Create Enterprise Geodatabase (Data Management)

Summary

Creates a database, storage locations, and a database user to act as the geodatabase administrator and owner of the geodatabase. Functionality varies depending on the database management system used. The tool grants the geodatabase administrator privileges required to create a geodatabase, and then creates a geodatabase in the database.

Usage

  • The following table indicates what the tool can do for each type of database management system (DBMS):

    FunctionDBMS

    Creates a database

    PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server

    Creates a tablespace

    Oracle

    Creates a geodatabase administrator user in the database

    Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server

    Note that the tool only creates a user in SQL Server if you create an sde-schema geodatabase.

    Grants the geodatabase administrator the privileges required to create a geodatabase, upgrade a geodatabase, and kill database connections

    Oracle and PostgreSQL

    Grants the geodatabase administrator the privileges required to create a geodatabase and kill database connections

    SQL Server (if creating an sde-schema geodatabase)

    Grants the geodatabase administrator the privileges required to import data using Oracle Data Pump

    Oracle 12c

    Creates a geodatabase in the specified database

    Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server

  • You must have ArcGIS Desktop (Standard or Advanced), ArcGIS Engine with the Geodatabase Update extension, or ArcGIS Server installed on the computer where you'll create the geodatabase. If you're using Oracle or SQL Server, you must also install and configure a database management system client on the computer where the ArcGIS client is installed.

  • Before you can create a geodatabase in Oracle, you must download the DatabaseSupport.zip (Windows) or DatabaseSupport.tar (Linux) file from My Esri to obtain the st_shapelib (Windows) or libst_shapelib (Linux) library. Place the library on the Oracle server. Be sure to copy the correct library for the operating system where Oracle is installed.

  • Before you can create a geodatabase in PostgreSQL, you must download the DatabaseSupport.zip (Windows) or DatabaseSupport.tar (Linux) file from My Esri to obtain the st_geometry library. Place the library in the %PostgreSQL%\lib directory (Windows) or $PKGLIBDIR directory (Linux) on the PostgreSQL server. Be sure to copy the correct library for the version of PostgreSQL you're using and operating system where PostgreSQL is installed.

  • This tool is not supported with database services such as Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for PostgreSQL, Amazon RDS for SQL Server, Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, Microsoft Azure SQL Database, or Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL.

  • Once the geodatabase is created, you cannot rename the database in which it is stored. The database name is stored in geodatabase system tables and is used to fully qualify table and feature class names; therefore, changing the database name using database tools makes your geodatabase data inaccessible.

Syntax

arcpy.management.CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase(database_platform, instance_name, {database_name}, {account_authentication}, {database_admin}, {database_admin_password}, {sde_schema}, {gdb_admin_name}, {gdb_admin_password}, {tablespace_name}, authorization_file)
ParameterExplanationData Type
database_platform

Specify the type of database management system to which you will connect to create a geodatabase.

  • OracleConnect to an Oracle instance.
  • PostgreSQLConnect to a PostgreSQL database cluster
  • SQL_Server Connect to a Microsoft SQL Server instance.
String
instance_name

For SQL Server, provide the SQL Server instance name. Case-sensitive or binary collation SQL Server instances are not supported.

For Oracle, provide either the TNS name or the Oracle Easy Connection string.

For PostgreSQL, provide the name of the server where PostgreSQL is installed.

String
database_name
(Optional)

This parameter is valid for PostgreSQL and SQL Server. You can type either the name of an existing, preconfigured database or a name for a database that the tool will create.

If the tool creates the database in SQL Server, the file sizes will either be the same as defined for the SQL Server model database or 500 MB for the MDF file and 125 MB for the LDF file, whichever is greater. Both the MDF and LDF files are created in the default SQL Server location on the database server.

If the tool creates the database in PostgreSQL, it uses the template1 database as the template for your database. If you need a different template—for example, you require a template that is enabled for a PostGIS—you must create the database before running this tool and provide the name of the existing database. Always use lowercase characters for the database name. If you use uppercase letters, the tool will convert them to lowercase.

String
account_authentication
(Optional)

Specify the type of authentication to use for the database connection.

