Searchlight

Update: Version 2.2.1 is released.

A few reasons why you should turbocharge your site with Searchlight:

  • allow truly efficient use of web resources
  • drastically reduce the server load and purge table locks
  • eliminate heavy MySQL queries in your PHP applications
  • save money allocated to hardware
  • make users happy by providing a responsive site :)

Searchlight is composed of two parts, the standard API and SQL binary network protocol interface. Please read the License Agreement, for more details related to software usage.

Searchlight API
Searchlight is basically a software that allows you to interface your PHP application with Sphinx, using an advanced API. It also allows you to execute and replace MySQL queries, using currently unused resources on your server. Is like adding a second MySQL server and takes advantage of the free resources that sit there and consume electricity while producing nothing useful. So when you perform a query with Searchlight, not only that you perform it 100 times faster but you don’t put any strain on your MySQL server, liberating resources and completely eliminating table locks.

Highlights

  • uses available free resources, eliminating the need to add an additional server
  • completely independent, can be used with any PHP5 and MySQL5 software
  • controls Sphinx daemon through an API and SQL interface
  • produces results up to 1000 times faster than a MySQL query
  • developer friendly, you can easily create a myriad of additional products


Axivo Search Engine for vBulletin
Axivo Search is a product dependent on Searchlight platform. It was created as a software implementation example that involves no template or file edits and demonstrates how easy it is to implement Searchlight, not only for the regular search but also for similar threads, new posts, user profile, tags, etc.

Highlights

  • live installation, your forums remain open and functional during the setup process
  • requires no file edits or template changes
  • no server load increase, based on 40 million posts forum tests
  • multi-processor usage of your indexed data
  • does not interfere with another Searchlight Search product installed on a different forum, while on the same server (multiple installs)
  • live index updates, edited/deleted post/thread title/content is updated almost instantly
  • no nightly index rebuilds needed, reducing considerably the IO
  • built-in failsafe, in case the search daemon fails, search turns off automatically
  • interactive contextual search, available to users in every thread
  • replaces all search related functions at global level
  • replaces the similar threads queries
  • replaces all tag related queries
  • search logs, to track eventual errors
  • keyword logs, to track what your users are searching for
  • server and indexes status and statistics available in Admin Control Panel

There are many more features that are technical and would take hours to explain. For example, you can display the highlighted search results as excerpts, on the search results page, the same way Google shows it now (keywords in bold).

A direct benefit of Live Index Updates is the post content accuracy. Let’s presume an user posts a new thread. Two days later, a moderator reads it and deletes half of post contents. The search index related to that edited post will be updated within few minutes. Without the update, the post will be displayed into search results, even if it does not contain anymore the related keywords previously deleted by moderator.

The beauty of Axivo Search is the easiness you can implement new features into your existing software. For example, you could create a plugin for Searchlight and display to your users the following information:

  • latest threads
  • unanswered threads
  • user’s discussion that he participated in
  • most active users

All the above can be done using the SLSQL queries, MySQL is not involved in any way. Feel free to visit the forums and read more about the background work done.


Use of Searchlight Conditional
The usage of Searchlight Conditional (“Powered by Searchlight”) cannot be removed, distorted, superimposed, reversed, outlined, rotated or otherwise modified in any way without specific permission from Axivo Inc.

The following conditions must be respected:

  • The Searchlight Conditional use must not be detrimental, i.e., harmful or damaging, to the value of any of the Axivo marks, or to Axivo Inc., its brand integrity, reputation or goodwill, as determined by Axivo Inc. in its sole discretion;
  • The “Searchlight” keyword contained into Searchlight Conditional must be a “clickable” link that leads directly to http://www.axivo.com/searchlight/;
  • The Searchlight Conditional must respect the following format:
    Powered by Searchlight © YEAR Axivo Inc.
    To avoid possible re-branding issues, you are allowed to define how Axivo marks are used with one of the following two formats:
    NAME is Powered by Searchlight © YEAR Axivo Inc.
    Website Powered by Searchlight © YEAR Axivo Inc.
    where NAME can only represent the name of your domain or website;
If you have any questions or special needs that are not covered by the above, please contact us to request special permission to use an Axivo mark.