Azure Search is a Search-as-a-Service. Users expect to see a search box in almost every application - either on mobile or desktop; really, any application. If the search function does not work well, the user gets frustrated.
Azure Search features
Azure Search can work with full search. It includes all the operations in a simple syntax with extensions for fuzzy search, proximity search, and supporting regular expression search.
Azure Search also supports AI features, like cognitive services. We can also combine image content with it. Speech to Text can also be also indexed. I will write a separate article for Azure Search with cognitive services.
We can index the content from multiple data sources.
- SQL Database
- Azure Cosmos DB
- Azure Table Storage
- Cognitive Services
- Blob Storage and more...
We can create an Azure Search Index in 3 ways -
- Using the Azure portal.
- Using .NET SDK.
- Using the REST API (using Postman).
In this article, we will see the first method, i.e., Using the Azure Portal.
Open the portal web site and find the word "Azure Search". Then, click on the Azure Search option which will open another screen.
In this screen, you can provide the Search Service URL, Resource group, and pricing tier. Once all the required information is given, you can click on the "Create" button. It will open another screen.
Here, you can see that there are no indexes. If we want to create an index, we need to just click on the "Add Index" button.
In this screen, you need to provide the Index name and fields. Every index should be having one key field and based on the key, it will upload or merge the document that has come for merger or upload. I will write a separate article in the future for this. Once all the fields are provided, let us just click on the "Create" button. The index will be created.
Now, you can see the index. Once you click on the employee index, it will navigate to another screen.
Here, you can see the search explorer. You can see a search URL and a search button. Once you click the "Search" button, you get to see the "No data found" message. In an upcoming article, we will see how to upload the data.
This is it. We have successfully created an Azure Seach Service in the Azure Portal. Stay tuned for more articles.