  • OPERATING_SYSTEM_AUTHUse operating system authentication. The login information you provide for the computer where you run the tool is the login used to authenticate the database connection. If your database management system is not configured to allow operating system authentication, authentication will fail.
  • DATABASE_AUTHUse database authentication. You must provide a valid database user name and password for authentication in the database. This is the default. If your database management system is not configured to allow database authentication, authentication will fail.
Boolean
database_admin
(Optional)

If you use database authentication, specify a database administrator user. For Oracle, use the sys user. For PostgreSQL, specify a user that has superuser status. For SQL Server, specify any member of the sysadmin fixed server role.

String
database_admin_password
(Optional)

If you use database authentication, type the password for the database administrator.

Encrypted String
sde_schema
(Optional)

This parameter is only relevant to SQL Server and indicates whether the geodatabase will be created in the schema of a user named sde or in the dbo schema in the database. If creating a dbo-schema geodatabase, connect as a user who is dbo in the SQL Server instance.

  • SDE_SCHEMAThe geodatabase repository is owned by and stored in the schema of a user named sde. This is the default.
  • DBO_SCHEMAThe geodatabase repository is stored in the dbo schema in the database.
Boolean
gdb_admin_name
(Optional)

If you are using PostgreSQL, this value must be sde. If the sde login role does not exist, this tool creates it and grants it superuser status in the database cluster. If the sde login role exists, this tool will grant it superuser status if it does not already have it. The tool also creates an sde schema in the database and grants usage on the schema to public.

If you are using Oracle, the value is sde. If the sde user does not exist in the Oracle database, the Create Enterprise Geodatabase tool creates it and grants it the privileges required to create and upgrade a geodatabase and disconnect users from the database. If you run this tool in an Oracle 12c or 18c database, the tool also grants privileges to allow data imports using Oracle Data Pump. If the sde user already exists, the tool will grant these same privileges to the existing user.

Note:

Beginning with ArcGIS 10.7 and ArcGIS Pro 2.3, you cannot create user-schema geodatabases in Oracle.

If you are using SQL Server and specified an sde-schema geodatabase, this value must be sde. The tool will create an sde login, database user, and schema and grant it privileges to create a geodatabase and kill connections to the SQL Server instance. If you specified a dbo schema, do not provide a value for this parameter.

String
gdb_admin_password
(Optional)

The password for the geodatabase administrator user. If the geodatabase administrator user already exists in the database management system, the password you provide must match the existing password. If the geodatabase administrator user does not already exist, type a valid database password for the new user. The password must meet the password policy enforced by your database.

The password is an encrypted string.

Encrypted String
tablespace_name
(Optional)

This parameter is only valid for Oracle and PostgreSQL DBMS types. For Oracle, do one of the following:

  • Provide the name of an existing tablespace. This tablespace will be used as the default tablespace for the geodatabase administrator user.
  • Type a valid name for a new tablespace. The tool will create a 400 MB tablespace in the Oracle default storage location and set it as the geodatabase administrator's default tablespace.
  • Leave the tablespace blank, and the tool will create a 400 MB tablespace named SDE_TBS in the Oracle default storage location. The SDE_TBS tablespace will be set as the geodatabase administrator's default tablespace.

This tool does not create a tablespace in PostgreSQL. You must either provide the name of an existing tablespace to be used as the database's default tablespace, or leave this parameter blank. If you leave the parameter blank, the tool creates a database in the pg_default tablespace.

String
authorization_file

The path and file name of the keycodes file that was created when ArcGIS Server was authorized. This file is in the \\Program Files\ESRI\License<release#>\sysgen folder on Windows or the /arcgis/server/framework/runtime/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/ESRI/License<release#>/sysgen directory on Linux. If you have not already done so, authorize ArcGIS Server to create this file.

You will likely need to copy the keycodes file from the ArcGIS Server machine to a location accessible to the tool.

File

Derived Output

NameExplanationData Type
out_result

Specifies whether the enterprise geodatabase was successfully created.

Boolean

Code sample

CreateGeodatabase example 1 (Python window)

The following script creates a geodatabase in an Oracle database. It creates an sde user and a default tablespace, sdetbs, for the sde user. The keycodes file is on a remote Linux server.

import arcpy
arcpy.CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase_management(
    "ORACLE", "ora11g:1521/elf", "", "DATABASE_AUTH", "sys", 
    "manager", "", "sde", "supersecret", "sdetbs", 
    "//myserver/mymounteddrive/myaccessibledirectory/keycodes")
CreateGeodatabase example 2 (Python window)

This script connects to a SQL Server instance (tor\ssinstance), to create a database named sp_data and an sde-schema geodatabase in it. The connection is made using operating system authentication. The keycodes file is on a remote Windows server.

