We are currently looking to implement search on a few sites hosted in Azure. When looking at search we have noted a few complications that ExamineX looks to solve, but before I go off and set everything up I just wanted some clarity.
Does the out-the-box indexing/search functionality etc work correctly (if configured) in Azure on scaled and single app services?
I have read about them locking etc but before I go back and say we need to use ExamineX I just wanted clarity its the best way forward for the current environment.
Not just for 'Examine' - but this is often missed and results in people experiencing file locking issues..
The key reasons to consider ExamineX though is if you need your Web app to 'autoscale' based on demand..
Eg the moment your Harry Stiles tickets go on sale, and your instances scale out to cope... Each scaled out instance needs to rebuild its local copy of the Examine indexes... Which takes time.. And therefore ruins the autoscale response...
But with ExamineX the index is shared across instances backed by Azure Search... And so is instantly available to any scaled out indexes...
2nd good reason for ExamineX is performance, not so much speed of response, but one less thing running in your Web app, for a super large site that might mean being able to run it on a lower pricing tier..
But if you can justify an Examine X licence... Go for it, as it will help fund Shannon who built the Examine abstraction umbraco uses, as well as ExamineX...
Really appreciate your feedback 😊 That was kind of what I thought but haven't used Search in Azure before so needed some clarity, to which your comments have gave me!
Implementing search on a scaled Umbraco Azure environment
Hey everyone!
Hopefully a straight forward question 😉
We are currently looking to implement search on a few sites hosted in Azure. When looking at search we have noted a few complications that ExamineX looks to solve, but before I go off and set everything up I just wanted some clarity.
Does the out-the-box indexing/search functionality etc work correctly (if configured) in Azure on scaled and single app services?
I have read about them locking etc but before I go back and say we need to use ExamineX I just wanted clarity its the best way forward for the current environment.
Thanks in advanced!
Hi Conor
There is specific configuration required when running Umbraco on an Azure Web App...
https://our.umbraco.com/Documentation/Fundamentals/Setup/Server-Setup/Load-Balancing/azure-web-apps
Not just for 'Examine' - but this is often missed and results in people experiencing file locking issues..
The key reasons to consider ExamineX though is if you need your Web app to 'autoscale' based on demand..
Eg the moment your Harry Stiles tickets go on sale, and your instances scale out to cope... Each scaled out instance needs to rebuild its local copy of the Examine indexes... Which takes time.. And therefore ruins the autoscale response...
But with ExamineX the index is shared across instances backed by Azure Search... And so is instantly available to any scaled out indexes...
2nd good reason for ExamineX is performance, not so much speed of response, but one less thing running in your Web app, for a super large site that might mean being able to run it on a lower pricing tier..
But if you can justify an Examine X licence... Go for it, as it will help fund Shannon who built the Examine abstraction umbraco uses, as well as ExamineX...
Regards
Marc
Thanks, Marc!
Really appreciate your feedback 😊 That was kind of what I thought but haven't used Search in Azure before so needed some clarity, to which your comments have gave me!
Thanks again 😎
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