How often is the content index rebuilt? How do I know when the index is up to date?
The content index is updated as a background process. When queries are posted, the content index and query system will return a flag which indicates if all the indexes were up to date when the query was posted. This flag can be optionally displayed to the user. The administrator can also use administrative Web pages to determine index status.
It is important to note that Index Server does not guarantee that indexes are always up to date when queries are posted and results returned.
Are properties indexed?
All numeric and string properties on documents are indexed. Binary properties, such as icons, are not indexed.
Can Index Server index the contents of SQL Server databases? How about Exchange?
In its initial release, Index Server will only index file systems. We are considering extending the system in the future to provide support to databases, like SQL Server and the Microsoft Exchange e-mail server.
Do we have control over index specification?
The administrator specifies which IIS virtual roots should be indexed. Administration is as simple as marking a check box to indicate that the root should be indexed.
How will Index Server store and index transient (non-file) objects that applications create ?
Typically, transient objects should not be indexed. This can be done either by turning indexing off for a particular directory (e.g. the .\TEMP directory) or by not providing a content filter for a particular class of temporary file.
What is the overhead/delay when indexing files?
Documents are indexed in the background. Indexes typically take less than 10% of the space occupied by the documents which are indexed. A Pentium 90 with
16M RAM can typically index 100Mb/hour. This rate is highly processor- and RAM-dependent. A dual processor MIPS system with 64M of ram is able to index over 1Gb per hour. Periodically the indexing system optimizes its indexes and other data structures. This is done to free up RAM, improve performance, and reduce disk consumption.