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Installation Guide

Installing and Configuring the Documentation Search Service for AIX Version 4.3.0 - AIX Version 4.3.2

This section includes:

Introduction

With the Documentation Search Service, users can search registered HTML documents using a search form that appears in the web browser. When users type words into the search form, the service searches for those words, and then presents a search results page containing links that lead to the documents containing the target words.

If the Documentation Search Service is not already installed and configured on your computer, it is highly recommended that it be installed and configured now, since it is the search engine for the AIX documentation and the Web-based System Manager application. It is also used by some applications as the search function for their online documentation.

The AIX global search form allows users to search all documents that are registered on a computer. Users can access the global search form by typing docsearch on the command line or by clicking the search service icon in the CDE Desktop Help subpanel. Search forms that search only a subset of the registered documents may also be launched from "Search" links inside the document pages of applications such as Web-based System Manager.

The Documentation Search Service is an optionally installable component of AIX. If you ordered a preinstalled system from the factory, the search service may have already been installed and configured at the factory.

Testing the Search Service

If you are not sure if the search service is installed and configured, you should try the following test, which requires that you be running in the X-Windows System or the CDE Desktop:

At the command line, type: docsearch. You will see one of three results:

  1. The search form appears, with no error messages. Try searching for a word to see if the search is working correctly.

  2. The browser opens, but you get a message saying that there are no volumes (indexes) to search. The search service may be installed, but the search service cannot find any installed documents that are registered with the search service.

    Your next step is to install searchable documents. After you have installed some documents that register themselves with the search service (for example, the AIX Version 4.3 documentation), return to this chapter and retest the search service.

    Go to Installing the AIX Documentation.

  3. No browser appears, or the browser appears containing a message saying it cannot find the path or URL. The search service is not installed and configured correctly. Go to Installation of Server and Client to install and configure the search service.

Installation of Server and Client

A computer can be set up as either a documentation server or as a documentation client system. When users on a client computer request a search form or an HTML document, the request is sent to the web server on a documentation server which then sends back the requested object. When searches are performed, they are done on the server computer and the results are then sent back to the user on the client computer.

A documentation server computer has the following software installed:

A client computer needs only the Documentation Search Service client software and a web browser installed.

If you have a standalone computer, both the server and client software are installed on the same standalone computer. Instead of going to a remote computer, requests from users on the standalone computer go to the web server software on their own computer. A documentation server on a network can also be made standalone in the sense that you can configure its web server software to accept only requests from users logged on to the documentation server computer.

Installing the Server

Use this procedure if you want to set up a computer to be a documentation server, where you will install your online documentation. A server can be a networked computer that serves remote clients, or it can be a standalone computer that serves only its own users.

To create a documentation search server, the following steps are completed in this sequence. Be sure to follow the instructions under each step:

  1. Install the web server software
  2. Configure and start your web server software
  3. Install the Documentation Search Service
  4. Configure the Documentation Search Service
  5. Install or register your documentation
  6. Complete the server installation

Install the Web Server Software

If the following software is not already installed on your system, install it now. If you are not sure what is already installed, type:

smit list_installed

Configure and Start your Web Server Software

Consult the documentation that came with your web server software to configure and start your web server software. Make note of and keep handy the full path names of the web server directories where the server starts looking for HTML documents and CGI programs, unless you are using the Lotus Domino Go webserver and you installed it in its default location. In addition, some web servers may not automatically create these directories. If not, you must create them before you continue.

You must also configure your web server software to allow access from the users and remote computers that will be using this computer as their documentation search server.

Install the Documentation Search Service

If the Documentation Search Service is not already installed on your system, install it now. If you are not sure what is already installed, type:

smit list_installed

The AIX Documentation Search Service (bos.docsearch) is contained on Volume 2 of the AIX Version 4.3 CD. This package must be installed after you have installed and configured your web server.

Notes:
  1. Install all parts of the package, except that if you do not use the CDE Desktop, you do not have to install the Docsearch Client - CDE Desktop Icons and Actions fileset.

  2. If you are installing the Documentation Search Service on a system that has a previous version of the search service installed, the installation process may fail saying that it cannot install the IMN search package. If this happens, unselect the Documentation Search Service for installation and then manually select just the IMN search package and install it. After that install completes, try again to install the Documentation Search Service package.

Install the Documentation Search Service Messages for Additional Languages

You may want this documentation server to be able to serve documents that are written in a language that is different than the language this computer is using during installation. If this is the case, you must install additional message filesets for the other languages you want to serve. The message filesets include translated error messages and the translated buttons and controls the appear in the search form.

