Add or remove a crawl database

Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010

In Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Search, crawl databases contain data related to the location of content sources, crawl schedules, and other information specific to crawl operations for a specific Search Service Application. You can distribute the database load by adding crawl databases to different computers that are running SQL Server. Crawl databases are associated with crawl components, and can be dedicated to specific hosts by creating host distribution rules. For more information about crawl components, see Add or remove a crawl component (SharePoint Server 2010). For more information about host distribution rules, see Add or remove a host distribution rule.

To add a crawl database to a Search Service Application

1. In Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage service applications.

2. On the Service Applications page, click the name of the Search Service Application to which you want to add a crawl database.

3. On the Search Administration page, in the Search Application Topology section, click the Modify button.

   Note

   The SharePoint Search topology cannot be changed in Standalone installations.

4. On the Manage Search Topology page, click New, and then click Crawl Database.

5. In the Add Crawl Database dialog box, in the Add Crawl Database section, specify a database server to which you want to add the crawl database, the database name, and database authentication information. By default, the Database Server field contains the host name and instance that is used to store the farm’s configuration database, and the Database Name field is pre-populated with a suggested name.

6. In the Failover Database Server field, you can optionally specify a failover database server that is used in conjunction with SQL Server database mirroring.

   Important

   Do not enter a server name into this field unless SQL Server database mirroring is currently configured and operational.

7. In the Dedicated Database section, you can select the Dedicate this crawl store to hosts as specified in Host Distribution Rules check box if appropriate.

   Note

   It is not possible to set a crawl store (that is, a crawl database) as dedicated once it has been created.

8. Click OK to add the new crawl database to the job queue.

9. On the Manage Search Topology page, click the Apply Topology Changes button to start the SharePoint timer job that will add the new crawl database to the specified SQL Server computer and make it available for association with crawl components.

   Note

   You can make other changes to the Search topology and then apply them all at once by clicking the Apply Topology Changes button.

To remove a crawl database from a Search Service Application

1. In Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage service applications.

2. On the Service Applications page, click the name of the Search Service Application from which you want to remove a crawl database.

3. On the Search Administration page, in the Search Application Topology section, click the Modify button.

   Note

   The SharePoint Search topology cannot be changed in Standalone installations.

4. On the Manage Search Topology page, click the crawl database you want to remove, and then click Delete.

   Note

   If any crawl components are currently associated with the crawl database, the Delete option will not appear when you click the crawl database.

5. In the message box, click OK to add the removal of the crawl database to the job queue.

6. On the Manage Search Topology page, click the Apply Topology Changes button to start the SharePoint timer job that will delete the crawl database from the specified SQL Server computer and remove it from the farm.

   Note

   You can make other changes to the Search topology and then apply them all at once by clicking the Apply Topology Changes button.

See Also

Concepts

Search topology operations in SharePoint Server 2010 (white paper)