To use full-text searching, you must make sure that the Microsoft Search service is running. Therefore, this feature is only available if you are running SQL Server on Windows 2012. The Microsoft Search service works on the concept of a full-text catalog. This catalog is used to store special indexes used with the Search service, called full-text indexes. The indexes store all of the significant words used in the fields of a table, as defined by the index.
- As the data changes, a full-text index is not maintained immediately by SQL Server because it can take a lot of time to update.
- A full-text index is not automatically updated. You need to manually update it by using stored procedures.
- A full-text index is not stored in the database, but is stored as a separate file.
In the next lesson, you will learn about the components you should consider when using full-text searching.
Full-text catalogs are mappings of data that speed the search for specifi c blocks of text within columns that have full-text searching enabled. Prior to SQL Server 2008, full-text catalogs were stored external to the database (thus creating some signifi cant backup and recovery issues). As of SQL Server 2008, full-text catalogs have been integrated into the main database engine and storage mechanisms. Due to their complex nature, full-text indexes are beyond the scope of this text.
