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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Learn about the New Search Service from SharePoint 2010 and Performance Fix for Insight

With the new search service we must use from SharePoint 2010, I wanted to put out some information on it.  This is used by the “where used” functionality in Insight.  Anything like releasing or revising will use the “where used”.  The incremental crawl is not instantaneous it operates on a schedule that you set in central administration.  Anytime the users do anything that uses “where used” and then do another function that uses “where used”, they may have an issue with this incremental indexing not completing.  Simply waiting the duration of the crawl in between the two things they are doing that require “where used” will resolve this.  

1) Keep an eye on your incremental search schedule time (central admin…manage service applications…search service application…crawl log…crawl history – to see how long it is taking). You want it to be long enough that it completes before another starts, but as short as possible to get the new “where used” information index as in the above example.  So, 5  minutes is a pretty typical incremental schedule, but it will need to be adjusted for your db size and amount of users.  Look in the crawl history to see how long it is taking and set it down if you are able – if it is completing during the time when the most users on the system in 3 minutes then set it at 5 or 6 minutes.  If it is taking longer, then set it higher.  Also you need to check as the time to complete will get longer as you get more users and more data.  Adjust as you grow. 

2) Check the crawl history (again central admin…manage service applications…search service application…crawl log…crawl history) to see if you have any errors.  Click on the error and drill down to find the URL for file causing the error.  Very typically, it is a draft file that for some reason caused a failure with the ifilter.  All you need to do is give a Solid Edge user that URL and have them open it, save it, and close it.  This will resolve after the next incremental crawl and you won’t see the error anymore.  If it is a released file, than a user in the Eng_Control group will need to do this.
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Also, there is a performance fix for Insight in MP6 for ST6 and MP11 for ST 5 that is due out in a few weeks.  This will turn off property synching on file open with empty cache.  The only thing we need to remember is that by turning this off – if you go into the SharePoint page to change any properties (open internet explorer and navigate to your server website and navigate to your file and then hover over and get the arrow dropdown and edit properties) – it will not update in the file properties until you open that file and save it.  Most people are not editing properties this way anyway.  Please consider getting this loaded if you are using Insight to see improvement in time to open files on empty cache.

Remember that you need to do the following:

MAINTENANCE PACK
Done each month or every other month (usually I suggest staying one month behind in case of any issues) – Maintenance pack on server, Solid Edge client and viewer-only client must all match levels - So if MP6 is out, you load MP5 unless there is a very good reason and when MP6 comes out, there is a very good reason – performance improvements.  

Since MP5 is available now and MP 6 is not this example is for MP5 – 
then the MP5 for Solid Edge (https://download.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/solid_edge/ST6/SolidEdge/) - need to choose whether you are running 32 bit SE or 64 bit SE – if on a 32 bit machine, you will have 32 bit Solid Edge installed.  If on a 64 bit machine and you check to see if the install is in  C:\Program Files\Solid Edge ST5 then it is 64 bit Solid Edge and if it is installed in  C:\Program Files (x86)\Solid Edge ST5 then it is 32 bit), 

On the server, you download the maintenance pack and put it on the desktop.  With all users out of Solid Edge and all checked in, this can be simply double clicked to run.  It takes about 5 minutes to complete if you are moving from maintenance pack 5 to maintenance pack 6.  If you are going from no maintenance pack to maintenance pack  5, then it might take about 15 min as it will load all the fixes for the previous maintenance packs automatically.   

On the client machine (Solid Edge or Solid Edge Viewer machines), you just download the appropriate maintenance pack (there is a separate maintenance pack for the machines just running the viewer as shown above) and put on the desktop.  With Solid Edge or the viewer closed, then you just double click to run.  It takes about 5 minutes to do.

Thanks, 
Madison Rye
Application Engineering Manager at Ally PLM Solutions


2 comments:

  1. Don't know if anyone will see this but I have a question regarding this:
    "Anytime the users do anything that uses “where used” and then do another function that uses “where used”, they may have an issue with this incremental indexing not completing."
    Am I correct in assuming that this means anytime someone does anything that effects a change in where used? In other words I'm assuming a mere look-up, a report, of a parts where-used is not included.

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  2. Yes, this is in regard to a double "where used". If I release something and then go revise it immediately. Typically, this is not the case - normally, you release and then it is some time before a revision is made.

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