Using a9s Search

This chapter describes how to interact with a9s Search using the Kubernetes API.

Pre-requisite

• kubectl

Choose your Kubernetes Environment

• kubectl

• Data Service Custom Resources

  Before using the a9s Search service, ensure the necessary custom resources are present in your Kubernetes cluster. Use the following commands to verify their existence:

  kubectl get searchinstances.anynines.com
  
  kubectl get servicebindings.anynines.com
  
  kubectl get backups.anynines.com
  
  kubectl get restores.anynines.com

  If you encounter the following error:

  error: the server doesn't have a resource type "<resource-name>"

  This indicates that the corresponding resource is missing. To resolve this, you can follow the instructions here or reach out to a platform operator for assistance.

Create a Search Service Instance

To provision a Search Service Instance, simply create a Search Kubernetes Object by applying a Service Instance Claim.

Replace the placeholder values denoted by < > in the provided yaml file. Kindly select one of the supported values for spec.service and spec.plan. The supported values for service and plan can be found here.

Optional: To set up a clustered Search with small specifications, apply the yaml manifest provided in the Example tab below. Feel free to modify the fields in order to create a Data Service tailored to your requirements.

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: SearchInstance
  metadata:
    name: <name>
    namespace: <namespace>
  spec:
    service: <service-name>
    plan: <plan-name>
    compositionRef:
      name: a9s-search

Template

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: SearchInstance
  metadata:
    name: example-a9s-search
    namespace: default
  spec:
    service: a9s-search2
    plan: search-cluster-small-ssl
    compositionRef:
      name: a9s-search

Download the yaml manifest example

Applying this Kubernetes yaml manifest is as straightforward as working with any default Kubernetes resource.

kubectl apply -f <filename.yaml>

After applying the manifest, please allow some time for the remote resources to be deployed. If you've deployed the provided example, you should observe an output similar to the following:

kubectl get searchinstances.anynines.com

NAME                          SYNCED   READY   CONNECTION-SECRET   AGE
example-a9s-search            True     True                        9m

You can also obtain additional information about the status of Search Objects using the following command:

kubectl describe searchinstances.anynines.com

Name:         example-a9s-search
Namespace:    default
...
Status:
  Conditions:
    Last Transition Time:  2023-08-07T09:57:49Z
    Reason:                ReconcileSuccess
    Status:                True
    Type:                  Synced
    Last Transition Time:  2023-08-07T10:04:11Z
    Reason:                Available
    Status:                True
    Type:                  Ready
  Managed:
    Conditions:
      Last Transition Time:  2023-08-07T09:57:50Z
      Reason:                ReconcileSuccess
      Status:                True
      Type:                  Synced
      Last Transition Time:  2023-08-07T10:04:00Z
      Reason:                Available
      Status:                True
      Type:                  Ready
    Created At:              2023-08-07T09:57:50.556Z
    Provisioned At:          2023-08-07T10:03:40.445Z
    State:                   provisioned
    Updated At:              2023-08-07T10:03:40.500Z

info

No Search pod is running locally in the App Cluster.

Behind the scenes the Custom Resources synced up to the a9s Data Service platform which ensures the database is provisioned and healthy. The status information reflecting the database status synced back to the App Cluster to signify service readiness.

Bind an Application to a Search Database

The ServiceBinding Custom Resource is all that you need to quickly start using the database. To target a specific Search instance, set the spec.instanceRef field.

Optional: If you've followed the example from the previous step, where we create a Search Kubernetes Object, you can now proceed to apply the yaml manifest provided in the Example tab below. This will bind the previously created Search instance.

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: ServiceBinding
  metadata:
    name: <name>
    namespace: <namespace>
  spec:
    instanceRef: <search-instance-name>
    serviceInstanceType: search
    compositionRef:
      name: a9s-servicebinding

Template

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: ServiceBinding
  metadata:
    name: example-a9s-search
    namespace: default
  spec:
    instanceRef: example-a9s-search
    serviceInstanceType: search
    compositionRef:
      name: a9s-servicebinding

Download the yaml manifest example

After a few seconds, the ServiceBinding will be ready. You can then access the credentials and network details required for database connectivity by describing the Secret that was automatically created. The Data Service automation generates a Secret, named {service-binding-name}-creds, in the same namespace as the ServiceBinding.

