OpenGeo Components vs. OpenGeo Suite by Anthony Calamito

As a solution engineer for Boundless, I receive a lot of questions from users about how to best integrate the OpenGeo components to help solve a problem. But there is one question I get asked more than any other…what is the difference between OpenGeo Suite, and the individual software components that make it up? Sometimes asked differently, should I install GeoServer from the OpenGeo Suite or from the community download page? This is a great question and I hope this blog post helps to clear up some of the confusion around Suite and its component parts. Here goes…

OpenGeo Components

In order to clear up some common misconceptions, it’s important to understand the distinction between the components and Suite. As you no doubt already know, all of the components of the OpenGeo suite are open-source software projects with a community of developers behind them.

PostGIS – a spatial database extender for the PostgreSQL object-relational database. It adds support for geographic objects allowing location queries to be run in SQL (http://postgis.net/).
GeoServer – GeoServer is an open source server for sharing geospatial data (http://geoserver.org/).
GeoWebCache – a Java web application used to cache map tiles coming from a variety of sources such as OGC Web Map Service (http://geowebcache.org/).
QGIS – a free and open source desktop Geographic Information System (http://ift.tt/16YTS2h)
OpenLayers – A high-performance, feature-packed library for all your web mapping needs (http://openlayers.org/)

While the specific open-source license for each varies slightly, they are all considered Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) applications without any license fees or royalties. You can download the individual installers for various operating systems directly from the community websites listed above.

It is important to understand that the individual developer communities, not Boundless, officially control these individual software packages. This means that the communities themselves decide how and when bugs get fixed, what enhancements go into future releases, and even how often new versions are released. If you run into a problem or bug while using these community versions, users are typically pointed in the direction of community blogs, forums, and email list-serves to get the help you need. Documentation is usually provided on the community websites, but there aren’t too many training and certification pathways established by these communities at this time.

OpenGeo Suite

The OpenGeo Suite available on the Boundless website, builds upon the individual open source components by including maintenance installers, documentation, code samples, and more. Think of it as an easy way to kick start your geospatial project. One single install package for configuring all of the components at one time. Plus you get access to additional documentation, blog posts, and videos created by the Boundless team to help get you up and running quickly.

Another advantage of using the OpenGeo Suite is version control of the individual software components. You see, each version of the OpenGeo Suite has been tested and verified to work with a specific release of the open-source components that make it up. For instance, OpenGeo Suite 4.5 includes GeoServer 2.6, OpenLayers 3, etc. This makes upgrades within your organization very simple. Rather than trying to keep track of each component version as the community releases it, migrating Suite means you only have to keep track of one version number. That’s it! Upgrading made simple.

This means that it is possible for the community version of one of the components to be different than the version included in Suite. For example, the community may be ready to release GeoServer 2.7 (based on its release cycle), but we are still maintaining 2.6 in Suite (based on our release cycle). This is sometimes done in the interest of maximizing the stability and interoperability of Suite. But it helps to answer the question of are the versions in Suite and in the community the same. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t. Either way, rest assured that as a Suite user the Boundless Support and Engineering teams will support you regardless of version number.

Side note: as an added bonus, for organizations which require all software to be certified, scanned, or approved before installing, using Suite means you are only scanning 1 software package, not 5, as you would using the community components.

OpenGeo Suite Enterprise

To truly maximize all that Boundless can offer, you will want to consider to OpenGeo Suite Enterprise. OpenGeo Suite Enterprise is known as Commercially Supported Open Source which means in addition to the community software, documentation and code samples from basic Suite, there is a full complement of expert support, training and professional services available to support robust enterprise installations. In fact, many government organizations will not allow open source software to exist inside their enterprise unless a support and/or maintenance package comes along with it. OpenGeo Suite Enterprise provides this capability.

For starters, OpenGeo Suite Enterprise comes with some extra software components that Boundless has created. Composer, a tool for creating, styling, and publishing maps, makes authoring and publishing maps to GeoServer vastly easier than ever before. It includes a simpler styling syntax, real-time feedback, and convenience features such as code-completion and sample code. Other software components produced by Boundless include the Boundless SDK, for building and deploying web mapping applications, as well as special offers for QGIS support.

Enterprise provides you full technical support to help you through any issues you might come across. If you think you might have run across a bug, simply call or email Technical Support and we can help track down what might be the issue. If the issue is discovered to be a bug, our engineering team can provide workarounds or patches to quickly resolve your issue and get you back working again. Also know that any bug fixes Boundless creates are offered back to the community for inclusion in the component software. New for 2015, we are working on consolidating a Knowledge Base for Enterprise customers, to enable a more self-service support mechanism should you prefer that method.

With Professional Services engagements, our expert technologists will work side-by-side with your team to guarantee that best practices are met at every phase of your project, helping you make the most of your investment in Boundless technologies. Professional Services engagements can be large or small, and can be customized to meet the needs of your organization. Our most popular engagements include:

Migration Assessment
OpenGeo Suite Pilot
Architecture & Design Review
Scale Up & Out
OpenGeo Suite Developer Support
Deployment Assurance Plan
Technical Account Management Plan

Boundless not only develops the best open source geospatial software, we also teach you how to use it. No matter your skill level, we have courses to suit your professional development needs. Start with our free tutorials or workshops then progress to our online training and our certification programs. For teams that need to get up to speed we also offer on-site courses customized for group settings. On-site courses are available in our Washington DC training center or, by special arrangement, at your facilities.

Finally, Boundless employs many of the same engineers who are contributors to the community open source projects. Working with Boundless through OpenGeo Suite Enterprise gives you direct access to those developers and the communities they support. This grants you the ability to provide feedback to the community about the direction you would like to see the software go. We have outstanding relationships with the communities behind OpenGeo Suite and are always working to positively shape the future of the components.

Summary

Hopefully this post helps to illustrate the difference between the open source components and the value of utilizing the OpenGeo Suite. Application Developers with a DIY spirit have found great success downloading the individual components and working with the open community to accomplish their projects. But organizations working through Boundless and the OpenGeo Suite have benefitted from access to enterprise grade technical support, training and professional services to get going. Plus the added benefit of additional software for monitoring your enterprise and sharing geospatial content.

So what are you waiting for? Get started now by downloading OpenGeo Suite from our website here: http://ift.tt/1EqGArI.

The post OpenGeo Components vs. OpenGeo Suite by Anthony Calamito appeared first on Boundless.

from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows in Inoreader http://ift.tt/1EqGCzE
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