using XP Search Companion to search remote index server, and, how to specify catalog?

[Malcolm Cook]

Is there any good write-up on using Windows XP Search Companion to searching a remote index?

http://www.xpsearch.info/xps2.htm has some nice TIPS, but not on searching remote indices.

In particular, I'm interested in
(1) what is the "correct" way to specify searching a remote index server? Is it documented anywhere by Microsoft?

(2) are there any OS security patch levels that disallow this? (i.e. does
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS05-003.mspx bear on this?)

(3) Is it possible to specify which catalog gets searched using the Search Companion? I understand that the catalog which gets
searched is taken from the value of the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex
\IsapiDefaultCatalogDirectory on the hosting machine, but is there any way to specify that from within the search companion. I know
it should be possible given what I read in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/238791/EN-US/ about "Specifying a Catalog in ASP Code
(IXSSO Query)". I just wonder if the search companion exposes this ability...

Thanks,

Malcolm Cook

[Miroslav Pragl]

Had same Q before, no A :(

MP

Post by Malcolm Cook
Is there any good write-up on using Windows XP Search Companion to
searching a remote index?
http://www.xpsearch.info/xps2.htm has some nice TIPS, but not on searching remote indices.
In particular, I'm interested in
(1) what is the "correct" way to specify searching a remote index
server? Is it documented anywhere by Microsoft?
(2) are there any OS security patch levels that disallow this? (i.e.
does http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS05-003.mspx bear
on this?)
(3) Is it possible to specify which catalog gets searched using the
Search Companion? I understand that the catalog which gets searched is
taken from the value of the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex
\IsapiDefaultCatalogDirectory on the hosting machine, but is there any way
to specify that from within the search companion. I know it should be
possible given what I read in
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/238791/EN-US/ about "Specifying a Catalog
in ASP Code (IXSSO Query)". I just wonder if the search companion exposes
this ability...
Thanks,
Malcolm Cook

[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

Hi Malcolm,

The searching companion has the ability to automatically comunicate with
remote server's indexing service and look up if the query is included in a
catalog. If true, then the indexed data will be returned rapidly. Please
refer to the following instructions:

Starting with Windows 2000, File Server search performance can be enhanced
by using the Indexing Service to return search results from client requests.

Windows Clients also have the Indexing Service installed. It is NOT
necessary to add the remote file share to the local Index Server catalog.
In fact, the Indexing Service does NOT have to be running on the client
computer.

A file search from a Windows 2000 or XP client will interogate the File
Server's Index Server configuration and attempt to match up the file share
name with a UNC Alias specified in the Index Server Catalog's directory
configuration. If a match is found, then Index Server will be used to
return the results. If not, then the slower file scan will be performed.

The following procedure demonstrates how to configure Index Server catalog
on a file server to provide this functionality.

1) Create a home directory for the users named C:\Users with at least
Read and List permissions. An existing directory can also be used.
2) Share the directory as "Users" with a minimum of Read permissions.
3) Create a new directory named C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog.
4) Run the Computer Management MMC, COMPMGMT.MSC.
Expand "Services and Applications"
Expand "Indexing Service"
5) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "All Tasks" -> "Tune
Performance"
Select "Dedicated"
6) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select New -> Catalog.
Name: USER_Catalog
Location: C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog
A message will be displayed stating that the Indexing Service must be
restarted. Ignore for the moment.
7) Expand the User_Catalog catalog, right-click on Directories and select
New -> Directory.
In the "Add Directory" box, enter the following information.
Path: C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog
Alias (UNC): \\servername\users <- This must be
specified and it must match the share name.
8) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "Stop".
9) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "Stop".
10) Click on "Indexing Service" wait for the "Documents to Index" to reach
0, then test the remote search.

The directories can be moved to any drive, as long as the appropriate
permissions are provided.

The following changes will cause a file scan to be performed.
- The Index Server Catalog directory does not have a UNC Alias.
- If a UNC Alias is not specified and the "Add Network Share Alias
Automatically" is checked, when the Indexing operation completes, a second
entry for the directory, which is a slight green color, will be added with
the network share name.

The following changes will cause the client search to display "There are no
results to display".
* The Index Server Catalog directory contains only the server name.

