ArcGIS Server 10.1

At 10.1, ArcGIS for Server runs natively on 64-bit Windows and Linux operating systems, providing users with high-performance web editing and map caching, on-the-fly analyses, and imagery exploitation capabilities, as well as additional choices for deployment. In addition to being fully certified on VMware and VCE's Vblock platform, ArcGIS for Server can be deployed on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud in both Windows and Linux. ArcGIS for Server includes new services, such as a print service that allows users to produce high-quality, large-format PDF maps directly from web maps. Also new at 10.1, along with the ability to generate sophisticated GIS and mapping services with Standard and Advanced editions, all editions of ArcGIS for Server, including Basic, will provide simple mapping capabilities from a database. 

Improvements over ArcGIS 10.0
Overall, improvements create a more robust, scalable environment that reduces chance of failure, simplifies provisioning (installation & deployment) and recovery. The solution in 10.1 is more out-of-the-box than prior versions.

Server Support

 * exclusively native 64-bit (discontinued support for 32-bit)
 * much greater & simplified Linux support
 * removed dependencies
 * no framework dependencies (eg, .NET framework or Java runtime)
 * simplified firewall configuration (no DCOM dependency)
 * integrated web server (previously required to integrate with a separate web server)
 * removed Windows registry on MainWin on Linux

Architecture & Components

 * no server object managers (SOM) and server object containers (SOC) components (no need for post-installation configurations)
 * ArcGIS Server Manager: scale out to multiple servers
 * ArcGIS Web Adaptor: integrate with existing IIS & Java EE servers
 * ArcGIS Server Account: single OS account for process handling & file system operations

Security

 * supports LDAP, Active Directory (both read-only) or built-in file-based format (10.0 only supports Windows authentication on same domain, authentication stored in SQL Server or ASP.NET custom membership provider)
 * securable ArcGIS web services (token-based or handled by web server through HTTP digest or PKI client certification with ArcGIS Web Adaptor)

Remote Administration

 * ArcGIS Server Administrator REST API: scriptable server administration (eg, ...)

Data Publishing

 * direct publishing from ArcGIS for Desktop and ArcCatalog main menu (as opposed to toolbar)
 * support more GIS resources (ie, geodatabases)
 * more rigorous validation before being pushed out
 * asynchronous caching (doesn't require ArcGIS application to be open for tile creation)

Data Rendering

 * continuous panning (no map edges)
 * dynamic layers: client-side layer appearances (symbology, layer order, position, labeling, etc)
 * out-of-the-box print service (as geoprocessing task service)
 * performance increases (eg, drive-time polygons)