Saturday, April 14, 2018

Enable a library or list as a catalog in SharePoint


Enabling a catalog in SharePoint.

Note: This content applies to SharePoint Online SharePoint Server 2016 SharePoint Server 2013 Enterprise

If you want the catalog items on your publishing site to have friendly URLs, for example http://www.abc.com/mobile/mobile-accessories, you have to connect your publishing site to your catalog. Before you can connect to a catalog, make sure that you enable the library or list as a catalog.

Before doing catalog, you have to enable a library or list as a catalog, you have to activate the Cross-Site Collection Publishing feature on the site collection that contains the library or list.

  1. Make sure that you’re a member of the Owners group on the site that contains the library or list that you want to enable as a catalog.
  2. Browse to the library or list that you want to enable as a catalog, and then:
  3. Select the LIBRARY tab, and then, on the ribbon, in the Settings group, select Library Settings.
  4. Select the LIST tab, and then, on the ribbon, in the Settings group, select List Settings.
  5. On the Settings page, in the General Settings section, select Catalog Settings.
  6. On the Catalog Settings page, in the Catalog Sharing section, select the Enable this library as a catalog check box.
  7. If you don’t want anonymous users to view and search this content, in the Anonymous Access section, select Disable anonymous access.
  8. In the Catalog Item URL Fields section, in the Available fields list, select up to five fields that uniquely identify an item in the library or list, and then select Add.
    Note:  The selections that you make here will appear in the Catalog Item URL Format section when you later connect a publishing site to this catalog.
  9. In the Navigation Hierarchy section, select the site column that’s associated with your tagging term set.
    Note:  You only have to make a selection in this section if you want to use managed navigation to display catalog content on a publishing site. The selection that you make will appear in the Navigation Hierarchysection when you connect a publishing site to this catalog.
  10. Select OK.
Important:  Once you’ve enabled a library or list as a catalog, it’s important that you crawl the content source that contains the catalog. This happens automatically with continuous crawls, but you can also start a crawl of the catalog manually.

Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in SharePoint Online


Data Loss Prevention(DLP)

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a feature available in SharePoint that helps you to protect your data while it is stored or shared. DLP had been in existence in Microsoft Exchange but has been brought to SharePoint Online as well, as users are storing sensitive data and sharing them using SharePoint Online. Outlook implements DLP using Policies and Rules so that whenever we are drafting a mail and it contains sensitive information like Credit Card Number or SSN or any other similar information, we get a notification regarding the same.
DLP uses similar rules and policies to implement DLP. By setting up the required policies we can prevent sensitive information from being shared. If an attempt to share a document with sensitive information is shared we get the below alert as mail as well as an icon is placed in the document indicating it is blocked for use only by the owner, last modified and the site owner. Once the sensitive information is removed from the document, the block is released.

As you can see in the image below, left-hand side of the image shows the documents with a blocked icon indicating it has been blocked for further use with other non-admin users, until the security issue is resolved. Towards the right side of the image, we have the notification alert mail that was received indicating the compliance violation which was triggered by the DLP rules.

DLP Implementation

In this article, we will see how to set up the Data Loss Prevention Policy for securing Credit Card Information using Rules and Policies in SharePoint Online. 


Set up DLP Policy

Let’s head over to the SharePoint Admin Centre and select Security and Compliance.
From threat management select ‘Data Loss Prevention’ option.
Click on the Plus icon to add a new DLP Policy.
This will open up a window from where we can select the type of information that we would like to protect.  We can either select already available templates or we can select Custom option to build a custom policy.
Now we have to select the services that we would like to protect.  Let’s select SharePoint Online and One Drive.
 

Setup Rules for the DLP Policy

As part of creating the Policy we have to assign specific rules that will catch the sensitive information while in transit. Click on Plus icon to configure the Rule.
Click on Add Condition to add conditions that will form the satisfying condition for the DLP Rule.
Let’s select “Content contains sensitive information” as the main condition that will trigger the Policy.
We can select multiple sensitive information types. We will go ahead with Credit Card Number as the primary sensitive information that we would like to protect.

Now we have to specify what action should be taken when the specific rule is met. Click on Add actions to trigger the resulting action.
Let’s select block the content as the first action.
Once it is blocked we will have to send a notification regarding the block of sensitive information data to the end user. In order to do that select the ‘Send a notification’ option as well.
Thus we have set up the below actions by which the content will be blocked and notification will be sent to end user regarding the same.
We will save the rule by giving it a name and click on OK.
If we want to add more rules we can click on the Plus icon, else click Next.
Now let’s give the DLP Policy a name and click on Create. This will complete the creation of the DLP Policy.
Thus we have completed the creation of the DLP Rule and the Policy.



