Getting Started with Amazon CloudSearch
This section will help us learn how to search our data with Amazon CloudSearch.
Step 1: Set up and log into the AWS account.
First, we need to create an account or log in to the AWS management console to set up our account. We can also create IAM (Identity and Access Management) role.
AWS Management Console
Step 2: Create an Amazon CloudSearch Domain
Navigate to CloudSearch under the Analytics section from the AWS console dashboard and then click on the "Create a New Search Domain" Button.
Amazon CloudSearch
This will redirect us to a dialogue page where we need to fill in the details required as per the below image.
Create a New Search Domain Dialog box
In the NAME YOUR DOMAIN step, we will enter a name for our new domain. In the CONFIGURE INDEX step, we can select a configuration by clicking on "Use a predefined configuration" and then proceed to the next step. After that, we can review our configuration in the REVIEW INDEX CONFIGURATION step and then go through the SETUP ACCESS POLICIES step to allow access for searching from any IP address.
Step 3: Upload Data to Amazon CloudSearch for Indexing
We upload the data we want to search to our domain so that Amazon CloudSearch can deploy and build a searchable index. Data must be in XML or JSON format to be indexed by Amazon CloudSearch. The Amazon CloudSearch console can automatically convert the below file types to the required format:
- Document batches formatted in XML or JSON (.xml, .json)
- Comma Separated Value (.csv)
- Text Documents (.txt)
To upload the data to the Amazon CloudSearch, we will first navigate to the domain name we just created. At the top of the domain dashboard, click on the "Upload Documents" button and follow the further steps.
Step 4: Search our Amazon CloudSearch Domain
We can use the search tester of the Amazon CloudSearch console to submit sample query/search requests and view the results. We can also submit sample search requests using a Web browser or cURL. We can use any HTTP library to send search traffic to our Amazon CloudSearch domain in our application.
Benefits of Amazon CloudSearch
Amazon CloudSearch has lots of benefits. A few of them are listed below.
-
Simple:- We can manage and configure our Amazon CloudSearch domain through the AWS management console, AWS SDK (Software Development Kit), and AWS CLI (command-line interface). Just we have to show an example of our data, and Amazon CloudSearch automatically recommends how to configure our domain's indexing options. We can easily add or delete index fields and adjust search options such as faceting and highlighting. We don't need to upload data again if you change the configuration.
- Scalable:- Amazon CloudSearch provides strong automated scaling for all search domains. If we request volume changes or data, Amazon CloudSearch can increase or decrease our domain's search resources as required. We can control zoom if we know that we require more bulk upload capacity or expect increased search traffic.
- Reliable:- Amazon CloudSearch gives automatic recovery and monitoring of our domain for searching. With Multi-AZ activated, Amazon CloudSearch can also manage resources for search domains in any two availability zones to ensure high availability.
- High performance:- Amazon CloudSearch guarantees high performance and low latency, even on a large scale, by automatic sharpening and vertical and horizontal auto-scaling.
- Fully Managed:- Amazon CloudSearch is a fully managed search service.
- Rich Search Features:- Amazon CloudSearch provides powerful search functions such as Boolean and faceted search engine, free text, Support for 34 languages, etc.
- Cost-effective:- Amazon CloudSearch is designed to be less expensive. We pay a low hourly rate and only for the resources we use
- Secure:- Amazon CloudSearch uses a powerful cryptographic method to authenticate users and prevent unauthorized access to our domain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the alternatives for Amazon CloudSearch?
We have a lot of cloud-based search solutions services offered by various companies like Google Cloud Search, IBM Watson Discovery, ElasticSearch, Yest, etc.
What is the main difference between Elasticsearch and CloudSearch?
While both the services use proven technologies, Elasticsearch is open source, more popular, and has a flexible API for customization.
Amazon CloudSearch is a fully managed service and benefits from the managed service features such as (near) plug-and-play startup and updating and auto-patching.
What are the restrictions of using Amazon CloudSearch?
We have no restrictions on using Amazon CloudSearch in the AMS account.
What are the prerequisites for using Amazon CloudSearch in my AMS account?
We do not have any prerequisites or requirements for using Amazon CloudSearch in the AMS Account.
Conclusion
In this article, we have extensively discussed Amazon CloudSearch, its services, setup, and benefits.
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