Help Needed: WMTS Support & GWC Optimization in GeoNode 4.4

[IbrahimMalik2002]

Hi everyone!

I'm working with GeoNode 4.4, and I have some questions regarding tile caching and performance optimization.

Current Setup:

• I'm using WMS layers served from GeoServer.
• I've pre-seeded raster layers via GeoWebCache.
• In GeoNode, I use the WMS layers with the TILED=true parameter.

I confirmed from the GWC logs that tiles are being served from cache (file sizes, response times, etc. - see the attached image

)

Problem:
Despite this, map loading is still slower than expected. I suspect that while some tiles are served from GWC, others are still being rendered on the fly.

What I Need:

WMTS Access in GeoNode:

• Is it possible to enable WMTS layers in GeoNode directly?
• If so, what changes or configurations are needed?
• Does this require a newer version of GeoNode or a plugin?

Tile Request Optimization:

Is there a way to restrict GeoNode to only request tiles within the current BBOX at the current zoom level, instead of extra surrounding tiles?

This would greatly help reduce unnecessary tile requests.

WMTS vs Tiled WMS:

In real-world performance, is WMTS actually faster than WMS with TILED=true?

If performance is similar, is enabling WMTS worth the effort?

Any insights, suggestions, or experiences would be really helpful!

Thanks in advance

[giohappy]

Hi @IbrahimMalik2002.

WMTS map layer configuration for datasets is not currently supported in GeoNode.
If you really want WMTS an option would adding the layer directly from the Geoserver (or any other WMTS source) using the map tool inside the map viewer (see Fig.1 below).

However, I think that with a properly configured cache (GWC) in front of your WMS layer, you should be ok.
I invite you to take a look at the GWC headers that are returned for each request (see Fig.2) and verify that you get HITs as expected.
In case you get a MISS the header will also tell the reason why it couldn't use the cache

Fig.1

Fig.2

[IbrahimMalik2002]

Hi Giovanni, Thanks for the info. This is what I'm getting [image: image.png] I'm not sure why it says the request does not align to the grid? What could be the reasons and how can I address it? Thanks, Ibrahim

…

On Wed, Jul 2, 2025 at 1:15 PM Giovanni Allegri ***@***.***> wrote: Hi @IbrahimMalik2002 <https://github.com/IbrahimMalik2002>. WMTS map layer configuration for datasets is not currently supported in GeoNode. If you really want WMTS an option would adding the layer directly from the Geoserver (or any other WMTS source) using the map tool inside the map viewer (see Fig.1 below). However, I think that with a properly configured cache (GWC) in front of your WMS layer, you should be ok. I invite you to take a look at the GWC headers that are returned for each request (see Fig.2) and verify that you get HITs as expected. In case you get a MISS the header will also tell the reason why it couldn't use the cache Fig.1 image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d57437fc-a561-495c-b24b-977e600d51f6> Fig.2 image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d28f2ec4-82f0-4614-9bfc-003cc945a70a> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#13326 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/A444SN7RUWWD6F2HBR6LZUL3GOIJVAVCNFSM6AAAAACATFIZGOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGNRTG44DINI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[giohappy]

I cannot see the image

[IbrahimMalik2002]

Sorry, not sure why. I've attached it to this email.

…

On Wed, Jul 2, 2025 at 2:21 PM Giovanni Allegri ***@***.***> wrote: I cannot see the image — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#13326 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/A444SN4VVMAFBN5DREOJYK33GOQC5AVCNFSM6AAAAACATFIZGOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGNRTHA3DKOA> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[IbrahimMalik2002]

Apologies, my bad. Hope its visible now:

ok so a bit of an update as well; I've been trying to figure out myself what the issue could be.
In geoserver, I seeded the layer in 3857 in image/vnd.jpeg-png format. I assumed the tile size would be 512, but I checked my caching defaults tab and its size is 256x256. So, I adjusted the size from the geonode frontend in the layer settings (under tile settings) to 256. Still the GWC is not being hit.
I tried this another way as well. I have this layer seeded in png format in the 3857x2 gridset as well (which sets the tile size to 512, I checked in the caching defaults tab). When I try to change the format from the Geonode frontend (to 512 as well as format to png), the GWC is still Missed and not hit.
Please suggest solutions @giohappy
Thanks :)

[giohappy]

What kinf of dataset is it? Did you upload it from GeoNode?

[IbrahimMalik2002]

It is a raster dataset (aerial imagery) uploaded from geoserver, visualized on geonode

[IbrahimMalik2002]

OK so a bit of an update, I was playing around with it and noticed that sometimes the cache is HIT (mostly when the format I am shown is image/vnd.jpeg-png,

but not always) and it is MISS when the type says JPEG or PNG:

In the latter case, I am shown the reason (same as in the image in the reply above), but in the prior when it hits its okay, but when it says MISS, it does not give reason; rather shows the crs/gridset etc:

[IbrahimMalik2002]

Any idea what could the reason be @giohappy ?

[IbrahimMalik2002]

Ok so now my requests are hitting the GWC and relevant tiles are being fetched. Although, I am now facing a new issue, this one is now resolved after I upgraded my geonode to the latest version.
Thanks for helping @giohappy