Configure the Search microservice with the IMC tool

6 min read

The Search section in the Instance Management tool lets you configure the setup of the Search microservice. The Search microservice is responsible for searching and retrieving information from the search engine. It uses a search plugin to customize the search engine behavior, for example, how queries are formed, how results are presented, etc.

You set up the instance as an instance in the Search microservice, customize the features used in the Search plugin, and define the endpoint structure with the requestors used to retrieve the information and the features to be used.

warning

Only Playboard users with permissions for Instance management can set up and edit the Search configuration.

The configuration of the Search microservice is broken down into three sections. There's a JSON editor for each section that helps you detect errors and explore misconfigurations. Fold and unfold code lines and use the search bar to focus on the configuration parts you want to modify. Configure the sections in this order:

Client configuration: Sets up the configuration for the customer, including the number of resources assigned to the customer’s instance.
Feature configuration: Determines the features used in the customer’s implementation, and the configuration of each feature.
Endpoint configuration: Defines the endpoint structure, with the requestors that determines the block of information retrieved from the index, and the features used by each requestor.

The Search plugin and Search microservice are started with a basic configuration to start up the microservice, which is overwritten when you configure this form. Every time you make a change to the configuration, the Search plugin needs to be reloaded for the configuration to be applied. This is done automatically when you click Save.

Important

The product catalog must have been set up and indexed before you can configure the Search microservice.

Client configuration

The first step is to customize the configuration for the customer. Each instance has its own Search configuration, which allows the implementation to be customized according to the customer's requirements.

Initially, you need to create the configuration for the customer by identifying the customer with its instance ID.

Field	Description	Type	Default value
`instance`	Instance ID, e.g. `empathy` (required)	String	---
`workersSize`	Limit for resource allocation (optional)	Integer	`5`

warning

In a multi-tenant environment, search microservice resources are shared. The workersSize parameter sets the limit for the resources allocated to the instance. By default, the value is 5; however, this parameter can be adjusted as required to provide more resources. You should not change this parameter unless you have been advised to do so by Partner Enablement.

To add a client configuration:

Edit the JSON code snippet below to include the instance ID.
```
{
  "instance": "empathy",
  "workersSize": 5
}
```
Copy and paste the code snippet in the Client configuration field.

Feature configuration

Features are options that can be set up in the search service. In Empathy Platform, there are two types of feature:

Search feature: Functionalities used by the search engine. It's composed of a list of query processors, and a list of result processors. Search features are divided into five categories:
- Search type: These features modify how the search engine retrieves the results.
- Query settings: These features determine what information should be sent in the query.
- Response customization: These features determine how the results are returned.
- Relevancy tuning: These features determine how results are ranked within the SERP.
- Debug utilities: These features provide additional information for admin purposes.
Fallback feature: Functionalities used in the event that no results are returned by the search engine. Fallback features are composed by a list of request processors.

Features are invoked in the order they appear in the configuration.

Field	Description	Type	Default value
`instance`	Instance ID, e.g. `empathy` (required)	String	---
`endpointId`	Name of the endpoint where the feature is used (required)	String	---
`requestorId`	Name of the requestor where the feature is used (required)	String	---
`type`	Type of feature to be used, either `SEARCH` or `FALLBACK` (required)	String	---
`feature`	Name of the feature (required	String	---
`config`	Configuration of the feature. Each feature has its own configuration (required)	Array	---

note

The value of the endpointId parameter depends on the endpoint you set up in endpoint configuration.

To add the feature configuration:

Edit the JSON code snippet below to include all required features.

  {
    "instance": "MY_INSTANCE_ID",
    "endpointId": "ENDPOINT_ID",
    "requestorId": "REQUESTOR_ID",
    "type": "FEATURE_TYPE",
    "feature": "FEATURE_NAME",
    "config": {
      ...
   }
  }

Copy and paste the code snippet in the Feature configuration field.

Example: Feature configuration

[
  ...
  {
    "instance": "empathy",
    "endpointId": "search",
    "requestorId": "catalog",
    "type": "FALLBACK",
    "feature": "spellcheck",
    "config": {
      "collectionType": "CATALOG",
      "enablePhraseSuggester": true,
      "redisCached": true,
      "redisTTL": 250.0,
      "mainCollectionId": "empathy",
      "secondaryCollectionId": "empathy"
    },
    {
      "instance": "empathy",
      "endpointId": "search",
      "requestorId": "catalog",
      "type": "SEARCH",
      "feature": "multiMatchSearch",
      "config": {
        "searchableFields": [
          {
            "name": "description",
            "boost": 3
          },
          {
            "name": "brand"
          },
          {
            "name": "category",
            "boost": 0
          }
        ],
        "tieBreaker": 0.1,
        "autoGenerateSynonymsPhraseQuery": false
      }
    ...
]

Endpoint configuration

Once you have configured the search service features to be used, you set up the endpoint configuration. The endpoint configuration determines the requestors to be used for each feature. A requestor decides the block of information retrieved.

Generally speaking, in Empathy Platform, you use search as the main endpoint for the search experience, browse as the endpoint for the navigation experience. For the conversational services, you use empathize for query suggestions and popular searches, topclicked for recommendations, and skusearch for ID results.

Important

All features must have been previously set up in the feature configuration. Otherwise, the configuration will fail.

Field	Description	Type	Default value
`instance`	Instance ID for the customer (required)	String	---
`endpointId`	Name of the endpoint to add. Common values: `search`, `browse`, `empathize`, `topclicked`, `skusearch`, and `field-values` (required)	String	---
`type`	Type of endpoint to be created (required)	String	`custom`
`requestors`	Collections to be queried for each endpoint. For example, you set up one requestor for the main product catalog, another requestor to support boosts, etc. (required)	Array	---

To add the endpoint configuration:

Edit the JSON code snippet below to include all required requestors. See Configure Search Requestors.

  {
    "instance": "MY_INSTANCE_ID",
    "endpointId": "ENDPOINT",
    "requestors": [
      ...
    ],
    "type": "custom"
  }

Copy and paste the code snippet in the Endpoint configuration field.

coding tip

You may want to use the field-values endpoint to retrieve all the possible values for a field. You specify the searchable fields in the definition of the feature. See Field Values feature configuration.

Example: Endpoint configuration

[
  {
    "instance": "empathy",
    "endpointId": "search",
    "requestors": [
      {
        "features": {
          "fallback": [
            "spellcheck"
          ],
          "search": [
            "multiMatchSearch",
            "pagination",
            "totalHits",
            "debug"
          ]
        },
        "requestorId": "catalog",
        "mainCollectionId": "empathy",
        "postprocessors": [
          {
            "name": "explain"
          }
        ],
        "type": "default"
      },
      {
        "config": {
          "linkType": "DIRECT",
          "queryParamFilters": [
            {
              "field": "langs",
              "queryParam": "lang"
            },
            {
              "field": "filters.scope",
              "queryParam": "scope"
            }
          ]
        },
        "id": "direct",
        "secondaryCollectionId": "empathy",
        "type": "links"
      }
    ],
    "type": "custom"
  }
]