Create the initial Search index

When you install Connections, Search indexing is automatically configured. To create the initial Search index, just wait for one of the default indexing tasks to run.

Initial index creation occurs when any scheduled indexing task fires, and an index does not yet exist. The index is automatically rolled out to the secondary nodes in the deployment. Each node running the Search application must have the Search index stored locally on the node's file system, and all nodes should be in sync.

The Search index directory is defined by the IBM WAS variable SEARCH_INDEX_DIR. We can change the location of the index by editing this variable.

After the initial index has been built and optimized, the contents of the index directory are copied to a staging folder. When the newly-built index is successfully posted, JMS messages are broadcast so that each node automatically downloads the index from the staging folder and loads it. The index management tables are populated at the same time. For Search to function properly, the initial index must have completed successfully and it must be deployed to all nodes.

Do NOT stop the deployment until the index has been copied to all nodes. If the server is stopped during this process, the index will not be successfully rolled out to all nodes. In this event, manually copy the index from the staging location to the other nodes.

We can change the location of the Search index staging folder by editing the WAS variable, SEARCH_INDEX_SHARED_COPY_LOCATION. Ensure the staging folder is accessible to all nodes in the cluster, and the WebSphere user has read/write permissions on this location.

For a non-English language deployment, enable the relevant language dictionaries before creating the initial Search index.

Parent topic:
Post-installation tasks

Related:
Recreate the search index
Delete the index
Install in console mode
Modify the installation in console mode