End-to-End Survey Workflow

Last updated: Jun 2026 · SO Survey GIS Team

1. Field Data Collection

Conduct drone flight, capture raw JPEG/TIF images + GCP coordinates
Total station / GNSS survey for utilities, boundaries, polygons
Draw final CAD layers in ZWCAD on office PC → export DWG

2. Import to Server

Copy via USB to the server:

# Drone images
/opt/gis-data/incoming/drone-images/{project-name}/

# ZWCAD DWG export
/opt/gis-data/incoming/dwg/{client-slug}/

3. Process Drone Imagery

Login to webodm.sosurvey.com.my (email OTP)
Create new project → Upload images from /opt/gis-data/incoming/drone-images/{project}/
Select processing preset → High Resolution with GPU enabled
Download output: orthophoto .tif, point cloud .las
Save orthophoto to /opt/gis-data/geoserver/data/{client-slug}/

4. Convert CAD to GeoServer

Open QGIS on server desktop
Open DWG from /opt/gis-data/incoming/dwg/{client-slug}/
Set correct CRS (GDM2000 / Peninsula RSO or WGS84)
Export layers as Shapefile → /opt/gis-data/geoserver/data/{client-slug}/

5. Publish to GeoServer

Access GeoServer at localhost:8600/geoserver (from server desktop)
Create workspace → {client-slug}
Add stores → orthophoto GeoTIFF + Shapefile
Publish layers → create layer group {client-slug}_all

6. Deliver to Client

Create /opt/gis-data/www/{client-slug}/index.html (Leaflet viewer)
Add client email to Zero Trust policy for maps.sosurvey.com.my
Send client link: maps.sosurvey.com.my/{client-slug}/
Client receives email OTP on first access

The entire workflow from USB import to client link takes approximately 2–4 hours depending on project size and drone image count.

WebODM Processing Guide

GPU-accelerated drone photogrammetry

Access

Navigate to webodm.sosurvey.com.my — authenticate with your @sosurvey.com.my or @d-alammaya.link email via OTP.

Recommended Settings

Setting	Value	Notes
Processing Node	node-odx-1 (GPU)	Always use GPU node
Preset	High Resolution	For survey-grade output
Feature Quality	High	Balance speed vs quality
PC Quality	High	Point cloud density
GCP File	Upload if available	Improves georeferencing

Output Files

odm_orthophoto/odm_orthophoto.tif — GeoTIFF for GeoServer
odm_pointcloud/cloud.copc.laz — Point cloud
odm_dem/dsm.tif — Digital Surface Model

WebODM stores projects in /opt/gis-data/webodm/projects/. Archive completed projects to free NVMe space before SSD upgrade.

QGIS — DWG to GeoServer

Converting ZWCAD exports for web delivery

Open DWG File

QGIS → Layer → Add Layer → Add Vector Layer
Format: DXF/DWG
File: /opt/gis-data/incoming/dwg/{client-slug}/survey.dwg

Set CRS

Right-click layer → Set CRS. For Peninsular Malaysia:

EPSG:4742 — GDM2000 (recommended for new surveys)
EPSG:3375 — GDM2000 / Peninsula RSO (projected)
EPSG:4326 — WGS84 (if GPS coordinates)

Export to Shapefile

Right-click layer → Export → Save Features As
Format: ESRI Shapefile (or GeoPackage)
CRS: EPSG:4326 (reproject to WGS84 for web use)
Output: /opt/gis-data/geoserver/data/{client-slug}/{layername}.shp

Always reproject to WGS84 (EPSG:4326) when saving for GeoServer web delivery. Leaflet expects WGS84 coordinates.

Onboard a New Client

5-minute checklist

Checklist

☐ Create GeoServer workspace: {client-slug}
☐ Upload orthophoto + Shapefile layers
☐ Publish layer group: {client-slug}_all
☐ Create map viewer: /opt/gis-data/www/{client-slug}/index.html
☐ Add client email to Cloudflare Zero Trust → Maps policy
☐ Test login as client (use incognito browser)
☐ Send client their URL: maps.sosurvey.com.my/{client-slug}/

Add Email to Zero Trust

Cloudflare Dashboard → Zero Trust → Access → Applications → SO Survey Maps → Edit → Policies → Staff Access → Add email rule.

Client receives an email OTP every session. No account or password required on their side.

