Generate and store search indexes in the cloud

By default, in Sitefinity CMS search indexes are generated and stored locally using Lucene.net search service. If your project resides on a cloud storage, you can use alternative search index generation and storage on external services - in the cloud on Azure Search or an external Elasticsearch server.

To communicate with Azure Search, Sitefinity uses Microsoft.Azure.Search 5.0.0. 

To use Azure Search for Sitefinity's search indexes, perform the following:

1. Follow the Azure Search documentation and create an instance of Azure Search at http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/search/.
2. After you have created the Azure Search service, to configure Sitefinity CMS to use it, you need the Service name and Admin API key.
3. In Sitefinity CMS, navigate to Administration » Settings.
   
4. Click Search.
5. Under Which search service to use in your site?, select Azure Search.
6. In Search service name, enter your Azure Search service name.

   NOTE: Keep in mind that you need to enter only the name of the search service and not the whole URL. For example, if the URL is https://test.search.windows.net, you need to enter just test as search service name.

7. In Admin API key, enter your Azure Search service API key.
8. To test Sitefinity's connection with your Azure Search service, click Test connection.
9. Click Save changes.

NOTE: Search results are ordered based on @score parameter. This method returns relevance of the result for each search term. By using @score parameter, the most relevant results come first. 

For more information, see Azure Search libraries for .NET. 

PREREQUISITES: You must use Elasticsearch server version 5.5.0.

To use an Elasticsearch server for Sitefinity's search indexes:

1. In Sitefinity CMS, navigate to Administration » Settings.
   If you use the Multisite module, click Global settings.
2. Click Search.
3. Under Which search service to use in your site?, select the Elasticsearch radio.
4. In Elasticsearch URL, enter the address and port of your Elasticsearch server.
5. If the Elasticsearch client is using authentication, you must also configure the following properties. If no authentication is configured for the Elasticsearch, leave the following fields blank:
   • Elasticsearch Username
     
   • Elasticsearch Password
     The password is encrypted and is displayed as any other password in the browser. 
6. Click Save changes.