1.5 Changing Your Search Index Configuration

1.5.1 Understanding Indexing

The search index is responsible for indexing all data on the Filr site so that Filr users can easily use the Search feature to retrieve the information that they need. Text posted in file metadata (such as a file description) is easy to index, because the formatting is simple. However, text within a file itself arrives in many different file formats, many of which require conversion before the text in the files can be indexed. Therefore, the search index is dependent on the available file conversion technology in order to perform its indexing function. For information about the file viewers that Filr uses, see File Viewer Information in the Novell Filr 1.2 Installation and Configuration Guide.

The search index provides additional services on your Filr site in addition to indexing. In fact, you cannot access your Filr site if the search index is not running. For this reason, Novell Filr provides multi-server configuration options.

1.5.2 Changing Search Index Configuration Settings

  1. Follow the steps in Section 1.1, Changing Configuration Options for the Filr Appliance.

    You can modify the following configuration options for the Lucene search index:

    Configuration Type: Select from the following configuration types:

    • Local: This is the default configuration type for a small Filr deployment, when the Lucene search index, the MySQL database, and the Filr software are running on the same virtual machine.

    • Server: Select this option in a large Filr deployment when only one Lucene search index is running as a stand-alone appliance.

    • High Availability: Select this option in a large Filr deployment when two Lucene search indexes are running as stand-alone appliances.

      For a high availability Lucene search index deployment:

      1. Specify a user name and password for the Lucene service. This user name and password applies to all Lucene search indexes in the system:

        Lucene User Name: (This option must be set in the configuration for both Server and High Availability Lucene configurations.) Specify Lucene Service in the User Name field.

        Lucene User Password: (This option must be set in the configuration for both Server and High Availability Lucene configurations.) Specify the password for the Lucene user.

      2. Click Add, specify the information for the first Lucene index appliance, then click OK.

      3. Click Add, specify the information for the second Lucene index appliance, then click OK.

    Name: Specify a name for the Lucene search index appliance. (This option is visible only when Configuration Type is set to High Availability.)

    In a clustered Filr deployment with multiple Filr appliances, the name that you specify for a specific search index node must be the same for that same node on each Filr appliance in the cluster. For example, if from one Filr appliance you give Search Index Node A (which has the DNS name of filr.mycompany.com) the name filr_index1, then you must give Search Index Node A this same name (filr_index1) from each of the Filr appliances in the cluster.

    Description: Specify a short description for the Lucene appliance. (This option is visible only when Configuration Type is set to High Availability.)

    Host Name: This is localhost if your Configuration Type is Local. If your Configuration Type is Server or High Availability, use this field to specify the host name or IP address of the appliance where the search indexes are running. (If your Configuration Type is High Availability, click Add to configure multiple search indexes.)

    RMI Port: When the search index is running as its own appliance, it communicates with Filr by using the RMI port. (Default 1199.) (See Remote Method Invocation.) In a clustered environment where you are running multiple search index servers, ensure that each Lucene index server is running on the same ports. Novell recommends that you do not change this port from the default of 1199.

    Lucene User Name: (This option must be set in the configuration for both Server and High Availability Lucene configurations.) Specify Lucene Service in the User Name field.

    Lucene User Password: (This option must be set in the configuration for both Server and High Availability Lucene configurations.) Specify the password for the Lucene user.

  2. Click OK, then click Reconfigure Filr Server for your changes to take effect.

    This stops and restarts your Filr server. Because this results in server downtime, you should restart the server at off-peak hours.

If your Filr site is configured for a large installation (your search index is a stand-alone appliance), you can make additional configuration settings for your Lucene search index appliance, as described in Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance in the Novell Filr 1.2 Installation and Configuration Guide.

1.5.3 Running the Search Index As Its Own Appliance

If the search index requires more memory, disk space, or CPU resources than are available on the Novell Filr appliance in a small deployment, you should configure the search index to run as a separate appliance in a large deployment. For instructions, see Creating a Large Deployment in the Novell Filr 1.2 Installation and Configuration Guide.

1.5.4 Running Multiple Search Indexes

Because the availability of the index is critical to the functioning of the Novell Filr site, you can install multiple search indexes as multiple appliances to provide high availability. For instructions, see Installing the Search Index Appliance in the Novell Filr 1.2 Installation and Configuration Guide.