============================================================================
========
Articles that describe this functionality (very briefly)

File server role: Configuring a file server
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/72ad1371-25c2-458f-96
39-77889d78a9761033.mspx
Indexing Service creates indexes of the contents and properties of
documents located on your local hard drive or on shared network drives.
These indexes enable users to perform faster, easier searches. Indexing
Service can slow down the server, so use it only if users frequently search
the contents of files on this server.

Windows 2003 - Disk and file management features
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/f9ab004e-09b7-4e3f-8e
f8-13d699de67061033.mspx
You can use Indexing Service to provide a fast, easy, and secure way for
users to search for information locally or on the network. Users can
search in files in different formats and languages, either through the
Search command on the Start menu or through Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML) pages that they view in a browser.

Best Regards,

WenJun Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support

==================================================

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most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
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==================================================

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[Malcolm Cook]

WenJun (and anyone who has a solution for this),

I have configured a remote indexing server as per the example provided and it works. I can query //myserver/user as in the example
from a remote PC.

However, it does not fully address my situation.

I want to configure index server to index network shared locations, and then search them using the Search Companion.

I do know how to configure index server to index the location, namely by entering the UNC into the 'Path' field of during 'Add
Directory'. I have already created such a 'proof of concept' catalog, named POC_Catalog, stored on the index servers local D:
drive in D:\Catalogs\POC_Catalog\catalog.cwi

What I can't figure out is whether it is possible to query my POC_Catalog using Search Companion.

I am able to query it remotely using other tools:

If I opening in MSIE this file: C:\WINDOWS\Help\ciquery.htm#machine=myserver,catalog=POC_Catalog it lets me query the remote catalog
successfully.

If I use the tool called 'AimAtFile' (http://www.aimingtech.com/aimatfile/index.htm), I can search the remote catalog if I use this
syntax to specify the catalog:

query://myserver/POC_Catalog

And I understand it is possible to write VB, VBA, ASP, etc code to search remote index servers that have indexed UNC content.

But, I really would like to be able to query my remote index server catalog using Search Companion.

I have tried a few different ways of providing the remote catalog to the search companion, using differnt syntaxes (including the
one that AimAtFile uses: query://myserver/POC_Catalog), but I'm guessing here, and it doesn't work.

Has anyone solved this?

Thanks Much

Malcolm Cook

Post by WenJun Zhang[msft]
Hi Malcolm,
The searching companion has the ability to automatically comunicate with
remote server's indexing service and look up if the query is included in a
catalog. If true, then the indexed data will be returned rapidly. Please
Starting with Windows 2000, File Server search performance can be enhanced
by using the Indexing Service to return search results from client requests.
Windows Clients also have the Indexing Service installed. It is NOT
necessary to add the remote file share to the local Index Server catalog.
In fact, the Indexing Service does NOT have to be running on the client
computer.
A file search from a Windows 2000 or XP client will interogate the File
Server's Index Server configuration and attempt to match up the file share
name with a UNC Alias specified in the Index Server Catalog's directory
configuration. If a match is found, then Index Server will be used to
return the results. If not, then the slower file scan will be performed.
The following procedure demonstrates how to configure Index Server catalog
on a file server to provide this functionality.
1) Create a home directory for the users named C:\Users with at least
Read and List permissions. An existing directory can also be used.
2) Share the directory as "Users" with a minimum of Read permissions.
3) Create a new directory named C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog.
4) Run the Computer Management MMC, COMPMGMT.MSC.
Expand "Services and Applications"
Expand "Indexing Service"
5) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "All Tasks" -> "Tune
Performance"
Select "Dedicated"
6) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select New -> Catalog.
Name: USER_Catalog
Location: C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog
A message will be displayed stating that the Indexing Service must be
restarted. Ignore for the moment.
7) Expand the User_Catalog catalog, right-click on Directories and select
New -> Directory.
In the "Add Directory" box, enter the following information.
Path: C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog
Alias (UNC): \\servername\users <- This must be
specified and it must match the share name.
8) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "Stop".
9) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "Stop".
10) Click on "Indexing Service" wait for the "Documents to Index" to reach
0, then test the remote search.
The directories can be moved to any drive, as long as the appropriate
permissions are provided.
The following changes will cause a file scan to be performed.
- The Index Server Catalog directory does not have a UNC Alias.
- If a UNC Alias is not specified and the "Add Network Share Alias
Automatically" is checked, when the Indexing operation completes, a second
entry for the directory, which is a slight green color, will be added with
the network share name.
The following changes will cause the client search to display "There are no
results to display".
* The Index Server Catalog directory contains only the server name.
============================================================================
========
Articles that describe this functionality (very briefly)
File server role: Configuring a file server
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/72ad1371-25c2-458f-96
39-77889d78a9761033.mspx
Indexing Service creates indexes of the contents and properties of
documents located on your local hard drive or on shared network drives.
These indexes enable users to perform faster, easier searches. Indexing
Service can slow down the server, so use it only if users frequently search
the contents of files on this server.
Windows 2003 - Disk and file management features
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/f9ab004e-09b7-4e3f-8e
f8-13d699de67061033.mspx
You can use Indexing Service to provide a fast, easy, and secure way for
users to search for information locally or on the network. Users can
search in files in different formats and languages, either through the
Search command on the Start menu or through Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML) pages that they view in a browser.
Best Regards,
WenJun Zhang
Microsoft Online Community Support
==================================================
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/managednewsgroups/default.aspx#notif
ications.
Note: The MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
project analysis and dump analysis issues. Issues of this nature are best
handled working with a dedicated Microsoft Support Engineer by contacting
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/support/default.aspx.
==================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