Test the DLP Policy

We can now test the DLP Policy we have created. I have uploaded few documents which contain the sensitive information – Credit Card Number. Upon sharing the document, the DLP policy should get triggered which will block the content and send a notification mail to the end user. To test DLP, let’s Share one of the documents that contains Sensitive information.
It has been shared with a SharePoint User account.
In a few minutes time, we will get a mail notification stating that the DLP rule has been matched and it has to be rectified.
Until the sensitive information has been removed from the user, the document access will be restricted to its owner, last modified and the Site owner.
If we go to the Library we can see that a blocked icon has come up against each of the documents that match the DLP Rule.  Unless the specific sensitive information is removed from these documents, it will continue to be blocked from other users.


Monday, January 30, 2017

Clearing Cache from FE

It turns out there isn’t a lot of information about this specific issue available via your search engine of choice. I was able to find some similar information but that was related purely to the User Provisioning Service.  So I went with the old tried and true:
  • I reset the Index
  • I deleted/recreated the Search Service App


Neither of these worked so I went back to the 2 blog articles I found that were similar the issue I was seeing.  Turns out that this happens when “the contents of the file system cache on the front-end servers is newer than the contents of the configuration database”.  This could happen if you’ve recently been through a system upgrade or recovery.

Resolution:

The file system cache on all FE’s (in my case, this was just one server) on which the timer service is running needs to be cleared.

Below is the step by step provided by Microsoft in this KB Article for doing this:

  1. Stop the Windows SharePoint Services Timer service (Found in Windows Services)
  2. Navigate to the cache folder

          In Windows Server 2008, the configuration cache is in the following location:
               Drive:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config
          In Windows Server 2003, the configuration cache is in the following location:
               Drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config
          Locate the folder that has the file "Cache.ini"
          (Note: The Application Data folder may be hidden. To view the hidden folder, change the                   folder options as required)
      3. Back up the Cache.ini file.
      4. Delete all the XML configuration files in the GUID folder. Do this so that you can verify that              the GUID folder is replaced by new XML configuration files when the cache is rebuilt.
       5. Note When you empty the configuration cache in the GUID folder, make sure that you do not               delete the GUID folder and the Cache.ini file that is located in the GUID folder.
       6. Double-click the Cache.ini file.
       7. On the Edit menu, click Select All. On the Edit menu, click Delete. Type 1, and then click                    Save on the File menu. On the File menu, click Exit.
       8. Start the Windows SharePoint Services Timer service
       9. Note The file system cache is re-created after you perform this procedure. Make sure that you              perform this procedure on all servers in the server farm.
      10. Make sure that the Cache.ini file in the GUID folder now contains its previous value. For                     example, make sure that the value of the Cache.ini file is not 1.

In my case – it worked like a champ.  I will freely admit that I made 2 distinct copies of the cache … 


Thursday, November 19, 2015

Configuring SQL Server Log Shipping on SharePoint Content Databases

Introduction to Log Shipping
Log shipping enables you to configure SQL Server to continually send transaction log backups on from a primary database on a primary server instance to one or more secondary databases on separate secondary server instances. The transaction log backups are applied to each secondary database individually. Continually backing up the transaction logs from a primary database and then copying and restoring them to a secondary database keeps the secondary database almost synchronized with the primary database. Log shipping can also include an optional third server instance, known as the monitor server, that records the history and status of backup and restore operations and raises alerts if these operations do not occur as scheduled.
Log shipping consists of three jobs. Each job performs one of the following operations:
  1. Backs up the transaction log at the primary server instance
  2. Copies the transaction log file to the secondary server instance
  3. Restores the log backup on the secondary server instance

Implementing data redundancy is one of the most effective ways to avoid data loss in any application. Although this article discusses configuring redundancy for SharePoint content stored in SQL Server by configuring SQL Server log shipping, redundancy should not be limited to only data redundancy. Any possible single point of failure, including hard drives, cables, and DNS or IIS entries should be taken into consideration to ensure you are able to quickly recover from what could be a disaster.

