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Follow this link if you are using ---> Aspire for Elasticsearch <---

The following tutorial gets you started with Aspire in 20 minutes or less.

This tutorial is for Aspire

2, if you need a tutorial for an older version (1.x), use the link Getting Started Aspire 1.x This tutorial will take you through installing

3 (Rowan)

  • You will install Aspire, an Aspire connector application, and an Aspire publisher application (that simply writes to a file instead of to a search engine for indexing).
It will give you
  • You'll get an idea of how
you install
  • to install Aspire applications using the System
Admin user interface
  • Admin UI (no programming knowledge needed).
There is another quick

See another quick start tutorial

to learn

for how to build Aspire distributions from scratch using Maven prototypes and Maven component repositories. Aspire Quick Start with Distribution Archetype

Additionally, there

There are also tutorials for each type of connector application you might wish to install; those are located under the section for each Connector.

Anchor
TutorialPrereqs
TutorialPrereqs
Step 1:

 

Prerequisites


Before you begin, you need to be registered to use Aspire (go to httphttps://aspire.searchtechnologies.com/) if you haven't already done that.

You will need your user registration name and password in order to complete this tutorial.

 

Step 1: Install Java

The version of Java you should use depends on the Aspire version you are targeting to:

  • Aspire 2.1.2 and earlier runs on Java 1.6 or Java 1.7
  • Aspire 2.2 and up requires to run at Java 1.7.

Note that we recommend installing the Java JDK (Java Development Kit), just in case you want to create your own Aspire Components in the future. But really, only the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) is absolutely required.

  1. Download and install the latest version of the Java JDK appropriate for the system that will run Aspire: http://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp
    • If you have a 64 bit machine, we recommend installing the 64 bit version of Java. That will allow you to create large-memory instances of Aspire.
      • The Aspire framework itself does not use up that much memory (100mb or so). But some applications may store big hash tables to improve performance, so it's best to have the 64 bit JVM (Java Virtual Machine), just in case you need it someday.
  2. Test that you can access the "java" command from your console.
    1. Open up a new DOS command-shell (go to the Start menu, enter "cmd" in the "Run" or "Search for Programs" field, and then execute the cmd.exe program).
    2. At the prompt, enter the following, then press the Enter key: java -version
    3. Success is indicated when version information is returned.

up to Aspire 2.1.2:

Code Block
 > java -version
 java version "1.6.0_18"
 Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_18-b07)
 Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 16.0-b13, mixed mode)

or as of Aspire  (2.2 Release)  :

Code Block
 > java -version
 java version "1.7.0_79"
 Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_79-b15)
 Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 24.79-b02, mixed mode)
Note

This tutorial assumes the user has already set up his environment. If not, see Prerequisites.

Anchor
quickstart
quickstart
Step 2: Download the Aspire quick start distribution


Download and unpack Aspire Binaries

Step 2: Download the Quick-Start Distribution

Download and unpack https://wiki.searchtechnologies.com/binaries/. Select the most recent Aspire binary (aspire-distribution-X.X.zip)version. For purposes of this tutorial, we'll use "aspire-quick-start" as the directory name to which you unpack Aspire.

Note: This is the best way to evaluate Aspire with or without premium connectors. The preferred method if you are actually building a distribution is to use the Distribution Archetype, which requires also downloading a Maven client.

The download will create a directory structure similar to that described in Aspire Directory Structure.

Anchor
StartMongo
StartMongo
Step 3: Start MongoDB


If you haven't installed MongoDB yet, do it now: Install MongoDB 3.2

Make sure your MongoDB server is running by executing:

Code Block
themeFadeToGrey
> mongo
MongoDB shell version: 3.2.4
connecting to: test
>


If it returns a "NETWORK  Failed to connect to 127.0.0.1:27017" error, it means it is not running, start it by executing:

Windows

Open a terminal and CD to your MongoDB installation folder and execute:

Code Block
themeFadeToGrey
C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\3.2\bin> mongod


Linux


Code Block
themeFadeToGrey
$ sudo service mongod start



Anchor
editConfig
editConfig
Step 4: Edit the Aspire config/settings.xml

File

file


Go to the directory where you unpacked Aspire (such as "aspire-quick-start") and go to the configuration directory /config. Open the settings.xml file with a text or XML editor. Look for the maven repository tag. You need to replace the user name and password that displays with the user name and password you used to register for Aspire.

