SearchBlox: Built on Apache Lucene
December 16, 2010
One of my two or three readers sent me a snippet of information from a LinkedIn user group. The write up referenced a search system from SearchBlox Software. As you may know, ArnoldIT.com contributed to the Lucene Revolution conference in October 2010. That for-fee job provided us with quite a bit of insight into the open source software world in general, and the open source search world, in particular.
SearchBlox makes version 6.1 of its “out-of-the-box enterprise search solution” via a download link on the company’s Web site. You can get your copy at this link. I found the direct download very refreshing. In the last six months I have noticed that it is tough to locate a download link on some sites. Sure, there are links but these often pitch software and services in which I have zero interest.
SearchBlox gets a big atta, boy for its approach.
The system is available for Windows, Unix, and Mac OS X. There is a cloud version available, which I find particularly interesting. A number of search vendors “talk” about the cloud, but some of the companies’ products were conceptualized in the mid 1990s. Talk does not mean that the cloud implementations are ready for prime time. SearchBlox seems fine. The product can be configured to do Web site search, Intranet search, and eDiscovery. My interest is enterprise search, and I will focus my comments on that feature. If you want to explore the other two uses, have at it.
The administrative tools are clear and comparatively easy to use. I am not sure my lawyer could get the system up and running, but for us, no problems. The administrative interface looks like this:
The features include:
- Integrated crawlers. The system can handle filesystems, RSS feeds, assorted file types, and most Internet content. If you want more connectors, you can contact the company or contact one of the connector vendors. If you are a clever lad or lass, you can code your own. Reverse engineering connectors for certain file types may require permission from the vendor using the proprietary file types.
- Multi-lingual support. This is important but most US organizations are quite happy with English with other languages supported when constituents, partners, or customers complain.
- Enterprise support. This is where SearchBlox hopes to establish a relationship with a firm. Like other open source vendors, fees are charged for technical, professional, and engineering work. The base fee is $5,000, but I suggest checking with SearchBlox to get the pricing estimate for the services and support you specifically require. Cloud costs have to be worked up as a price quote which is becoming standard at many firms working with Amazon.
The company provides a chunk of info for developers and some documentation. The blog featured a price comparison with the Google Mini at http://www.searchblox.com/blog-2. The pricing of the Google Search Appliance could be misleading, however. To get a Google Search Appliance able to process 30 million documents can be expensive. You are looking at six figures. Hot fail over devices for the GSA add to the cost.
The company is based in Richmond, Virginia, which is not too far from Washington, DC. The company says, “Over 300 customers in 30 countries use SearchBlox to power their website, intranet and custom search. SearchBlox Software, Inc. was founded in 2003.
As with other open source software, assess your technical expertise before diving into Lucene/Solr waters.
Worth a look.
Stephen E Arnold, December 16, 2010
Freebie
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2 Responses to “SearchBlox: Built on Apache Lucene”
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I persoanlly believe that the best enterprise search implementations are installed with the use of search appliance hardware. Tech fees for software-only solutions (even free) can get out of control, and still not perform to the same highly optimized degree of search hardware.
Maxxcat,
How is Maryland? I like appliances too, but an information technology department with turnover is likely to end up with appliance headaches. Some vendors are enjoying great success with the cloud thing. Check out http://www.exalead.com.
Stephen E Arnold, July 30, 2011