A quick guide for setting up GeoServer and serving geospatial datasets as Web Services.

A quick guide for setting up GeoServer and serving geospatial datasets as Web Services

One the most important component of a Web GIS application is the GIS Server. A GIS Server is a software that listens for specific request (by clients). These requests could be for different services (i.e. OGC compliant) like getMap request etc. A GIS server loads a dataset (e.g. a shape file or a Geo-Tiff) renders it, cut image into tiles and sends it back to the requesting client. Every time a client pans or zooms, GIS server receives requests and sends image tiles as response.

There are various Open Source options to choose for a GIS Server (i.e.https://www.gislounge.com/open-source-gis-applications), however this tutorial will focus onGeoServer (http://geoserver.org/), which is one of the most commonly used frameworks. GeoServer has an edge over others because of its administration tool i.e. web based administration interface and its simplicity deploying a dataset as a WMS, which make it an ideal option for beginners in the WebGIS industry.

Spatial Information dissemination and integration inside the majority of information frameworks was cultivated by innovative technological advances. As of not long ago, spatial data was conveyed by means of paper, settled electronic media (CD-ROMs or DVDs) or system based electronic media. Today, GIS services are utilized to transmit spatial data over the web.

The advances in Information and Communication Technologies have changed the way in which spatial data are distributed. Today, Web GIS is utilized to disseminate maps over the Internet. Spatial Information tends to be created, stored and managed by local providers, however it is available to various clients anyplace and whenever. This approach empowers a client application to get to spatial data across different networks and sources.


Scope of the course

The scope of this tutorial is to familiarize beginners or newcomers to the WebGIS industry about WebGIS development frameworks. This guide outlines the configuration procedure for getting GeoServer installed and setup to serve geospatial datasets as a Web Service.
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Course curriculum

  1. 01

    • Lesson 0: About this Course

    • Lesson 1: Setting Up GeoServer (Part-1)

    • Lesson 2: Setting up Geoserver (Part-2)
  2. 02

    • Lesson 3: Geoserver Architecture & Protocols

    • Lesson 4: Basic Menus

    • Lesson 5: Overview of GeoServer User Interface
  3. 03

    • Lesson 6: About Workspaces

    • Lesson 7: Create Workspace

    • Lesson 8: About Stores

    • Lesson 9: Import Vector Data to Store

    • Lesson 10: Publish Vector Data to Geoserver

    • Lesson 11: Web Map Service (WMS)

    • Lesson 12: Serving Cascading WMS

    • Lesson 13: Web Feature Service (WFS)

    • Lesson 14: Differences WMS and WFS

    • Lesson 15: Layer Preview in GeoServer

    • Lesson 16: Connect and Work with QGIS (Part-1)

    • Lesson 17: Connect and Work with QGIS (Part-2)

    • Lesson 18: Create Layer Group
  4. 04

    • Lesson 19: Importing Raster Data (Part-1)

    • Lesson 20: Importing Raster Data (Part-2)

    • Lesson 21: Raster Data and WCS

    • Lesson 22: Visualize Raster in QGIS using WMS and WCS
  5. 05

    • Lesson 23: Basic Concepts

    • Lesson 24: Styling Point Features

    • Lesson 25: Styling Line Features

    • Lesson 26: Styling Polygon Features

    • Lesson 27: GeoServer Basic Vector Styling

    • Lesson 28: Exporting SLD from QGIS

    • Lesson 29: Styling Raster Data

    • Lesson 30: GeoServer Basic Raster Styling
  6. 06

    • Lesson 31: Introducing GeoExplorer

    • Lesson 32: Installation and Set Up

    • Lesson 33: Introduction to GeoExplorer and Connectivity with Geoserver
  7. 07

    • Bonus Material: Summary Notes - Introduction to GeoServer (tutorial, notes and examples)

    • What's Next

What will you learn?

  • Basic WebGIS terminology

  • Familiarize with one of the most commonly used WebGis Server in the market

  • Integrate Web services to your desktop GIS

  • Set up a WebGIS ready environment on a Windows Machine

  • Publish spatial data using OGC services

  • Build a basic WebGIS portal

Any Prerequisites?

  • A basic understanding of GIS aspects

  • A low/mid-range desktop/laptop to follow up the tutorial

  • A basic understanding of Web based architectures

Student Profile?

  • Under/post graduate students

  • Professionals and Companies

  • Master students and PhD candidates

  • Researchers and Academics

Some more information

  • Certificates of Completion

    After you successfully finish the course, you can claim your Certificate of Completion with NO extra cost! You can add it to your CV, LinkedIn profile etc

  • Available at any time! Study at your best time

    We know hard it is to acquire new skills. All our courses are self paced.

  • Online and always accessible

    Even when you finish the course and you get your certificate, you will still have access to course contents! Every time an Instructor makes an update you will be notified and be able to watch it for FREE

About your Instructor

Dimitris Sykas is a Remote Sensing and Surveying Engineer with a Ph.D. in hyperspectral remote sensing from the National Technical University of Athens (2016). He has spent fifteen years turning satellite data into operational products: at the NTUA Remote Sensing Laboratory, at Planetek Hellas as Senior EO Engineer, at Neuropublic building machine-learning models for smart farming and CAP monitoring, as a postdoctoral researcher on deep learning for agricultural Earth observation at the National Observatory of Athens, and as CTO of the cloudeo group. In 2024 he co-founded GOVADI, an Athens-based company building sovereign, on-premises AI systems for the Greek public sector and large enterprises, where he leads the technical direction of its products: Greek speech-to-text, retrieval-augmented generation with local models and embedding stores, document OCR and PII anonymisation. He has taken part in more than 25 funded EU and ESA projects, has authored over 23 peer-reviewed publications in remote sensing, and holds an international patent in hyperspectral data compression. He founded GEO University to bring hands-on GIS and Earth observation training online.

Dimitris Sykas

Remote Sensing Engineer, Ph.D. · Co-founder and Director, GOVADI · Founder, GEO University

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