How do I install and access Business Analyst data on a shared network drive?

Answer

Warning:   
The instructions below include making changes to essential parts of your operating system. It is recommended that you backup your operating system and files, including the registry, before proceeding. Consult a qualified computer systems professional, if necessary.

Esri cannot guarantee results from incorrect modifications while following these instructions. Therefore, use caution and proceed at your own risk.

Business Analyst data can be installed on a shared network drive using the steps described below. However it is important to note the following points:

• Business Analyst data is subject to the Esri license agreement.
• Only licensed Business Analyst users should have access to the shared network drive or the location where the data resides.
• A data license (.SDLIC file) is necessary to unlock the data. This license file is issued for each user separately and cannot be shared.

1. Install Business Analyst data using default options onto a computer with at least 150 GB of storage. Data is installed to C:\ArcGIS\Business Analyst\US_2018 by default.
2. Copy the Business Analyst data folder (US_2018) to the shared drive. The folder structure on the shared drive should be the same as structure created by the installer, for example, C:\ArcGIS\Business Analyst\US_2018
   
   The following image of the Windows Registry Editor shows the Business Analyst data registry keys pointing to the default (local) install location:
   
3. Update the registry to point Business Analyst to the new data location. On the local machine, export the USA_ESRI_2018 registry keys to a text file.
   For example, type the following at the command line:

REG EXPORT HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ESRI\BusinessAnalyst\Datasets\USA_ESRI_2018 C:\Windows\Temp\USA_ESRI_2018.txt

4. Edit the text file to replace all local data references to C:\ArcGIS\Business Analyst\US_2018\ with the shared location:
   • For network shares, the name of the computer where data is stored, for example: \\\\DataServer\\ArcGIS\\Business Analyst\\US_2018\\

• For mapped drives, the name of the mapped network drive, for example: Z:\\ArcGIS\\Business Analyst\\US_2018\\

Note:
Depending on the features installed and the year of the data update, there may be as many as 30 or more registry keys to update.

5. Once all the keys in the registry text file have been updated with the new data location, save the text file as a .reg file, for example, USA_ESRI_2018.reg.
6. Run the registry file on the local computer to update the Windows Registry to use the Business Analyst data.
   
   The following image shows the registry keys updated to a network share:
   
   The image below shows the registry keys updated to a mapped drive:
   
7. Install the data license file on the computer to use the Business Analyst data.