Code Block
languagexml
firstline46
linenumberstrue
<repositories><repository type="maven">
     <defaultVersion>2.2<
	<defaultVersion>3.0</defaultVersion>
    
	<repository type="distribution">
		<directory>bundles/aspire</directory>
	</repository>

	<repository <remoteRepositories>
       <remoteRepository>
         <id>stPublic</id>
         <url>
           httptype="maven">
		<remoteRepositories>
			<remoteRepository>
				<id>stPublic</id>
				<url>https://repository.searchtechnologies.com/artifactory/simple/community-public/
         </url>
         				<user>YOUR-REGISTERED-USERNAME</user>
         				<password>YOUR-REGISTERED-PASSWORD</password>
       			</remoteRepository>
     		</remoteRepositories>
   	</repository>
</repositories>

Once After you've entered your user name and password, save Save and close the file. Make sure you save it so it remains a an .xml file!

Also modify the following section and point to the server where you installed MongoDB, in this case we have MongoDB running in the host called mongodb-host:

Excerpt Include
MongoDB Settings
MongoDB Settings


Anchor
StartupAspire
StartupAspire
Step 5: Start up

Step 4: Start Up

Aspire


First, make sure you have access to the internet so that Aspire can download components. Next, still in the Aspire directory you created, change to the /bin directory and type "startup" to launch Aspire.

Note that "startup" is a batch script (on Windows) or a shell script (on Unix) that can be modified as necessary if you need more memory or need to set other system properties.

Aspire may take a few seconds to load all of the necessary components. You will see feedback to the command prompt during the startup.

NOTE: If you are downloading Aspire Community, ignore the error message about being unable to download the com.searchtechnologies.aspire:aspire-dcm-enterprise component. The aspire-dcm-enterprise component is available only with Enterprise systems (and is used for Distributed Processing).

To start Aspire follow these steps:

  1. Open a terminal and cd to the bin/ directory inside the downloaded Aspire Distribution.
  2. Execute the startup script
    1. Windows

      Code Block
      themeFadeToGrey
      > aspire.bat
    2. Linux

      Code Block
      themeFadeToGrey
      $ startup.sh
    3. OS X (this command must be executed from Aspire home directory)

      Code Block
      themeFadeToGrey
      $ bin/startup.sh

Excerpt Include
Aspire Quick Start with Distribution Archetype
Aspire Quick Start with Distribution Archetype
nopaneltrue


Anchor
browseCSM
browseCSM
Step 6: Browse to the content source management page


Step 5: Launch Aspire and open the Content Source Management Page

Launch Aspire (if it's not already running). See:

Browse to: http://localhost:50505 if you are running Aspire locally or change the host to the server hosting Aspire. For details on using the Aspire Content Source Management page, please refer to Admin UI Introduction.Audit Logs.


Anchor
addSource
addSource
Step

6

7: Add a new

File System Content Source

content source



Step 7a: Add a New FileSystem Content Source

Add Source MenuImage Added

To specify exactly what File System folder to crawl, we will need to create a new "Content Source".

To create a new content source:

      1. From the Aspire
2 Home
      1. 3 Home page, click on "Add Source" button.
      2. Click on "File System Connector".


Step

6a

7b: Specify Basic Information

General ConfigurationImage Added

In the "General" tab in the

Add New

Content Source Configuration window, specify basic information for the content source:

      1. Enter a content source name in the "Name" field. 
        1. This is any useful name which you decide is a good name for the source. It will be displayed in the content source page, in error messages, etc.
      2. Click on
the "Active?" checkbox to add a checkmark.

Unchecking the "Active?" option allows you to configure content sources but not have them enabled. This is useful if the folder will be under maintenance and no crawls are wanted during that period of time.

Click on the "Schedule" drop-down
      1. the Scheduled pulldown list and select one of the following: Manually, Periodically, Daily,Weekly or
Weekly
      1. Advanced.
        1. Aspire can automatically schedule content sources to
perform incremental crawls
        1. be crawled on a set schedule, such as once a day, several times a week, or periodically (every N minutes or hours).For the purposes of this tutorial, you may want to
select Manually and
        1. select Manually and then set up a regular crawling schedule later.
      1. Click on the Action pulldown list to select one of the following: Start, StopPause, or Resume.
        1. This is the action that will be performed for that specific schedule.
      2. Click on the Crawl pulldown list and select one of the following: Incremental, FullReal Time, or Cache Groups.
        1. This will be the type of crawl to execute for that specific schedule.