import arcpy
arcpy.CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase_management(
    "SQL_SERVER", "tor\ssinstance1", "sp_data", "OPERATING_SYSTEM_AUTH", "", "", 
    "SDE_SCHEMA", "sde", "sde", "", "//myserver/myaccessibledirectory/keycodes")
CreateGeodatabase example 3 (Python window)

This script connects to a PostgreSQL database cluster on a server named feldspar. An sde user is created as is a database, pggdb, in the existing tablespace, gdbspace. The keycodes file is on the local Linux server.

import arcpy
arcpy.CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase_management(
    "POSTGRESQL", "feldspar", "pggdb", "DATABASE_AUTH", "postgres", "averturis", 
    "", "sde", "nomira", "gdbspace", 
    "//arcgis/server/framework/runtime/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/ESRI/License/sysgen/keycodes")
CreateGeodatabase example 4 (stand-alone script)

The following stand-alone Python script allows you to provide information specific to your site using options.

"""
Name: create_enterprise_gdb.py
Description: Provide connection information to a DBMS instance and create an enterprise geodatabase.
Type  create_enterprise_gdb.py -h or create_enterprise_gdb.py --help for usage
"""

# Import system modules
import arcpy
import os
import optparse
import sys


# Define usage and version
parser = optparse.OptionParser(usage = "usage: %prog [Options]", version="%prog 1.0 for " + arcpy.GetInstallInfo()['Version'] )

#Define help and options
parser.add_option ("--DBMS", dest="Database_type", type="choice", choices=['SQL_SERVER', 'ORACLE', 'POSTGRESQL', ''], default="", help="Type of enterprise DBMS:  SQL_SERVER, ORACLE, or POSTGRESQL.")                   
parser.add_option ("-i", dest="Instance", type="string", default="", help="DBMS instance name")
parser.add_option ("-D", dest="Database", type="string", default="none", help="Database name:  Do not specify for Oracle")
parser.add_option ("--auth", dest="Account_authentication", type ="choice", choices=['DATABASE_AUTH', 'OPERATING_SYSTEM_AUTH'], default='DATABASE_AUTH', help="Authentication type options (case-sensitive):  DATABASE_AUTH, OPERATING_SYSTEM_AUTH.  Default=DATABASE_AUTH")
parser.add_option ("-U", dest="Dbms_admin", type="string", default="", help="DBMS administrator user")
parser.add_option ("-P", dest="Dbms_admin_pwd", type="string", default="", help="DBMS administrator password")
parser.add_option ("--schema", dest="Schema_type", type="choice", choices=['SDE_SCHEMA', 'DBO_SCHEMA'], default="SDE_SCHEMA", help="Schema type  applies to geodatabases in SQL Server only. Type SDE_SCHEMA to create geodatabase in SDE schema or type DBO_SCHEMA to create geodatabase in DBO schema. Default=SDE_SCHEMA")
parser.add_option ("-u", dest="Gdb_admin", type="string", default="", help="Geodatabase administrator user name; Must always be sde for PostgreSQL, sde-schema geodatabases in SQL Server, and sde geodatabase in Oracle")
parser.add_option ("-p", dest="Gdb_admin_pwd", type="string", default="", help="Geodatabase administrator password")
parser.add_option ("-t", dest="Tablespace", type="string", default="", help="Tablespace name; For PostgreSQL, type name of existing tablespace in which to store database. If no tablespace name specified, pg_default is used. For Oracle, type name of existing tablespace, or, if tablespace with specified name does not exist, it will be created and set as the default tablespace for the sde user. If no tablespace name is specified, SDE_TBS tablespace is created and set as sde user default. Tablespace name not supported for SQL Server.")
parser.add_option ("-l", dest="Authorization_file", type="string", default="", help="Full path and name of authorization file; file created when ArcGIS Server Enterprise authorized, and stored in \\Program Files\ESRI\License<release#>\sysgen on Windows or /arcgis/server/framework/runtime/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/ESRI/License<release#>/sysgen on Linux")
# Check if value entered for option
try:
	(options, args) = parser.parse_args()

	
	#Check if no system arguments (options) entered
	if len(sys.argv) == 1:
		print("%s: error: %s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "No command options given"))
		parser.print_help()
		sys.exit(3)

