Using WMS and WMS Tiles
Web Map Services (WMS), one of the first OGC web services created, provides a method for dynamic raster generation served over the Web. They are a compromise between the flexibility of WFS and the speed of Tile services.
Getting ready
There are several iterations of WMS, and QGIS supports most of them. To use a WMS, you need to give QGIS the GetCapabilities URL of the service that you want to view data from.
How to do it…
Find a WMS service that you want to use and copy the GetCapabilities URL. In this recipe, we can use the Geoserver demo website (http://demo.opengeo.org/geoserver/web/).
Tip
As with other web services, it's more efficient if you load your local layers and zoom to their extent first. This enables you to not waste time loading data from web services for extents outside your area of interest.
Open the Add WMS dialog.
Create a New connection.
Assign a Name of your choosing and paste in the URL (http://demo.opengeo.org/geoserver/ows?service=wms&version=1...