For example, assume that your server is running in English when you are installing the docsearch package and you want users to be able to search both English and Spanish documents from the documentation server. The English messages will be automatically installed since that is the language in use during install. So you only need to manually select the Spanish message sets for installation. Additionally, you must also have the AIX Base Operating System locale (language environment) for Spanish installed.

There are different ways to install the search service messages for another language:

Configure the Documentation Search Service

You have different methods available to you for configuring the Documentation Search Service. These methods include:

Install or Register your Documentation

Before any document can be searched using the Documentation Search Service, it must have an index created, and the index must be registered with the search service.

Some applications ship prebuilt document indexes inside their install package. When the application is installed, the indexes are automatically registered. The AIX Version 4.3 documentation and the Web-based System Manager application both ship prebuilt indexes for their documents.

You can also create indexes for your own HTML documents and register them with the search engine so that they can be searched online. For further information on how to create indexes, see AIX Documentation Search Service in AIX Version 4.3 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs.

Complete the Server Installation

The installation of the Documentation Search Service is complete. Go to Where Do I Go Next? for information on continuing your AIX installation tasks.

Installing the Client

Use this procedure if you want to set up a computer to be a client of a remote documentation search server computer. When users on this computer want to search online documentation, the request is sent to a remote documentation search server, where the search is conducted and the results then sent back to a web browser on this client computer.

To create a search client, complete the following steps:

  1. Install the Client Software
  2. Configure the Documentation Search Service

Install the Client Software

If the following software is not already installed on your client system, install it now. If you are not sure what is already installed, type:

smit list_installed

Configure the Documentation Search Service

You can configure the Documentation Search Service; by using two different methods. These methods include:

Using Web-based System Manager:

  1. On the client computer, change to root user. On a command line, type the fast path: wsm system to display the Web-based System Manager System container.

  2. Double-click the Internet Environment icon to open it. The Default Browser page of the properties notebook displays.

  3. In the Browser command field, you must type the command that will set the default browser for all users on this computer. Include any flags that are required when a URL is included in the command. For example, if you want your browser to open with the www.rs6000.ibm.com/aix/library page open inside, you would type the following on a command line:

    YourWebBrowser -u http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/aix/library

    To set the default browser in Web-based System Manager, enter the following line into the Browser command field:

    YourWebBrowser -u
    Note: Many browsers (for example, Netscape) do not require a flag.
  4. Click OK to return to the System container.

  5. Double-click the Internet Environment icon to reopen it. The Default Browser page of the properties notebook displays.

  6. Select the Documentation Server tab. The Documentation Server page displays.

  7. Select the Remote server radio button.

  8. Under the Remote server button, type into the Computer name field the name of the documentation server computer. This is the server computer that contains the documents that you want this client computer to be able to search.

  9. In the Server port field, type in the port number the web server software is using. The most commonly used port is 80.

  10. Click OK to complete the configuration. Close the Web-based System Manager application.

  11. Your client computer is configured, the Documentation Search Service is installed, and the configuration for the new web server software is now complete. Any users who were logged in when configuration was done must log out, and then log back in to activate the search service.

Installation of the Documentation Search Service is complete. Go to Where Do I Go Next? for information on continuing your AIX installation tasks.

Using SMIT:

  1. On the client computer, change to root user. On a command line, type the fast path:

    smit web_configure

    The web configuration screen should open.

  2. Select Change/Show Default Browser. In the ??? field, type the command that will set the default browser for all users on this computer. Include any flags that are required when a URL is included in the command. For example, if you want your browser to open with the www.rs6000.ibm.com/aix/library page open inside, you would type the following on a command line:

    YourWebBrowser -u http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/aix/library

    To set the default browser in SMIT, enter the following line into the ???? field:

    YourWebBrowser -u
    Note: Many browsers (for example, Netscape) do not require a flag.
  3. Return to the web configuration main menu. Select Change Documentation and Search Server.

  4. On the "Documentation Search Server LOCATION" screen, click on List and select Remote computer for server location. Select OK.

  5. When the next screen appears, type into the NAME of remote documentation server field the name of the remote documentation search server computer that you want this client computer to send its search requests to. You can type in a name or an IP address. If the web server on the remote server is set to use some port other than the standard port 80, type in the port number. Select OK to configure your client system. When it is done, you should see the Documentation server configuration completed! message at the bottom of the results panel.

  6. The documentation search functions on this client computer should now be ready to use. Any users logged on this client computer before configuration finished must log off and then log back in to use the search functions.

Go to Where Do I Go Next? for information on continuing your AIX installation tasks.


 
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