There are several methods to choose from when determining the type of data redundancy you need to ensure business continuity. A few of these methods include; SQL Server clustering, database mirroring, AlwaysOn, and SQL Server log shipping all of which are managed by your SQL Server DBA's who are responsible for the SQL Server environment.
Log shipping provides both server-level redundancy as well as data redundancy, because you have an entire server (usually referred to as the secondary server) dedicated to hosting a copy of your SharePoint Web app content databases, service application databases, and your SharePoint configuration settings. This secondary server is very helpful if you need to quickly failover it in the event your primary SQL Server server fails. The secondary server can also be used to perform DBCC (Database Console Commands) to verify the integrity of your SharePoint databases instead of letting the secondary server just sit their idle waiting for the primary server to fail.
To configure SQL Server log shipping you must first stand-up a second server which is the secondary server that will mirror the configuration of your primary SQL Server server. After the primary server is made available, you can then create automatic shipments of the transaction logs from the primary server to the secondary server. You can use the upcoming steps to configure SQL Server log shipping for your SharePoint content databases from the primary server to the secondary server.
Note: In the following configuration, SQLPrimary is the primary SQL Server server and SQLBackup is the secondary SQL Server server. We will begin by creating a SQL Server alias called SPSQL_Instance which can be used to failover to theSQLBackup secondary server.
  1. Create a SQL Server alias called SPSQL_Instance by opeing the SQL Server Configuration Manager.
  2. Expand SQL Server Native Client Configuration, then right-click Aliases, and click New Alias.
  3. Type in SPSQL_Instance in the Alias Name box, then type SQLPrimary in the Server box then click OK. (Alternatively, you can enter the IP address instead of the server name.)
  4. Login to the secondary SQL Server, named SQLBackup, and create a folder called LogShipping and share the folder with a network share name of LogShipping
  5. On the primary SQL Server, named SQLPrimary, open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), and add the SharePoint farm administrator domain account to the security logins and also map the SharePoint farm administrator domain account to the dbo role of each SharePoint content database.
  6. If the SQL Server Agent is not started on both SQL Server servers, start it, and also make sure the SQL Server Agent is configured to automatically start on both of these SQL Server servers.
  7. On SQLPrimary SQL Server locate the database that you want to configure log shipping for and right-click on the SharePoint content database and click Properties.
  8. Select Transaction Log Shipping, and then select Enable this as a Primary database in a log shipping configuration.
  9. Click Backup Settings and enter \\SQLPrimary\LogShippng
  10. Click the Schedule button and change Daily Frequency Occurs Every: to 5 minutes, and then click OK.
  11. In the Secondary Databases section, click Add and then click the Connect button to connect to the SQLBackup SQL Server server. Verify your SharePoint content database name is selected as the Secondary database for log shipping configuration.
  12. Click the option: Yesgenerate full backup of the primary database and restore it into the secondary database (and create the secondary database if it doesn’t exist)
  13. Click Restore Options and type the location of the data file and the log file on the secondary SQL Server server. (Preferably, you would enter different drives; one for the data file and one for the log file)
  14. On the Copy Files tab type in \\sqlBackup\LogShipping, (or the share name you created on the secondary SQL Server server.
  15. Click the Schedule button and change the Daily frequency Occurs every: to 5 minutes
  16. On the Restore Transaction Log tab click the Standby Mode radio button and click the check box next to Disconnect users in the database when restoring backups. Otherwise the transaction logs will not be applied until later. ClickOK.
  17. Optionally, on the Database Properties Select the Script Configuration button and choose Script Configuration to Clipboard, open Notepad and paste the log shipping configuration information and then save it to a location in the event you want to use it again later.
  18. Click OK, and then click Close after completion.
  19. Go to the SQLBackup SQL Server server and refresh the databases node to see that your SharePoint content database is set to standby / read only mode.
In the event the SQLPrimary SQL Server server fails you simply modify the SPSQL_Instance alias to point to theSQLBackup SQL Server so that server now responds to all SQL Server server requests.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Troubleshooting the Sharepoint 2010 User Profile Service Application

Sharepoint 2010 User Profile Service (UPS) application allows the Sharepoint administrator great flexibility and is a "must have" feature if you are taking your Sharepoint to the next level.


Unfortunately UPS has a dark side that too many administrators have to face at one time or another, more often than not it is related to the "Forefront Identity Management Service" and the "Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service" service.

