Frequently Asked Questions - Web Map Server (WMS)

What is a Web Map Server?
A standard Web browser client can submit a request to a Web Map Server for a map in the form of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). The content of the results will depend on which one of the three following operations was included in the request:

  • GetCapabilities. Describes using an XML-encoding the capabilities of the service, e.g. the format of the image that can be produced and all supported spatial reference systems (SRS).
  • GetMap. Produce a map as an image (JPEG, GIF, PNG, etc.)
  • GetFeatureInfo. Returns properties of geometric objects.

A Web Map Server is usually not invoked directly. More often, it is invoked by a client application (such as CubeXPLOR) that provides the user with interactive controls.

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What is a cascading Web Map Server?
A cascading Web Map Server can use other web map servers as data sources, seamlessly translating and overlaying the results into a unique map image for the user.

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What is CubeSERV WMS?
CubeSERV WMS is CubeWerx' cascading OGC-compliant Web Map server.

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Is CubeSERV WMS OGC-compliant?
Yes.

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What version of OGC's Web Map Server (WMS) specification does CubeSERV WMS support?
All published versions up to and including 1.3.0.

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Can CubeSERV WMS cascade other Web Map servers that comply to previous versions of OGC's Web Map Server specification?
Yes. CubeSERV WMS can cascade Web Map servers that comply to OGC Web Map Server (WMS) specifications versions 1.0, 1.1.0, 1.1.1 and 1.3.0.

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Does CubeSERV WMS support OGC's Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) specification?
Yes.

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What is a Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD)?

A Styled Layer Descriptor give the user to expand the URL request to include information on how the features are to be represented, i.e. what style/symbols are to be employed when rendering a feature.

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Can CubeSERV WMS run in stand-alone mode (i.e. without the Spatial Data Warehouse)?
Yes.

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What image formats can CubeSERV WMS publish?
TIFF, PPM, JPEG, GIF and PNG.

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What coordinate reference systems are supported by CubeSERV WMS?
CubeSERV® WMS supports hundreds of projections. Support for additional SRS, such as the ones documented by the European Petroleum Survery Group (EPSG), can be easily added to CubeSERV WMS.

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Does CubeSERV WMS support SSL/PKI?
SSl and X509 certificate authentication is supported.

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