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Replace a failed backup indexer server (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)

 

Applies to: FAST Search Server 2010

If the farm deployment includes a backup indexer row, you must manually change the deployment configuration if a non-recoverable server error occurs on the backup indexer server. You must also synchronize the indexer servers after you have replaced the failed server.

Follow these steps to replace a backup indexer server if a non-recoverable hardware failure has occurred:

  • Step 1: Pause item processing and crawling

  • Step 2: Install and configure a new backup indexer server

  • Step 3: Resume item processing and crawling

Step 1: Pause item processing and crawling

You must pause item processing and crawling before you reconfigure the indexer servers.

To pause item processing and crawling

  1. Pause crawling:

  2. Pause the Web Analyzer components. These components analyze links between items and search clickthrough logs. The components must be stopped to avoid partial updates for indexed items during the procedure.

    1. On the administration server, open a FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint shell.

      1. Verify that you meet the following minimum requirements: You are a member of the FASTSearchAdministrators local group on the server where FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint is installed.

      2. On the Start menu, click All Programs.

      3. Click Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint.

      4. Click Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint shell.

    2. Inspect the Web Analyzer schedule status:

      waadmin ShowStatus
      

      Note

      Refer to waadmin.exe reference if you use multiple views for the Web Analyzer.

      In the Views section of the command output, for the default view, inspect the Schedule status. If the Schedule status is set to paused, perform the following steps:

      1. Set the view to scheduled state:

        waadmin enqueueview
        
      2. Wait until the default Web Analyzer view is running. Type the command waadmin ShowStatus and verify that the Schedule status is set to running.

    3. Stop all Web Analyzer processing:

      waadmin AbortProcessing
      spreladmin AbortProcessing
      
  3. Wait until all item processing is finished. On the administration server, type the following command:

    psctrl status
    

    Note

    All processor servers must report "idle" before you proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Install and configure a new backup indexer server

Follow these steps to create a new backup indexer server to replace the failed server.

To install and configure a new backup indexer server

  1. Verify that all indexing is finished. On the administration server, type the following command:

    indexerinfo status -a
    

    Verify that all index partitions have partition status="idle". Repeat this step until all index partitions are idle.

  2. On the administration server, open the deployment configuration file: <FASTSearchFolder>\etc\config_data\deployment\deployment.xml.

    Where <FASTSearchFolder> is the path of the folder where you have installed FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, for example C:\FASTSearch.

    Locate the host element that specifies the failed indexer. The column attribute of the searchengine element indicates the index column for this indexer.

    The following example shows an extract of a deployment.xml file that has the host definition for the primary and backup indexer for index column 0. The first host element specifies the primary indexer server. The second host element specifies the failed backup indexer server. The searchcluster element specifies which server that is the primary indexer and which server that is the backup indexer, by using the row element. Typically, row 0 corresponds to the primary indexer server.

    <host name="fs4sp2.contoso.com">
        <content-distributor />
        <searchengine row="0" column="0" />
        <document-processor processes="12" />
      </host>
      ...
      <host name="fs4sp5.contoso.com">
        <query />
        <searchengine row="1" column="0" />
      </host>
      ...
      <searchcluster>
          <row id="0" index="primary" search="true" />
          <row id="1" index="secondary" search="true" />
      </searchcluster>
    
  3. Stop the primary indexer server. On the primary indexer server in the index column with the failed backup indexer server, type the following command:

    nctrl stop indexer
    
  4. Install the new server and reconfigure the deployment to change the indexer server configuration:

    1. Change the host element that specifies the failed backup indexer server for this index column. Change the name attribute of the host element to specify the host name of the new server that will replace the failed backup indexer server.

      Note

      If you use the same host name for the new server, you do not have to modify the content of the file. However, you must modify the file for the Windows PowerShell cmdlet Set-FASTSearchConfiguration to redeploy the configuration. You can modify the file by opening it in Notepad, add a space and save the file.

    2. Install the new server and reconfigure the deployment to add a backup indexer:

      Important

      When you perform this step, do not restart the new server after you have installed and configured it. You restart the server later in this procedure.

      Follow the steps in Reconfigure the deployment including adding new servers, but do not restart the new server.

    3. If you have changed the host name of the new server, you must update the connection information in the SharePoint Server 2010 farm. Perform the steps in Make the necessary changes on Microsoft SharePoint Server.

  5. Copy all FIXML files from the primary indexer server to the new backup indexer server.

    The indexer uses the FIXML files as input to the indexing process. The FIXML files are stored in the following directory on the indexer servers:

    <FASTSearchFolder>\data\data_fixml\

    Where <FASTSearchFolder> is the path of the folder where you have installed FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, for example C:\FASTSearch.

    1. On the new backup indexer server, create two folders for the index data that you will copy. At the Windows command prompt, type the following commands:

      mkdir <FASTSearchFolder>\data
      mkdir <FASTSearchFolder>\data\data_fixml
      mkdir <FASTSearchFolder>\data\ftStorage
      
    2. On the new backup indexer server, at the Windows command prompt, copy the data_fixml folder from the source server:

      robocopy /E /MT:100 /NFL /COPYALL /LOG:\incoming\robocopy_fixml.log <source_path>\data\data_fixml <FASTSearchFolder>\data\data_fixml
      copy <source_path>\data\ftStorage\processed_checkpoint.txt <FASTSearchFolder>\data\ftStorage
      

      Where <source_path> is the network path of the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint installation folder on the primary indexer server.

      Note

      The /LOG: folder (\incoming) does not exist by default and you must have write access to the folder to run the command.

  6. Restart the new backup indexer server.

  7. Start the primary indexer server. On the primary indexer server in the affected index column, type the following command:

    nctrl start indexer
    
  8. Verify that the new backup indexer server is registered properly with the primary indexer server. At the administration server, type the following command:

    indexerinfo --row=<rowNumber> --column=<columnNumber> status
    

    <rowNumber> is the row number for the primary indexer row, typically 0.

    <columnNumber> is the index column number.

    Verify that the following status information is correct:

    • indexer element: status="running ok"

    • indexer/column_role element: state="master" backups="1"

      backups="1" indicates that the primary indexer server has identified the new backup indexer server.

Step 3: Resume item processing and crawling

Follow these steps to resume item processing and start a full crawl.

To resume item processing and crawling

  1. Resume processing for the Web Analyzer components. On the administration server, type the following commands:

    waadmin EnqueueView
    spreladmin Enqueue
    
  2. Start a full crawl:

    Note

    We recommend starting a new full crawl, as there is a risk that items may be lost at the time of the primary indexer server failure. This will include items that are received correctly by the old primary indexer server just before the failure, but that have not yet been copied to the backup indexer server.

See Also

Concepts

Manage high availability of the content index (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)
Verify the status of the backup indexer (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)
Add a backup indexer row (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)
Replace a failed primary indexer server (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)

Other Resources

About FiXML files