Build a Client Map Page

Leaflet viewer template

Create /opt/gis-data/www/{client-slug}/index.html using this template:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html><head>
  <title>{Client Name} — Survey Map</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet"
    href="https://unpkg.com/leaflet/dist/leaflet.css"/>
  <style>#map{height:100vh;width:100%}</style>
</head><body>
  <div id="map"></div>
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet/dist/leaflet.js"></script>
  <script>
    const map = L.map('map').setView([3.1390, 101.6869], 16);

    L.tileLayer('https://{s}.tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png',
      {attribution:'© OpenStreetMap'}).addTo(map);

    L.tileLayer.wms('https://geoserver.sosurvey.com.my/geoserver/wms',{
      layers: '{client-slug}_all',
      format: 'image/png',
      transparent: true,
      version: '1.1.0',
      headers: {
        'CF-Access-Client-Id': '{service-token-id}',
        'CF-Access-Client-Secret': '{service-token-secret}'
      }
    }).addTo(map);
  </script>
</body></html>

Replace {client-slug} with the GeoServer workspace name. Service token credentials are in /opt/gis-data/.geoserver-token.

Manage Docker Services

Common runbook commands

Check Status

docker ps --format 'table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}'

WebODM

# Start/Stop/Restart
cd /opt/gis-data/webodm-app
./webodm.sh start --gpu
./webodm.sh stop
./webodm.sh restart

# View logs
docker logs webapp --tail 50 -f

GeoServer + Nginx

cd /opt/gis-data
docker compose up -d        # start
docker compose down         # stop
docker compose restart      # restart
docker compose logs -f      # logs

Cloudflare Tunnel

sudo systemctl status cloudflared
sudo systemctl restart cloudflared
sudo journalctl -u cloudflared -f

SSD Upgrade Guide

Replacing /dev/sda with new SSD — zero Docker config changes

Steps

# 1. Stop all services
cd /opt/gis-data && docker compose down
cd /opt/gis-data/webodm-app && ./webodm.sh stop

# 2. Physically swap HDD → SSD

# 3. Format new SSD
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1

# 4. Mount temporarily and copy data
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/newssd
sudo cp -a /opt/gis-data/. /mnt/newssd/
sudo umount /mnt/newssd

# 5. Update fstab for permanent mount
sudo blkid /dev/sda1  # get UUID
echo "UUID=xxx /opt/gis-data ext4 defaults 0 2" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

# 6. Remount and verify
sudo mount -a
ls /opt/gis-data

# 7. Restart services
cd /opt/gis-data && docker compose up -d
cd /opt/gis-data/webodm-app && ./webodm.sh start --gpu

Because all Docker volumes and compose files are under /opt/gis-data, the SSD remount requires zero changes to Docker configuration.

TrueNAS SMB Setup

Auto-sync field data to server incoming folder

Mount TrueNAS Share

# Install CIFS utilities
sudo apt install -y cifs-utils

# Create credentials file
sudo tee /etc/smb-creds <<EOF
username=survey-sync
password=YOUR_TRUENAS_PASSWORD
domain=WORKGROUP
EOF
sudo chmod 600 /etc/smb-creds

# Add to /etc/fstab
//TRUENAS-IP/survey-sync /opt/gis-data/incoming \
  cifs credentials=/etc/smb-creds,uid=sodc,gid=sodc,\
  _netdev,iocharset=utf8 0 0

# Mount
sudo mount -a

Auto-Sync from Field Laptop

On the field laptop (Windows), map the TrueNAS share as a network drive and copy drone images there. The server's /opt/gis-data/incoming/drone-images/ folder will update automatically.

TrueNAS must be on the same LAN as the server. Sync only works when the laptop is on the office network.

CPU	Intel i7-8750H · 6C/12T · 2.2GHz
RAM	32 GB DDR4
GPU	RTX 2060 Mobile · 6GB VRAM · CUDA 13.2
Storage	238GB NVMe · 931GB HDD (future SSD)
OS	Linux Mint 22.3 (Ubuntu Noble)
Network	Gigabit Ethernet · 192.168.14.133
Driver	NVIDIA 595.71.05

Project Overview

Installation Progress

Tasks

Project Journal

Infrastructure Diagram

Wiki & Documentation

End-to-End Survey Workflow

1. Field Data Collection

2. Import to Server

3. Process Drone Imagery

4. Convert CAD to GeoServer

5. Publish to GeoServer

6. Deliver to Client

WebODM Processing Guide

Access

Recommended Settings

Output Files

QGIS — DWG to GeoServer

Open DWG File

Set CRS

Export to Shapefile

Onboard a New Client

Checklist

Add Email to Zero Trust

Build a Client Map Page

Manage Docker Services

Check Status

WebODM

GeoServer + Nginx

Cloudflare Tunnel

SSD Upgrade Guide

Steps

TrueNAS SMB Setup

Mount TrueNAS Share

Auto-Sync from Field Laptop