.. _services:

Services
========

GeoServer serves data using standard protocols established by the `Open Geospatial Consortium <http://www.opengeospatial.org>`_.  The **Web Feature Service** (WFS) allows for requests of geographical feature data (vectors).  The **Web Map Service** (WMS) allows for requests of images generated from geographical data.  Finally, the **Web Coverage Service** (WCS) allows for requests of coverage data (rasters).  These services are the heart of GeoServer.

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2

   wfs/index
   wms/index
   wcs/index
   virtual-services