There are a large number of options and configurations to consider when producing an ESRI Map Service. This Implementation document outlines the procedure used by the AZGS to generate a Map Service that can be either dynamic or cached, can also be used as the source of a WMS, and provides as much metadata as can be provided in the ESRI Map Service format. An example of an AZGS Map Service is provided below.
An ESRI Map Service is the standard web service provided by ArcGIS Server. While relatively easy to create, there are a number of important options to consider when implementing such a service.
ArcGIS Server is ESRI's network- and webservice-centric GIS application suite. Among other, ArcGIS Server offers WMS, WFS, WFS-T, WCS, and KML service capability as well as web application SDKs for JavaScript, Flex, Silverlight, .Net, and Java.