	#Usage parameters for spatial database connection
	database_type = options.Database_type.upper()
	instance = options.Instance
	database = options.Database.lower()	
	account_authentication = options.Account_authentication.upper()
	dbms_admin = options.Dbms_admin
	dbms_admin_pwd = options.Dbms_admin_pwd
	schema_type = options.Schema_type.upper()
	gdb_admin = options.Gdb_admin
	gdb_admin_pwd = options.Gdb_admin_pwd	
	tablespace = options.Tablespace
	license = options.Authorization_file

	
	if( database_type ==""):	
		print(" \n%s: error: \n%s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "DBMS type (--DBMS) must be specified."))
		parser.print_help()
		sys.exit(3)		
		
	if (license == ""):
		print(" \n%s: error: \n%s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "Authorization file (-l) must be specified."))
		parser.print_help()
		sys.exit(3)			
	
	if(database_type == "SQL_SERVER"):
		if(schema_type == "SDE_SCHEMA" and gdb_admin.lower() != "sde"):
			print("\n%s: error: %s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "To create SDE schema on SQL Server, geodatabase administrator must be SDE."))
			sys.exit(3)
		if (schema_type == "DBO_SCHEMA" and gdb_admin != ""):
			print("\nWarning: %s\n" % ("Ignoring geodatabase administrator specified when creating DBO schema..."))
		if( account_authentication == "DATABASE_AUTH" and dbms_admin == ""):
			print("\n%s: error: %s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "DBMS administrator must be specified with database authentication"))
			sys.exit(3)
		if( account_authentication == "OPERATING_SYSTEM_AUTH" and dbms_admin != ""):
			print("\nWarning: %s\n" % ("Ignoring DBMS administrator specified when using operating system authentication..."))
	else:
		if (schema_type == "DBO_SCHEMA"):
			print("\nWarning: %s %s, %s\n" % ("Only SDE schema is supported on", database_type, "switching to SDE schema..." ))
			
		if( gdb_admin.lower() == ""):
			print("\n%s: error: %s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "Geodatabase administrator must be specified."))
			sys.exit(3)

		if( gdb_admin.lower() != "sde"):
			if (database_type == "ORACLE"):
				print("\nGeodatabase admin user is not SDE, creating user schema geodatabase on Oracle...\n")
			else:
				print("\n%s: error: %s for %s.\n" % (sys.argv[0], "Geodatabase administrator must be SDE", database_type))
				sys.exit(3)
			
		if( dbms_admin == ""):
			print("\n%s: error: %s\n" % (sys.argv[0], "DBMS administrator must be specified!"))
			sys.exit(3)

		if (account_authentication == "OPERATING_SYSTEM_AUTH"):
			print("Warning: %s %s, %s\n" % ("Only database authentication is supported on", database_type, "switching to database authentication..." ))

	# Get the current product license
	product_license=arcpy.ProductInfo()
	
	
	# Checks required license level
	if product_license.upper() == "ARCVIEW" or product_license.upper() == 'ENGINE':
		print("\n" + product_license + " license found!" + " Creating an enterprise geodatabase requires an ArcGIS Desktop Standard or Advanced, ArcGIS Engine with the Geodatabase Update extension, or ArcGIS Server license.")
		sys.exit("Re-authorize ArcGIS before creating enterprise geodatabase.")
	else:
		print("\n" + product_license + " license available!  Continuing to create...")
		arcpy.AddMessage("+++++++++")
	
	
	try:
		print("Creating enterprise geodatabase...\n")
		arcpy.CreateEnterpriseGeodatabase_management(database_platform=database_type,instance_name=instance, database_name=database, account_authentication=account_authentication, database_admin=dbms_admin, database_admin_password=dbms_admin_pwd, sde_schema=schema_type, gdb_admin_name=gdb_admin, gdb_admin_password=gdb_admin_pwd, tablespace_name=tablespace, authorization_file=license)
		for i in range(arcpy.GetMessageCount()):
			arcpy.AddReturnMessage(i)
		arcpy.AddMessage("+++++++++\n")
	except:
		for i in range(arcpy.GetMessageCount()):
			arcpy.AddReturnMessage(i)
			
#Check if no value entered for option	
except SystemExit as e:
	if e.code == 2:
		parser.usage = ""
		print("\n")
		parser.print_help()   
		parser.exit(2)

Environments

This tool does not use any geoprocessing environments.

Licensing information

  • Basic: No
  • Standard: Yes
  • Advanced: Yes

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