For instance, if you have already applied the provided examples, upon the successful deployment of the ServiceBinding, you can access credentials and network details by describing the corresponding Kubernetes Secret using the following command:

kubectl get secret example-a9s-search-creds -o yaml

apiVersion: v1
data:
  cacrt: <base64 encoded value>
  host: <base64 encoded value>
  hosts: <base64 encoded value>
  password: <base64 encoded value>
  port: <base64 encoded value>
  scheme: <base64 encoded value>
  username: <base64 encoded value>
...

Backup a Search Database

The a9s platform provides an easy way to create backups and restore if needed. You can use the Kubernetes Custom Resource Backup from the API group anynines.com to create backups of Data Service Instances. To do this, simply target the specific Data Service Instance you want to back up, as shown in the following yaml manifest:

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: Backup
  metadata:
    name: <name>
    namespace: <namespace>
  spec:
    instanceRef: <search-instance-name>
    serviceInstanceType: search
    compositionRef:
      name: a9s-backup

Template

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: Backup
  metadata:
    name: example-a9s-search
    namespace: default
  spec:
    instanceRef: example-a9s-search
    serviceInstanceType: search
    compositionRef:
      name: a9s-backup

Download the yaml manifest example

And then apply the yaml manifest:

kubectl apply -f <filename.yaml>

You can inspect the status of the backup to determine when it is complete, similar to how we did it for the Search instance, using the following command:

kubectl get backup.anynines.com -o yaml

You can observe the status transition from queued to done as the backup process completes.

apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
kind: Backup
...
status:
    ...
  managed:
    ...
    status: queued

apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
kind: Backup
...
status:
    ...
  managed:
    ...
    size: 736
    status: done

Restore a Search Database Backup

To restore a backup, you must apply a Restore from the API group anynines.com, targeting an existing Search Backup. Below is the yaml file you can utilize for this purpose:

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: Restore
  metadata:
    name: <name>
  spec:
      backupRef: <backup-name>
      serviceInstanceType: search
      compositionRef:
        name: a9s-restore

Template

  apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: Restore
  metadata:
    name: example-a9s-search
  spec:
      backupRef: example-a9s-search
      serviceInstanceType: search
      compositionRef:
        name: a9s-restore

Download the yaml manifest example

And then apply the yaml manifest:

kubectl apply -f <filename.yaml>

You can observe the state transition from queued to running and done as the restore completes.

kubectl get restore.anynines.com -o yaml

apiVersion: v1
items:
- apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: Restore
  ...
  status:
      ...
    managed:
      ...
      state: queued

apiVersion: v1
items:
- apiVersion: anynines.com/v1
  kind: Restore
  ...
  status:
      ...
    managed:
      ...
      state: done

Delete a9s Kubernetes Custom Resources

Delete the Custom Resources using the kubectl delete command. Replace <resource-type> with the actual resource type and <resource-name> with the name of the Custom Resource you want to delete.

kubectl delete <resource-type> <resource-name>

Alternatively, you can use the following command to delete Custom Resources by specifying the filename of the yaml manifest:

kubectl delete -f <filename.yaml>

Coming soon

a9s Search offers a range of features that will soon be supported for a9s Search through Kubernetes integration. See the following table for a summary of these upcoming features.

Feature	Description
Metrics	Monitor, collect, and manage metrics for comprehensive insights into the service.
Logging	Stream log data to a third-party service for centralized log management and analysis.
Disk Usage Alerts	Create disk usage alerts to be notified when ephemeral or persistent disk usage exceeds a certain threshold.
OpenSearch Settings Configuration	Configure advanced OpenSearch settings such as TLS protocol version, and cipher suites.
OpenSearch plugins	Extend the functionality of a9s Search with OpenSearch plugins, such as analysis-phonetic for phonetic analysis.
Service Migration and Management	Migrate data to another Search instance. View service listings and initiate Data Service restarts as needed.