ATG Search has the following components:
Search Administration—The interface where you create projects, index content, deploy indexes, etc. Runs within a standard ATG installation. The
SearchAdmin.AdminUImodule is required to run Search Administration. Your ATG installation should include only one instance of Search Administration.Project Administration is the part of the Search Administration interface dedicated to project-related tasks. The Search project contains information about the searchable content set you define, such as its location, what rules are followed for its indexing, and what customization data is applied.
Note: A Search project bears no relationship to a Content Administration project. Search projects do not contain deployable assets or have an associated workflow, but are a means to organize and configure a given set of indexable content.
The project links the index with Search environments. Environments define the available resources for indexing content and deploying completed indexes. You can also use projects to associate an index with customization data. Some customization data affects how topic is indexed; other data is applied when the end-user submits a query.
When you install Search, a default environment is created automatically; this means that you don’t have to create any environments before indexing your content for evaluation. You can add hardware resources to the default environment, and create environments as required to handle end-user requests. See the ATG Search Administration Guide for information on creating and configuring environments.
The Search workbench is where you create and work with customization data and view information about existing indexes. Customizations either add information to the index itself (such as additional dictionaries and term weights) or affect the way your content is processed or accessed by end users (for example, Query Rules, Topic Sets, and Facet Sets). Such customizations optimize your Search implementation for higher accuracy and improved usability.
For information on Search Administration and customization data, see the ATG Search Administration Guide.
Search engine—Engine instances can either index content or serve answers to end-user queries. The
DAF.Search.Routingmodule starts engine instances in the environments associated with a project as needed.Search engines do not require an ATG instance (and are therefore also called “standalone” engines). Your installation can have any number of Search engines, but should run only one per CPU. A single Search engine requires at least 1.5GB of memory on a 32-bit operating system.
Routing—The
DAF.Search.Routingmodule starts Search engines and coordinates communication among all Search components. This module is included in Search Administration and in client applications.Client application—Interface through which your users place their search queries, such as an ATG Commerce Web site. This application must include the
DAF.Search.RoutingandDAF.Search.Querymodules.Search index—The searchable content deployed on your site. An index is composed of one or more logical partitions, each of which is associated with content configured in Search Administration. Each logical partition is composed of one or more physical partitions. Each physical partition requires a search engine to serve answers from that partition. Each engine has its own copy of the physical partition it serves.
Search Index Concepts Related
Search database—Search uses the following three repositories:
Routing—Stores search engines, index structure, and index deployment information.
Search Administration—Stores other Search Administration data.
IncrementalItemQueue—Stores incremental indexing data.
Search Administration requires access to all three repositories. Your client application requires access to the IncrementalItemQueue and the routing repository.
See the Recommended Search Architecture section for detailed information on how these components can be arranged in your installation.