Some Tips 

  • Upgrade to Sharepoint 2010 SP1 and the August 2011 CU at before attempting to resolve problems. Both of these updates resolve a number of issues that might impact the User Profile Service application.
  • Don't ever try to change the "Forefront Identity Manager Service" or "Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service" settings manually from the Services MMC snap-in. It simply doesn't work as SP needs to do a great deal of configuration.
  • Sharepoint can be super slow, sometimes you need to wait 10-15 minutes for things to happen, so when you click start and nothing happens, wait 15 minutes then check again.
  • If you are re-creating the User Profile Service application, it is a good idea to use different names for the databases, the service application itself and the application pool. This will ensure there are no conflicts with any old settings that may be floating around in your Sharepoint configuration or registry.
  • Be IISRESET "happy". It is a good idea to perform IISRESET's after major parts of the setup process. I normally follow a pattern such as: Start/Create the service, wait 10 minutes, IISRESET, next step. This will ensure all of Sharepoint is "on the same page" before moving forward to the next step of the process.


Possible Issues and Resolutions 

    Problem:
    After starting the "User Profile Synchronization Service" from Central Administration only the "Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service" starts, or both services fail to start.

    Resolution: 
    If you don't have too much already setup in the UPS or it is your first time setting it up, it can be much easier to delete the UPS, stop the Synchronization services and then recreate it, than mess around. See my rebuild process below.


    Problem:
    "Forefront Identity Manager" source logs an Event ID 3 in event logs.
    .Net SqlClient Data Provider: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: HostId is not registered
    Resolution:
    Most of the time simply restarting the "Forefront Identity Manage Service" and "Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service" from the services MMC snap-in will resolve this issue. If either of them is in a Disabled state or the problem persists after a service restart, then I recommend rebuilding the UPS from scratch as per my instructions below.


    Problem:
    "ILM Web Service Configuration" source logs an Event ID 234 in event logs.
    ILM Certificate could not be created: Cert step 2 could not be created: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\14.0\Tools\MakeCert.exe -pe -sr LocalMachine -ss My -a sha1 -n CN="ForefrontIdentityManager" -sky exchange -pe -in "ForefrontIdentityManager" -ir localmachine -is root
    Resolution:
    If you have tried to provision the "User Profile Synchronization Service" a number of times you might see this error. It occurs because there are multiple "ForefrontIdentityManager" certificates stored in the Certificate store.

    Firstly you need to stop the "User Profile Synchronization Service" under Sharepoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage Services on Server.

    Then open an MMC console, add a Certificates snap-in, select Computer Account. Check the Personal, Trusted Root Certification Authorities and Trusted People stores for duplicate "ForefrontIdentityManager" certificates and delete ALL the FIM certificates.

    Next under Sharepoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage Services on Server, Start the "User Profile Synchronization Service" again, you will be prompted for the password of the Sharepoint service account it is using. It should successfully restart and create a new certificate without conflicts.


    Problem:
    "Microsoft Resource Management Service" source logs a Event ID 0 in event logs.
    Service cannot be started. System.InvalidOperationException: Cannot find the X.509 certificate using the following search criteria: StoreName 'My', StoreLocation 'LocalMachine'
    Resolution:
    The "User Profile Synchronization Service" can't find a certificate when it is starting. You need to stop and then start this service. Firstly you need to stop the "User Profile Synchronization Service" under Sharepoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage Services on Server. After waiting 5 minutes, perform an IISRESET and then press Start to restart the service. You will be prompted for the password of the Sharepoint service account it using.


    Problem: 
    "Microsoft.ResourceManagement.ServiceHealthSource" source logs an Event ID 2 in event logs.
    The Forefront Identity Manager Service could not bind to its endpoints.  This failure prevents clients from communicating with the Web services.
    Resolution:
    You can try restarting the "Forefront Identity Manage Service" and "Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service" from the services MMC snap-in. If this does not work then I recommend rebuilding the UPS from scratch as per my instructions below.


    Problem:
    "Forefront Identity Manager" source logs an Event ID 3 in event logs.
    .Net SqlClient Data Provider: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Cannot open database "DBNAME" requested by the login. The login failed.
    Login failed for user 'DOMAIN\service-spsql'
    Resolution:
    This issue occurs if you have recreated the User Profile Service application and the database settings have not updated in the registry. It is normally a smart idea to stop the "User Profile Synchronization Service" under Sharepoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage Services on Server, wait 5 minutes, then restart it.

