Honua

Honua — architecture

Documentation · shared GIS pipeline · deployment patterns

952 / 952 passing assertions 11 scoped CITE suites Shared policy and execution pipeline PostGIS operational store claims & gaps ↗
Shared request path

One request pipeline. Several documented interfaces.

Authentication, policy, catalog lookup, query planning, encoding, and telemetry converge on shared runtime services. Adapters translate covered operations into that core.

Illustrative request path Follow a supported feature query through the runtime.
  1. 01 Client interface ArcGIS, QGIS, web, SDK, or agent using a covered operation
  2. 02 Protocol adapter GeoServices, OGC, OData, tile, gRPC, or MCP request parsing
  3. 03 Identity & policy Authentication plus operation- and resource-scoped authorization
  4. 04 Shared execution Catalog lookup, query planning, jobs, rendering, and response encoding
  5. 05 Data & telemetry PostGIS or a covered provider, with health and OpenTelemetry signals

Illustrative sequence only. Latency and response behavior depend on the operation, data, and deployment.

01 · Clients

Keep familiar interfaces where coverage matches.

Existing clients can retain familiar service shapes when their required operations, parameters, versions, authentication, and extensions are covered.

ArcGIS clientsQGISWeb appsSDKsMCP agents
02 · Server runtime

Thin adapters over shared server services.

Documented surfaces converge on common policy, catalog, data, analytics, publishing, and job components. Capability flags make the available surface inspectable.

GeoServices RESTOGCOData / STACTilesgRPC / MCP
03 · State and providers

PostGIS first; additional paths stay explicit.

PostgreSQL/PostGIS is the read/write operational store. Covered relational connectors, file imports, and object-storage formats have provider- and operation-specific boundaries.

PostGISObject storageRedis · multi-nodeOTel backend
Edition lens

See where capabilities enter the catalog.

Showing documented capabilities across all editions.

Core serving surfaces

Documented GeoServices REST, OGC, OData, STAC, tile, gRPC, and MCP operations with scoped coverage.

Community

Runtime foundations

PostGIS-backed catalog and data paths, API keys, health probes, Prometheus, and OpenTelemetry.

Community

Editing and analytics

FeatureServer editing, spatial analytics, geocoding, cloud raster paths, and multi-node caching.

Pro

Streams and alerts

Opt-in real-time streams and alert evaluation for event-driven workflows.

Pro

Enterprise controls

Multi-provider OIDC, claim-to-role mapping, branch versioning, service imports, and extension hooks.

Enterprise

Published boundaries

The catalog names the few pilot-access and not-yet items directly.

All editions
// esri migration · broad practical coverage

Keep supported workflows familiar. Move in stages.

FeatureServer, MapServer, ImageServer, GeocodeServer, NAServer, GPServer, and Geometry Service have broad practical coverage. Check long-tail requirements before moving an endpoint.

GeoServices serving surface Assessment and migration tools Long-tail exceptions documented by operation
Existing estate ArcGIS Server / Online Services, clients, data, auth, renderers, and operational dependencies
Honua pilot Supported services on Honua Selected layers in PostGIS, familiar covered interfaces, and explicit gaps
Run both systems while clients and response behavior are tested.
Measured migration path

Inventory, test, and move one workflow at a time.

01 · read-only first

Inventory the estate inside your network.

Run the open, read-only assessment tool against the service inventory. Record services, layers, authentication, extensions, data sources, and workflows without changing the source.

honua-esri-assess → local inventory and capability map
02 · compatibility review

Check the workflows you depend on.

Compare required operations with the public compatibility matrix. Long-tail renderers, extensions, and authentication flows stay visible for review.

Open the compatibility evidence →
03 · bounded import

Import a representative supported service.

Copy selected layers from a FeatureServer or MapServer into PostGIS and publish the pilot. The importer reports content it cannot move.

Review migration evidence →
04 · side-by-side testing

Test client and response behavior.

Exercise the clients, operations, and data that must keep working. Keep the old service available while exceptions are fixed or accepted.

Not yet Estate-wide behavioral comparison reporting
05 · controlled cutover

Move only validated endpoints.

Repoint a service after its workflows pass. Keep the source as a rollback path, observe the moved workload, and repeat service by service.