[Malcolm Cook]

WenJun Zhang,

Can I expect a follow-up reply to this message in the forum?

Thanks,

Malcolm Cook (MSDN Subscriber)

Post by WenJun Zhang[msft]
Hi Malcolm,
The searching companion has the ability to automatically comunicate with
remote server's indexing service and look up if the query is included in a
catalog. If true, then the indexed data will be returned rapidly. Please
Starting with Windows 2000, File Server search performance can be enhanced
by using the Indexing Service to return search results from client requests.
Windows Clients also have the Indexing Service installed. It is NOT
necessary to add the remote file share to the local Index Server catalog.
In fact, the Indexing Service does NOT have to be running on the client
computer.
A file search from a Windows 2000 or XP client will interogate the File
Server's Index Server configuration and attempt to match up the file share
name with a UNC Alias specified in the Index Server Catalog's directory
configuration. If a match is found, then Index Server will be used to
return the results. If not, then the slower file scan will be performed.
The following procedure demonstrates how to configure Index Server catalog
on a file server to provide this functionality.
1) Create a home directory for the users named C:\Users with at least
Read and List permissions. An existing directory can also be used.
2) Share the directory as "Users" with a minimum of Read permissions.
3) Create a new directory named C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog.
4) Run the Computer Management MMC, COMPMGMT.MSC.
Expand "Services and Applications"
Expand "Indexing Service"
5) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "All Tasks" -> "Tune
Performance"
Select "Dedicated"
6) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select New -> Catalog.
Name: USER_Catalog
Location: C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog
A message will be displayed stating that the Indexing Service must be
restarted. Ignore for the moment.
7) Expand the User_Catalog catalog, right-click on Directories and select
New -> Directory.
In the "Add Directory" box, enter the following information.
Path: C:\Catalogs\User_Catalog
Alias (UNC): \\servername\users <- This must be
specified and it must match the share name.
8) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "Stop".
9) Right-click on "Indexing Service" and select "Stop".
10) Click on "Indexing Service" wait for the "Documents to Index" to reach
0, then test the remote search.
The directories can be moved to any drive, as long as the appropriate
permissions are provided.
The following changes will cause a file scan to be performed.
- The Index Server Catalog directory does not have a UNC Alias.
- If a UNC Alias is not specified and the "Add Network Share Alias
Automatically" is checked, when the Indexing operation completes, a second
entry for the directory, which is a slight green color, will be added with
the network share name.
The following changes will cause the client search to display "There are no
results to display".
* The Index Server Catalog directory contains only the server name.
============================================================================
========
Articles that describe this functionality (very briefly)
File server role: Configuring a file server
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/72ad1371-25c2-458f-96
39-77889d78a9761033.mspx
Indexing Service creates indexes of the contents and properties of
documents located on your local hard drive or on shared network drives.
These indexes enable users to perform faster, easier searches. Indexing
Service can slow down the server, so use it only if users frequently search
the contents of files on this server.
Windows 2003 - Disk and file management features
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/f9ab004e-09b7-4e3f-8e
f8-13d699de67061033.mspx
You can use Indexing Service to provide a fast, easy, and secure way for
users to search for information locally or on the network. Users can
search in files in different formats and languages, either through the
Search command on the Start menu or through Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML) pages that they view in a browser.
Best Regards,
WenJun Zhang
Microsoft Online Community Support
==================================================
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/managednewsgroups/default.aspx#notif
ications.
Note: The MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
project analysis and dump analysis issues. Issues of this nature are best
handled working with a dedicated Microsoft Support Engineer by contacting
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/support/default.aspx.
==================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

