Server
Old FME Server
Parse logfiles via
FME REST API
New FME Server
Old FME Server

25. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
How do you plan
your FME
migration
and questions to ask

26. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Analyze current and
future situation/needs
- By repository / group of processes
- What do you currently achieve with FME Desktop/Server
- What do you want to change with current processes?
- Where are the bottlenecks?
- Which new pipelines, dataflows do you want to establish within the
next year?

27. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Compare
environments and
locations and choose
- FME Desktop
- FME Server
- FME Cloud
- VM
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Azure
- Amazon

28. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
…and then you can decide where you best should fly
your data, workspaces and processing pipelines!

29. 20
22
FME
User
Conference
Please Share Your Session Feedback
Log in & navigate to the
agenda. Select the
session you attended
Scroll down to “Session
Feedback”
Download EventMobi app
Event code: fmeuc
Click “Launch App”
Fill out the survey
and submit

30. Thank You!
sigher@norkart.no
SigTill