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Get started with Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro

Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro is an Azure cloud service for storing, cataloging, and securely distributing geospatial data across an enterprise. This Get Started guide assists you with the basics of deploying the service and creating your first SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) Collection to store and distribute your geospatial data.

Prerequisites

Table of Contents

Get Started Deeper Dive
Deploy a GeoCatalog Resource in your Azure Subscription Quickstart: Deploy a GeoCatalog Resource
Create a STAC Collection to organize your data Create a STAC Collection to organize your data
Ingest Data into a STAC Collection Concept: Ingestion
Configure Your STAC Collection for Visualization Concept: STAC Collection Configuration & Visualization
Connect and Build Applications with your Data Connect and Build Applications with Your Data

Deploy a GeoCatalog Resource in your Azure Subscription

A Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro deployment is called a GeoCatalog and is available to deploy through the Azure portal.

To deploy a GeoCatalog, navigate to the Azure portal and search for "GeoCatalog"

Screenshot of searching for GeoCatalogs in the Azure portal.

Full details of the deployment process are available in the Deploy GeoCatalog Quickstart.

Once the service is deployed, access to the GeoCatalog resource can be controlled through the Access control (IAM) tab in the left sidebar:

Screenshot of the Access control (IAM) tab in the Azure portal, showing options to manage role assignments.

More details on the GeoCatalog Administrator and GeoCatalog Reader roles are available in Manage Access documentation.

Create a STAC Collection to organize your data

All data managed in Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro is organized into groupings conforming to the STAC Collection standard.

To create a new STAC Collection, open the GeoCatalog web interface by clicking on the GeoCatalog URI link on the Resource overview page in the Azure Portal. After opening the web interface, select the Create collection button:

Screenshot of the Create collection button in the GeoCatalog web interface.

More details setting up your STAC collection can be found in the Create Collection from the Web Interface and Create Collection from the API quickstarts.

Ingest Data into a STAC Collection

Ingestion is the process of copying your data from an external data store to your GeoCatalog resource and cataloging it. Data that isn't in a cloud-optimized format is converted into cloud-optimized format during ingestion.

The recommended and most secure method for ingesting data is to have the data stored in Azure Blob Storage and for you to provide read access to Blob Storage container using Managed Identity.

Warning

All data ingested into Planetary Computer Pro requires STAC Items.

Tip

To accelerate the creation of STAC Items, we have a detailed tutorial and also have an open source tool called STAC Forge.

Diagram illustrating the secure data ingestion process into Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro using Azure Blob Storage and Managed Identity.

Get your data ready for Ingestion

Configure Your STAC Collection for Visualization

Ingested data can be visualized both in the built-in Data Explorer or through your own applications.

Note

A STAC Collection must be configured to support visualization before it is visible in the Data Explorer.

Planetary Computer Pro's Tiler service requires configuration to properly display your ingested data. All of these configuration options are available under the Configuration tab in the STAC Collection view:

Screenshot of the Configure collection button in the GeoCatalog web interface.

Get your STAC Collection ready for Visualization

Connect and Build Applications with your Data

Once data has been ingested, it's available for use in applications inside and outside of Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro.

Data that is configured for visualization can be searched and viewed through the Data Explorer tab.

Screenshot showing where the Data Explorer tab is.

Data can also be accessed directly using the GeoCatalog APIs. For details on establishing permissions for your applications, review the Application Authentication documentation.

Planetary Computer Pro supports connecting collections to ESRI's ArcGIS Pro Service to enable GIS-type work flows.

Get help

  1. Review the rest of the documentation for relevant articles
  2. Check out Microsoft Q&A to ask a question or find answers from others
  3. File a Support Ticket

Next steps

To get started with an end-to-end workflow, try this interactive tutorial: