Thunderstone Blog: Customized Search Engine & Search Software

When it’s time to invest in a new search solution, one of the decisions you’ll need to make is whether you want to use an in-house server or Cloud hosting. Each option has advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons to decide which is right for your organization.

The Pros and Cons of Servers and Hosted Solutions

Utilizing an in-house file server for your search hardware or software offers several advantages, starting with ownership. Installing the search software on an existing server gives you more control of the application and the hardware you use for that solution. This means that you are in control of any hardware resources and backup schedules, whereas those decisions are left to an outside company when you rely on a hosted solution.

Since your server is in-house, you can make modifications to fit your preferences. Of course, this also depends on your level of comfort in terms of installing, updating, and modifying search software. These changes do require familiarity with your server’s operating systems and configurations. If you’re up to the challenge the level of control offered by an in-house server is an attractive option.

Another advantage of an in-house file server is that your content never leaves your premises. This means that nobody outside of your company has to see your information. With a hosted solution, there will be other people who have access to the cloud, and each person with access increases the risk of an unwanted party dealing with your hosted search solution.

While in-house servers offer control, Cloud Services, also known as Software as a Service (Saas), are a lot less work because you rely on a vendor for server infrastructure, availability, and security. Since an outside vendor hosts your search solution for you, you aren’t always on the hook for making regular updates or maintaining the server. When you use an in-house server, you’re the one in charge of making sure it stays up to date – not to mention maintaining both the physical and online security of you server. If the server fails, it’s up to you to fix it, whereas that responsibility falls on your vendor when you host your search solution.

Another big advantage of Cloud Services is scalability. You decide how much space you pay for and scaling up is quick and easy – just pay for more space. When you use your own server, you’ll need the right technical resources to increase server space.

Invest in the Right Search Solution for Your Needs

There isn’t a bad option between utilizing an in-house file server or opting for a hosted solution, but there is a right one for your organization. At Thunderstone, we can work with you to determine which solution is best suited for your needs and provide reliable, easy-to-use search engine software and hardware that can be customized for your needs.

Thunderstone is ready to help your organization take control of its information. Request a demo today to test out our enterprise search solutions for yourself or contact us to learn more from one of our experts.

While a Search Appliance can be an attractive option in many circumstances there are several possible ways to get a search solution depending on your preferences. The different possible delivery methods include hardware-based appliances, software, and service-based models. We’ll look at the different methods that exist and the pros and cons of each to help you make the right decision.

Hardware-Based Search Appliance

The hardware-based search appliance is a popular approach, and maybe the one you had in mind when you started investigating search solutions.

Some of the main advantages are that it is a self-contained solution that you can install in your data center with little effort. As an appliance from a single vendor, you have a single point of contact for any technical issues you may have, so there won’t be any finger pointing between the hardware vendor, operating system vendor, and application vendor. If something goes wrong, a single support call should resolve the problem. Of course, you should make sure that your vendor is equipped to handle your support calls and know how long it will take to fix any problems.

Another key advantage is that you don’t need to provision additional servers to run the application on or worry about incompatibilities between your hardware and operating system and the application. It just works when you take it out of the box and put it in the rack. The flip side of that is if you already have a uniform hardware environment that you like or are moving towards a virtualization environment a separate hardware appliance does not necessarily fit in well.

Virtual Appliance

If you already have a virtualization program under way, then a virtual appliance may be the right solution for you. What is a virtual appliance? Simply put, it is an image of the appliance that you can load onto a virtual server in your virtualization environment. It has all the same features of the hardware appliance.

What are the advantages of the virtual appliance? Similar to the hardware appliance, it is a self-contained image, so you don’t need to worry about operating system or software installs. Since you are providing the hardware for the virtual appliance, you can most likely use existing hardware you have and share it with other services.

In addition, most virtualization environments can also provide fault tolerance, or at least an easy way to restart the image on alternate hardware in the case of hardware failure. If you have sufficient spare capacity, you should not have any down time due to hardware problems. Since you are in control of the hardware, you can allocate as many or as few resources to the search solution to achieve the performance you want.

If you don’t have a current virtualization environment, then the additional learning experience of getting started with one is probably not worth it.

Installed Software

Another option is to install the search software on an existing server. If you are comfortable installing software, then this can be an attractive option, as you get more control of the application. Similar to the virtual appliance, you are in control of the hardware resources you make available to the search solution, as well as the backup schedules.

In addition to being in control of the hardware, you also have more flexibility to modify the solution to meet your needs. The source code to the search application is provided, unlike the appliances which are more of a black box.

The main advantages of the software solution are the control over the application, and the ability to choose the hardware it will run on. The disadvantages are that you do need to be familiar with your server’s operating systems and configurations to choose how to install the software in the most efficient manner possible.

Cloud Services

Cloud Services, also known as Software as a Service (Saas), is one of the hot trends in computing today. Essentially, it means that the vendor is hosting the solution for you, so you only need to worry about integrating the service into your existing infrastructure.

Typically, you can pay on some kind of metered service based on how much you use. This has the advantage of typically being quick and easy to set up and not requiring a lot of technical resources on your end. The downside is that the search data is no longer on your infrastructure, and you are reliant on a third party to keep your service running.

Find the Right Enterprise Search Solution for Your Needs

No matter which type of search solution best fits your criteria, it’s important that whatever you choose makes search simpler – and more powerful – for you and your users. It’s important to pick the right search solution instead of a bad choice at a cheaper price. At Thunderstone, we have decades of experience providing reliable, easy-to-use and maintain search engine software and hardware that can be customized to your specific needs and budget.

Ready to end your search for the right search engine software or hardware? Request a demo today to test out Thunderstone’s enterprise search solutions for yourself or contact us to talk to a Thunderstone expert and your organization’s search needs.