Microsoft Azure Search Documentation
September 2, 2014
Microsoft has posted information about the Azure Search service. You can find the information at Azure Search Preview. The features remind me of Amazon’s cloud search approach.
The idea is that search is available. The “How It Works” section summarizes the procedures the customer follows. The approach is intended for engineers familiar with Microsoft conventions or a consultant capable of performing the required steps.
Of particular interest to potential licensees will be the description of the pricing options. The Preview Pricing Details uses an Amazon like approach as well; for example, combinable search units. For higher demand implementations, Microsoft provides a custom price quote. The prices in the table below represent a 50 percent preview discount:
Microsoft offers different “editions” of Azure Search. Microsoft says:
Free is a free version of Azure Search designed to provide developers a sandbox to test features and implementations of Search. It is not designed for production workloads. Standard is the go-to option for building applications that benefit from a self-managed search-as-a-service solution. Standard delivers storage and predictable throughput that scales with application needs. For very high-demand applications, please contact azuresearch_contact@microsoft.com.
Support and service level agreements are available. A pricing calculator is available. Note that the estimates are not for search alone. Additional pricing information points to a page with four categories of fees and more than two dozen separate services. The link to Azure Search Pricing is self-referential, which is interesting to me.
I was not able to locate an online demo of the service. I was invited to participate in a free trial.
If you are interested in the limits for the free trial, Microsoft provides some information in its “Maximum Limits for Shared (Free) Search Service.”
Based on the documentation, correctly formed content uploaded permits full text search, facets, and hit highlighting. Specific functionalities are outlined on this reference page.
Net net: The search system is developer centric.
Stephen E Arnold, September 2, 2014
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