Create and run an indexer

In Microsoft Azure, an indexer is a powerful tool used to extract structured data from your content and make it searchable. In this article, we will explore how to create and run an indexer for a Microsoft Azure AI solution, specifically focusing on the Designing and Implementing an Azure AI Solution exam.

What is an Indexer?

An indexer in Azure Search is responsible for reading data from a data source, transforming it into an index format, and loading it into an Azure Search index. It uses a combination of data source configurations, skillsets, and field mappings to extract structured data from various data sources and make it searchable.

Step 1: Set up Azure Search Service

To create and run an indexer, you first need to set up an Azure Search Service in your Azure portal. Follow these steps to create a new Azure Search Service:

1. Go to the Azure portal (portal.azure.com) and sign in with your Azure account.
2. Click on the “Create a resource” button.
3. Search for “Azure Search” and select the “Azure Search” service from the available options.
4. Click on the “Create” button to start creating a new Azure Search Service.
5. Provide a unique name for your search service, choose a subscription, resource group, and pricing tier.
6. Select the appropriate location for your search service.
7. Enable or disable the “Indexer” option, depending on your requirements.
8. Click on the “Review + create” button, review your settings, and then click on the “Create” button to provision your search service.

Step 2: Create an Index

Once your Azure Search Service is provisioned, you need to create an index to define the structure of your searchable data. Follow these steps to create a new index:

1. Go to your Azure Search Service in the Azure portal.
2. Click on the “Indexes” option from the navigation menu.
3. Click on the “Add index” button to create a new index.
4. Provide a unique name for your index and select the appropriate data source.
5. Define the fields for your index, including the field type, name, and properties.
6. Click on the “Create” button to create your index.

Step 3: Configure a Data Source

To configure a data source, you need to specify the location of your data and the format in which it is stored. Follow these steps to configure a data source:

1. Go to your Azure Search Service in the Azure portal.
2. Click on the “Data sources” option from the navigation menu.
3. Click on the “Add data source” button to create a new data source.
4. Provide a unique name for your data source and select the appropriate type.
5. Configure the connection settings for your data source, such as the connection string and credentials.
6. Specify the data structure and format, including the table or container name, document type, and query.
7. Click on the “Create” button to configure your data source.

Step 4: Define a Skillset

A skillset is a collection of skills that define how your data is processed during indexing. It can contain various cognitive skills, such as key phrase extraction or entity recognition. Follow these steps to define a skillset:

1. Go to your Azure Search Service in the Azure portal.
2. Click on the “Skillsets” option from the navigation menu.
3. Click on the “Add skillset” button to create a new skillset.
4. Provide a unique name for your skillset and select the appropriate data source and index.
5. Configure the skills for your skillset, such as text extraction, image analysis, or language detection.
6. Customize the parameters for each skill, if required.
7. Click on the “Create” button to define your skillset.

Step 5: Create an Indexer

Finally, you can create an indexer to bring together the data source, index, and skillset configurations. Follow these steps to create an indexer:

1. Go to your Azure Search Service in the Azure portal.
2. Click on the “Indexers” option from the navigation menu.
3. Click on the “Add indexer” button to create a new indexer.
4. Provide a unique name for your indexer and select the appropriate data source, index, and skillset.
5. Configure the schedule for your indexer, such as the frequency and start time.
6. Define the field mappings to map the extracted data to the fields in your index.
7. Click on the “Create” button to create your indexer.

Step 6: Run the Indexer

Once your indexer is created, you can manually run it to start the data extraction and indexing process. Follow these steps to run the indexer:

1. Go to your Azure Search Service in the Azure portal.
2. Click on the “Indexers” option from the navigation menu.
3. Select the indexer you want to run.
4. Click on the “Run indexer” button to start the indexing process.
5. Monitor the progress of the indexer in the Azure portal.

Conclusion

In this article, we learned how to create and run an indexer for a Microsoft Azure AI solution, focusing on the Designing and Implementing an Azure AI Solution exam. We explored the steps to set up an Azure Search Service, create an index, configure a data source, define a skillset, create an indexer, and run the indexer. By leveraging the power of indexers, you can extract structured data from your content and make it searchable, enabling powerful AI-driven search capabilities in your applications.