    If it is simply a database name wrong you can edit it in the registry under the following paths.
    HKLM\system\currentcontrolset\services\FIMService
    HKLM\system\currentcontrolset001\services\FIMService
    HKLM\system\currentcontrolset002\services\FIMService
    HKLM\system\currentcontrolset\services\FIMSynchronizationService
    HKLM\system\currentcontrolset001\services\FIMSynchronizationService
    HKLM\system\currentcontrolset002\services\FIMSynchronizationService
    The main two values you will want to look at are "DatabaseName" and "DatabaseServer", ensure those two are correct then restart the "Forefront Identity Manage Service" and "Forefront Identity Manager Synchronization Service" from the services MMC snap-in.

    If this doesn't work, then stopping the "User Profile Synchronization Service"and then restarting it from Central Administrator is your best solution.


    Problem: 
     "User Profile Service" source logs an Event ID 1511 in event logs. The "event user" will be one of your Sharepoint service accounts.
    Windows cannot find the local profile and is logging you on with a temporary profile. Changes you make to this profile will be lost when you log off.
    Resolution:
    This is a fairly common problem and one of the easier ones to fix. Firstly go into your IIS management console > Application Pools and search for any application pools that have the same username as the event log user. Stop all of those application pools and then run an IISRESET.

    Then from the command line run the commands. The first command adds the problem user account to the local administrator group (to aide the profile creation) and the second command creates the user profile.
    net localgroup administrators DOMAIN\AppPoolAccount /add
    runas /u:DOMAIN\AppPoolAccount /profile cmd
    When this process is complete remove the user from the local administrators group.
    net localgroup administrators DOMAIN\AppPoolAccount /delete
    Then you will need to restart all the IIS Application Pools you previously stopped.


    Problem:
    After adding a "Synchronization Connector" to the UPS you can no longer get into "Manage User Profiles". When clicking "Manage User Profiles" the web browser simply times out with no errors in the event log or ULS logs.

    Resolution:
    Unfortunately I am still struggling with this one and have no resolution. On the other hand it seems to make no difference, unless you want to map custom properties, which you can do manually through the Forefront Identity Manager console from the Sharepoint server desktop. While it is annoying to not be able to access, it doesn't seem to have any functional restrictions, in my environment at least.


    Recreating the User Profile Service application

    1. First we need to get rid of the broken instance of UPS.
    a. Under Central Administration > System Settings > Manage services on server, stop the "User Profile Service" and "User Profile Synchronization Service"
    b.  Under Central Administration > Application Management > Manage service application, delete the "User Profile Service application"
    c.  On the Sharepoint server itself, open an MMC console, add a Certificates snap-in, select Computer Account. Check the Personal, Trusted Root Certification Authorities and Trusted People stores for "ForefrontIdentityManager" certificates and delete ALL the FIM certificates.
    d.  Open a Sharepoint 2010 Management Shell, issue the command get-spserviceapplicationpool. Remove any service application pools that are associated with previous UPS applications with the command:
    remove-spserviceapplicationpool "PoolName"
    e.  Delete any pending timer jobs related to the UPS synchronization service provisioning. Under Central Administration >Monitoring > Check job status, check the Running section for any related jobs and delete them.
    f.  Wait 15 minutes and then issue an IISRESET before proceeding to the next step.

    2. Under Central Administration > System Settings > Manage services on server, start the "User Profile Service.

    3.  Under Central Administration > Application Management > Manage service application, create a new UPS. Use a different name than you did for the previous UPS instance, different database names and a different application pool name. Wait 15 minutes then issue an IISRESET.

    4. Under Central Administration > System Settings > Manage services on server, start the User Profile Synchronization service. Wait 15 minutes and if both FIM services are running from an MMC services snap-in as below, issue an IISRESET.

    If you get this far and have no problems opening your UPS application from Central Administration > Application Management > Manage service application then congratulations, more than likely you have resolved your problems.

    You can now proceed to adding Synchronization connectors and bringing those attributes in from Active Directory.