Hi Malcolm,

I'm just ping our platform engineer to confirm the issue about if the
Search Companion in XP has the ability to query a remote catalog. Based on
the info I knew, it should prefer comunicating with remote server's
Indexing Service to retrieve indexed data. There is no need to include the
share locations in the local machine's indexing catalog(another approach).

Please wait for further update of mine. Thanks & have a nice day.

Best Regards,

WenJun Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support

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Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
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professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
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==================================================

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[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

Hi Malcolm,

I've got final confirmation on this issue from our plaform engineer. The
Search Companion will use Indexing Service(IS) if you search a remote
computer if it's running IS, the catalog is up to date, and if the query
can be executed via IS (not all queries can).

Also if you click start, search and point to \\server\share or \\server\c$,
then it should search all the available catalogs on that remote machine.

Has this above answered your questions? If you have any further concern,
please feel free to let me know.

Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,

WenJun Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support

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Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
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[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

Hi Malcolm,

Do you still have any further questions or concern on this?

Sincerely,

WenJun Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support

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where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
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==================================================

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[Miroslav Pragl]

Thx for eplanation.

I've found that if indexing is not finished (which happens quite often as
files change frequently) Explorer switches to snail search. Is that right?

MP

[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

Yes. In this case, the remote catalog will not be used.

Sincerely,

WenJun Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support

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Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
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[Miroslav Pragl]

OK, now the catalog is in the following state:
Docs to index:722
Deferred for indexing: 722
Status: started

and explorer does NOT use remote indexing services for searching the shared
resource

What can I do to fix this please? Is there a easy way how to check which
documents are deferred and why?

Thx

Miroslav

Post by WenJun Zhang[msft]
Yes. In this case, the remote catalog will not be used.
Sincerely,
WenJun Zhang
Microsoft Online Community Support
==================================================
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ications.
Note: The MSDN Managed Newsgroup support offering is for non-urgent issues
where an initial response from the community or a Microsoft Support
Engineer within 1 business day is acceptable. Please note that each follow
up response may take approximately 2 business days as the support
professional working with you may need further investigation to reach the
most efficient resolution. The offering is not appropriate for situations
that require urgent, real-time or phone-based interactions or complex
project analysis and dump analysis issues. Issues of this nature are best
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http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/support/default.aspx.
==================================================
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[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

Hi Miroslav,

This kind of deferred doc are generally caused by some file types cannot be
properly indexed. A form case is like below:

1. Some .DOC documents are actually .RTF format, so they are not filtered
properly for indexing, and show "Deferred for Indexing".

2. Windows Explorer search has many ways to do the search according to
different conditions:
1) If Indexing Service is not started, the Windows Explorer shell will do a
full disk content exploring to find out the result.
2) If Indexing Service is started, but the SYSTEM catalog isn't 100% up to
date, the shell will also do its own search and not use the catalog.
3) If Indexing Service is started and the SYSTEM catalog is update to date,
the shell will use the catalog indexes.

Therefore, since some documents are not indexed properly, according to the
condition 2), Windows Explorer search will use its own search, which
results in different query results.

Solution:

1. Make sure that .RTF format files are correctly saved as .RTF files.
2. Use filtreg.exe tool to make sure .RTF files are using Query.dll Ifilter.
3. Rebuild the index, and it should work.

