An index area is a file system directory that contains index files. One or more index areas can exist for an object store.
Each index contains indexing information for the objects that belong to the same indexable base class or to subclasses of the base class. The text in the content and CBR-enabled properties of an object are stored as one entry in an index. Consequently, a full-text search returns one search result for each object regardless of the number of times that the object text matches the search criteria.
Both an index area and an index have a status property that controls whether index information can be changed or added. (The status does not control the accessibility of index information for IBM® Content Search Services search servers. Index information is always available for searches.) The possible statuses are OPEN
, FULL
, CLOSED
, and, for index areas, STANDBY
.
An object might be indexed for the first time in the following circumstances:
When indexing an object, Content Engine randomly selects an OPEN
or FULL
index area. If a FULL
index area is selected, and the object cannot be indexed in an existing index, another index area is randomly selected. If no OPEN
index area exists, and no FULL
index area exists with suitable existing indexes, a STANDBY
index area is randomly selected. The status of this index area is automatically changed from STANDBY
to OPEN
.
Whether an object can be indexed in an existing index is partly based on the status of the indexes and index partitioning. With respect to index status, a previously unindexed object can only be indexed in an OPEN
index. A new OPEN
index is created in the selected index area for the object if the index area has no suitable existing OPEN
index.
A currently indexed object might be reindexed in the following circumstances:
When an index or class is reindexed, IBM Content Search Services performs the following actions:
When a currently indexed object is reindexed, Content Engine finds the home index: the index that currently contains the index information for the object. One of the following actions is performed:
OPEN
home index and an object that belongs to a CBR-enabled class, the object index information is updated.FULL
or CLOSED
home index and an object that belongs to a CBR-enabled class, the object index information is deleted. The object is then reindexed as if it were an unindexed object with one exception: The initial index area selected for the object is the current index area as opposed to a randomly selected index area. The following list is a summary of the events that might trigger the creation of a new index:
STANDBY
to OPEN
for an index area.FULL
or CLOSED
for an index.Related concepts
For information about index partitions, see Index partitions.
Related tasks
For information about changing the status of an index area, see Changing the status of an index area. For more information about object store migration, see Migrating existing indexes into IBM Content Search Services.