Migrate portal search collections

When we migrate or upgrade IBM WebSphere Portal to a later version, the data storage format and index structure of Portal Search is not compatible with an earlier version. If we migrate the portal to a later version and want to continue using the search collections, preserve them before you migrate the portal and import them into the upgraded portal after the migration.

Search collections require manual migration; use the Import or Export Collection option of the Manage Search portlet to export and import the search collections. For more information about these tasks and the Manage Search portlet, see the portlet help.

1. Before you migrate the portal to a later version, export your search collections. This step exports the configuration data of the search collections.

   1. Before we export a collection, verify the portal application process has write access to the target directory location. Otherwise, we might get an error message, such as File not found.

   2. When we specify the target directory location for the export, be aware the export overwrites files in that directory.

2. For each collection, document the following data:

   • The target file names and directory locations to which we export the collection.

   • Location, name, description, and language.

   • Settings for the Specify collection language and Remove common words from queries options.

3. Delete the search collections from the existing portal. Otherwise, they can be corrupted by the import step that follows later.

4. Upgrade the WebSphere Portal as needed.

5. Create empty search collections that use later to hold the imported collections configuration. Complete the following fields and select the following options according to the information that you documented in step 2:

   Location of Collection

   The location can match the old setting, but does not have to match it.

   Name of Collection

   The name can match the old setting, but does not have to match it.

   Description of Collection

   The description can match the old setting, but does not have to match it.

   Specify Collection Language

   Select this field to match the old setting as documented in step 2.

   Select Summarizer

   The value is overwritten by the import process.

   Remove common words from queries (for example. in, of, on, and so on)

   Check or clear this setting to match the old setting as documented in step 2.

   We do not have to add content sources or documents, as that is completed by the import process.

6. Check the target search collections created in step 5 are empty. Do not import collection data into a target collection that already contains sources or documents.

7. Import the search collection data into the portal. For the import source information, use the documented file names and directory locations to which we exported the collections before the portal upgrade.

8. Briefly review the content source's configuration settings to check whether information such as host name and security credentials are still valid or must be modified. Make any necessary changes to the content source's configuration settings.

   When we import search collection data into a collection, most of the configuration data such as content sources, schedulers, filters, and language settings are also imported. If we configured such settings when creating the collection, they are overwritten by the imported settings.

Parent Migrate search components