Sincerely,

WenJun Zhang
Microsoft Online Partner Support

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[Malcolm Cook]

Hi WenJun,

Thanks for this explanation, but I still find it incomplete. Let me try to be more clear.

I have three windows computers as follows:

HOSTNAME PURPOSE
F acting as a file server, sharing its C:\UserDocs on the network as \\F\SharedUserDocs
S running index server configured with a Catalog named UD holding a Directory that indexes Path =
\\F\SharedUserDocs
U the end users computer who will save documents into \\F\SharedUserDocs and will want to search them later
by querying the index server on S

After configuring S as above (and restarting the index server) and saving some documents in \\F\SharedUserDocs I find that I can
search for them and find them using the Index Server either by
1) using the "Indexing Service Query Form" from within the index server
2) using the search companion on S to 'Look in' \\F\SharedUserDocs and forcing the use of index server by putting an exclamation
point (!) as the first character in the Search Companion's "Containing Text" box

However, I don't see any way to search for files in \\F\SharedUserDocs from computer U using the search companion and taking
advantage of S's indexing of them, which is what I want to be able to do.

I CAN search for files in \\F\SharedUserDocs from computer U using any of the following methods:

1) ADO provider MSIDXS will search the UD catalog running on a remote index server S by prefixing the SCOPE with them, i.e.
"SELECT path from S.UD..SCOPE() WHERE"
2) commercial product AimAtFile allows specification of remote catalog to search using this syntax: :
"query://<remoteserver./<catalogname>". In my example "query://S/UD"
3) by querying a MS SQL linked server configured with "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Indexing Service"

So, I know that it is to query a catalog of a remote index server whose content resides on yet another computer's network share.

I am coming to the conclusion that there is no way of doing it using the Search Companion.

I still hope that I am wrong and am overlooking something.

For instance, there is special syntax for force the search companion to appeal to the index server, namely, putting an exclamation
as the first character in the "Containing Text" box.

Is there perhaps some similar syntax that forces the Search Companion to interrogate a named catalog on the remote index server,
such as is provided by the "AimingAt" product using the "query://<remoteserver./<catalogname>" syntax. If there were, I think that
would satisfy my requirement.

Thanks for your time tracking this down with your platform engineer. Perhaps if you forward my inquired directly to him/her, my
needs will be better understood and responded to directly.

Sincerely,

Malcolm Cook (MSDN Subscriber)

Post by WenJun Zhang[msft]
Hi Malcolm,
I've got final confirmation on this issue from our plaform engineer. The
Search Companion will use Indexing Service(IS) if you search a remote
computer if it's running IS, the catalog is up to date, and if the query
can be executed via IS (not all queries can).
Also if you click start, search and point to \\server\share or \\server\c$,
then it should search all the available catalogs on that remote machine.
Has this above answered your questions? If you have any further concern,
please feel free to let me know.
Have a nice weekend.
Sincerely,
WenJun Zhang
Microsoft Online Community Support
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[Malcolm Cook]

WenJun Zhang,

Thanks for staying with me on this.

Too bad for me and my users that the feature is not already built in.

I appreciate your submitting this feature request on my behalf, and I will consider your recommendation.

I have read the attached whitepaper and already learned a few tips relevant to my application.

Case closed!

--Malcolm Cook

Post by WenJun Zhang[msft]
Hi Malcolm,
I've confirmed with our platform engineer that Search Companion doesn't
have the feature to accept a query phrase like
query://<remoteserver./<catalogname>/
If you search \\F\SharedUserDocs from U, what Search Companion will do is
trying to communicate with Indexing Service catalog on server F. But there
is no Indexing Service available on F, so it will switch to native
searching.
I will help you submit a feature request to our plaform group about adding
the function of query syntax in search companion. Hopefully it will be a
new supported feature in future version OS.
A common solution you may consider is to enable Indexing Service on the
content server F directly. In this case, there will be some performance
tuning tips need your attention. I attached the Indexing Service
Performance Tunning whitepaper in this message for your reference(see
attachment).
Let me know if you have further questions or concerns. Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
WenJun Zhang
Microsoft Online Community Support
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[WenJun Zhang[msft]]

You are welcome Malcolm. If there is any further issue about indexing
service in future, please feel free to post into the group again.

Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

WenJun Zhang

Microsoft Online Community Support

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