    Wednesday, October 7, 2015

    Search Service Application

    • Provisioning the Search Service Application
    • Moving Query Components
    • Creating Mirror Query Components
    • Creating Query Components
    • Creating Crawl Components
    • Creating Crawl Databases
    • Creating Property Databases
    Provisioning the Search Service Application
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    Select New | Search Service Application on the ribbon user interface.
    CA
    On the Create Search Service Application dialog specify the name for the new Search Service Application or accept the default name, usually Search Service Application 1.
    Provide a name for the new Search Administration Web Service Application Pool or use an existing Application Pool.
    Provide a name for the new Search Administration Site Settings and Query Web Service or use an existing Application Pool.
    CA2
    Click OK on the new Create New Search Service Application dialog to provision the new service application
    Once the Search Service Application has been successfully provisioned on the server farm you will have a 1x1x1 topology or otherwise 1 Search Administration, 1 Crawl, and 1 Query component on the machine hosting SharePoint 2010 Central Administration and all associated databases on the default database server.
    Topology
    NOTES
    The Search administration (Admin) topology does not scale out - there can be on one (1) search administration component and one (1) search administration database per Search Service Application.
    The Crawl topology can be scaled out by adding Crawl Components or Crawl Databases.  Crawl Components can have a many-to-one relationships with Crawl Databases.
    The Query topology can be scaled out by adding Property Databases or by adding Query Components.  Index Partitions subdivide the full-text index.   A new Query Component can either be the first component in a new partition (see above illustration (Query Component 0)) or an additional component in an existing partition.
    In the public beta, Index Partitions have a many-to-one relationship with Property Databases.
    Moving Query Components
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.
    On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.
    On the Topology for Search Service Application: Search Service Application page, locate the Index Partition category. (The default Query Component is typically named Query Component 0). Click Query Component 0 and then click Edit Properties.
    On the Edit Query Component page, select a server in the topology from the Server drop-down list and then click OK.  This will move the Query Component to the selected server.
    EditQueryComponent
    Creating Mirror Query Components
    When you create a Mirror Query Component, you create a replica of the Index Partition on another server.  You will typically create new Mirror Query Components when you need to increase throughput or availability.
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.
    On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.
    On the Topology for Search Service Application: Search Service Application page, locate the Index Partition category. (The default Query Component is typically named Query Component 0). Click Query Component 0and then click Add Mirror.
    AddMIrror
    On the Add mirror query component dialog, select a server in the topology from the Server drop-down list and then click OK.
    AddMirrorComponent 
    Repeat the steps for each server in the topology as required.
    Creating Query Components
    When you create a new Query Component, you create a new Index Partition which subdivides the full-text index.  You will typically create new Query Components and Index Partitions when the total number of items in your Index exceed the recommend scale for a single Index Partition, or when you need to increase throughput or availability.
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.
    On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.
    On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Index Partition and Query Component.
    Topology2
    On the Add Query Component dialog, select a server in the topology from the Server drop-down list, Property Database, and specify the location of the Index Partition.
    AddQueryComponent
    Click OK on the Add Query Component dialog to save the changes and create the new Query Component.
    Creating Crawl Components
    You will typically create new Crawl Components to improve the overall crawl speed and subsequently freshness of the content and to improve availability.
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.
    On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.
    On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Crawl Component.
    Topology2
    On the Add Crawl Component dialog specify the server where the Crawl Component will be hosted, the Crawl Database to which the Crawl Component will be associated, and the temporary location on the Index.
    AddCrawlComponent
    Click OK on the Add Crawl Component dialog to save the changes and create the new Crawl Component.
    Creating Crawl Databases
    You will typically create new Crawl Databases to improve the overall crawl speed and subsequently freshness of the content and in correlation to the creation of new Crawl Components.
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.
    On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.
    On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Crawl Database.
    Topology2
    On the Add Crawl Database dialog specify the database server where the Crawl Database will reside, the database name, and optionally the select whether the Crawl Database will be dedicated to hosts specified in Host Distribution Rules.
    Host Distribution Rules are useful in specifying:
    1. A particular host that is processed by a one or more Crawler Databases.
    2. A particular host is processed by only one or more Crawler Database.
    Host Distribution Rules are commonly used to support large and complex content corpuses that require horizontal scale (scale out) topologies.
    AddCrawlDB
    Click OK on the Add Crawl Database dialog to save the changes and create the new Crawl Database.
    Creating Property Databases
    You will typically create new Property Databases to support the horizontal scale (scale out) of the Query Component(s).
    Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.
    Select Managed service applications under Application Management.
    On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.
    On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.
    On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Property Database.
    Topology2
    On the Add Property Database dialog specify the database server where the Property Database will reside and the database name.
    AddPropertyDatabase
    Click OK on the Add Property Database dialog to save the changes and create the new Property Database.