After selecting

a Schedule type

a Scheduled, specify the details, if applicable:

      • Manually: No additional options.
      • Periodically: Specify the "Run every:" options by entering the number of "hours" and "minutes."
      • Daily: Specify the "Start time:" by clicking on the hours and minutes drop-down lists and selecting options.
      • Weekly: Specify the "Start time:" by clicking on the hours and minutes drop-down lists and selecting options, then clicking on the day checkboxes to specify days of the week to run the crawl.
Advance
      • Advanced: Enter a custom CRON Expression (e.g. 0 0 0 ? * *)

Step

6b

7c: Specify the Connector Information

Connector ConfigImage Added

In the "Connector" tab, specify the connection information to crawl the File System folder.

      1. Enter the folder path you want to crawl.
        1. For Windows: Use the following format D:\folder\folder1\ For Linux: Use the following format /home/user/folder/folder1/
      2. Check on the other options as needed:
        1. Index
folders
        1. Containers?:
index subfolders
        1. Index containers as items. If unchecked, only files will be indexed.
        2. Scan
subfolders
        1. Recursively?: Scan through subfolder's child nodes.
        2. Scan Excluded Item: It will scan sub items of container that have been excluded
        3. Include/Exclude patterns: Enter regex patterns to include or exclude files/folders based on URL matches.


Step

6c

7d: Specify Workflow Information

WorkflowImage Added

In the "Workflow" tab, specify the workflow steps for the jobs that come out of the crawl. Drag and drop rules to determine which steps

each AspireObject

should an item follow after being crawled.

At a minimum there will be a rule for

This rules could be where to publish the document

. This is also where the rules for any transformations

or transformations needed on the data before sending it to a search engine

are established

.

See for

 for more information.

      1. For the purpose of this tutorial, drag and drop
the
      1. the Publish To File
rule
      1.  rule found under
the
      1. the Publishers
tab
      1.  tab to
the
      1. the onPublish
Workflow
      1.  Workflow tree.
        1. Specify
a
        1. Name
and
        1.  and Description
for Click
        1.  for the Publisher.
  • Leave the default values for the number of logged jobs and the file name.
          1. Click Add.

    After completing this steps click on

    the Save button and

    the Save then Done and you'll be sent back to the Home Page.

    Add Source MenuImage Removed

    Add New Content Source

     

    Image Removed

    General Configuration

     

    Image Removed

    Connector Configuration

     

    Image Removed

    Workflow Configuration


    Info
    You can add more schedules by clicking in the Add New option, and rearrange the order of the schedules.
    Info
    If you want to disable the content source just unselect the the "Enable" checkbox. This is useful if the folder will be under maintenance and no crawls are wanted during that period of time.
    Note
    Real Time and Cache Groups crawl will be available depending of the connector.

    Anchor
    initiateCrawl
    initiateCrawl
    Step 8: Initiate the full crawl


    Content SourceImage Added

    Step 7: Initiate the Full Crawl

    Now that the content source is set up, the crawl can be initiated.

    1. Click on the Full crawl
    option
    1. button (
    lower left of content source card
    1. left most black circle) to initiate the crawl.
     

    During the Crawl

    StatisticsImage Added

    During the crawl, you can do the following:
    • Click on the "Refresh" button on the Content Sources page to view the latest status of the crawl.

      The status will show RUNNING while the crawl is going, and CRAWLED when it is finished.

    • Click on "Complete" to view the number of documents crawled so far, the number of documents submitted, and the number of documents with errors.

    If there are errors, you will get a clickable "Error" flag that will take you to a detailed error message page.

     




    Image Removed

    Start Crawl by Click the left most button

    Image Removed

    Statistics

    Step 8

    Step 9: Congratulate yourself! (and shutdown)


    Congratulations!!

    ShutdownImage Added

    You have completed the 20-minute quick start. We hope it was a fun experience.

    To shutdown Aspire, go to the home Debug Console page (http://localhost:50505/aspire) and click on the "Shutdown" button (that's the red button to the right of the server name). Or, you could go to the Aspire console window (where you started Aspire with "bin\startup") and type "shutdown" and then press the Return or Enter key. Either way will shut down Aspire.

    Cheers!

    The Aspire Development Team