Raster data on PostGIS

I need to publish raster and vector data through GeoServer WMS service and I have already chosen PostGIS as datasource to keep vector data.

Now I would like to know what is the best practice to work with raster data. I see two options:

• store raster data in PostGis and then use ImageMosaicJDBC or Postgis Raster Plug In (I read about some limitations and instability)



• store raster data somewhere on file system and setup GeoServer to read data from there.

I have little experience with GIS and I wonder if someone could suggest the best choice?

Answer

I think the second option will be better. There is a lot of production deployment experience with GeoServer using filesystem based maps / tiles. As you've already deduced, PostGIS raster doesn't yet have that level of production use.

That isn't to say that PostGIS raster might not be a great case for some other uses - especially if you had a scenario where you're using it for WMS and other operation (e.g. via a thick client, or for some custom web application). It just doesn't seem worth the complexity for the scenario you are describing.