Read the full migration playbook →

JavaScript

Published tools cover supported import and call-site transformations.

Python

Published tooling scans, translates, and runs recognized operations, with a report for manual review.

.NET and MAUI

Migration guides and adapters support reimplementation.

Not yet Automated source rewriting
Migration detail See coverage and the few long-tail exceptions.
Plan a measured migration →
// mcp and operations

Agents use the same boundaries. They do not bypass them.

Server MCP discovery and query use the same policy and data boundaries as other interfaces.

Health, telemetry, and server MCP Pilot access one-environment operator Not yet fleet verification and rollout
Build and inspect

GIS-facing agents

Discover covered services, read metadata, query features, and invoke supported analysis through server APIs. Policy checks apply to the agent identity just as they do to any other client.

AgentMCP / gRPCAuth + policyServer APIs
Explore AI and GIS boundaries →
Operate and propose

Operations-facing agents

Read health and telemetry, inspect deterministic findings, and prepare policy-scoped proposals. Risky and irreversible work remains approval-gated.

SignalsFindingProposalApproval
Review the operator model →
Operations loop

Signals, proposals, and controlled change.

Observe health and telemetry.

Health/readiness endpoints, Prometheus metrics, and OpenTelemetry signals expose the deployment state.

Inspect the evidence behind a condition.

Operators and agents can inspect the signals behind a proposed change.

Prepare a bounded plan.

The single-environment loop produces proposals under configured release and policy controls.

Route approval or a configured low-risk action.

Low-risk actions need an explicit policy. Risky or irreversible work requires approval.

Partial

Verify every outcome and promote across environments.

Post-action verification and compensating rollback are implemented at the operation gateway. Signed fleet promotion across environments, and broader remediation, are not yet implemented.

Identity Every call has a principal.

Agents use scoped credentials and the same authorization boundaries as interactive or service clients.

Evidence Proposals point back to signals.

Operators can inspect the condition, proposed action, and configured policy before execution.

Control Approval remains a product boundary.

Automation does not turn unknown, risky, or irreversible work into an implicit background action.

// azure deployment

Run on AKS with managed state.

Deploy the same OCI image through the public Helm chart. Keep the serving tier stateless and use managed PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Blob storage, Redis for multi-node mode, and your observability backend.

Public Helm chart for Kubernetes and AKS Pilot access Terraform reference Not yet Azure Marketplace listing
Traffic and identity
Ingress, TLS, identity, and secrets Use the network and identity controls your platform team already operates.
AKS
Honua Server pods Same OCI image · stateless serving tier · health and telemetry
Optional worker paths Functions and Batch references cover long-running jobs and optional conversion.
Managed state
Azure PostgreSQL + PostGIS Operational catalog and feature store.
Blob storage + Redis Shared artifacts and multi-node coordination.
Your OTel backend Traces and metrics in your existing platform.
Production pilot Fit the deployment to your workload.

Validate HA, sizing, upgrades, rollback, backup, and recovery during the pilot.

See deployment details →
// aws deployment

Run on EKS or ECS/Fargate.

Deploy the same OCI image through the public Helm chart or the ECS/Fargate reference path. Keep the server tier stateless and use RDS PostgreSQL/PostGIS, S3-compatible storage, Redis, and your observability backend.

Public Helm chart for EKS ECS/Fargate, Lambda, and Batch references for evaluation Pilot access Terraform reference Not yet AWS Marketplace listing
Traffic and identity
Load balancing, TLS, identity, and secrets Use the network and IAM controls your platform team already operates.
Compute
EKS or ECS/Fargate Same OCI image · stateless serving tier · health and telemetry
Optional worker paths Lambda and Batch references cover asynchronous jobs.
Managed state
RDS PostgreSQL + PostGIS Operational catalog and feature store.
S3-compatible storage + Redis Shared artifacts and multi-node coordination.
Your OTel backend Traces and metrics in your existing platform.
Production pilot Fit the deployment to your workload.

Validate HA, sizing, upgrades, rollback, backup, and recovery during the pilot.

See deployment details →
// next

Start with one workflow.
Follow the evidence outward.

Use the architecture to orient the evaluation, then verify compatibility, availability, and deployment boundaries before choosing a production path.