Hi @jimo, Do you have ArcGIS installed on the same machine where FME Server is installed?

It could be one of the following

• ArcGIS software is not installed and licensed on the FME Server machine.
• 64-bit FME Server is being used without ArcGIS for Server or 64-bit Background Geoprocessing Installed.

Have a look here for resolutions: https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/315/geodatabase-formats-missing-greyed-out-or-have-unm.html

Also see here for more details on FME and ArcGIS compatibility: https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/1517/notes-on-fme-and-esri-versions-and-compatibility.html

No, we don't have ArcGIS installed on our FME Server machine. Is that the only solution? Is there a writer for an ESRI geodatabase in Oracle that does not need an ArcGIS licence?

Is installing ArcMap on the FME Server machine the only option here? We do have the licence but we would prefer to keep client software like ArcMap off our server machines.

I understand your concerns. The officical stance is that you will need ArcGIS libraries (of some sort, not necessarily ArcGIS Desktop, see link above) and a valid ArcGIS license.

There is however the "SDE30" legacy writer that might be worth looking into: https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/358/arcsde-libraries-required-for-the-esri-arcsde-sde3.html

Just be aware that it will probably stop working at some point, due to ESRI discontinuing the support for their old C libraries. It also has some limitations that may or may not be showstoppers to you, see here for more info: https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/19440/comparison-of-fme-readers-and-writers-for-sde-and.html

As mentioned by @david_r, you can use the native SDE writer, however, you will not get the full flexibility of writing to ArcSDE as advised in this article: https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/21896/quick-tips-for-esri-users.html .