Deciding on whether to use FileLocator Pro to run searches over the LAN or to use an index based product depends on a few key factors:
- How many searches will be run during a normal day?
Remember that FileLocator Pro does not use an index for searching so needs to read from the data source on every search. If the information is on the LAN then FileLocator Pro pulls the information from the LAN every time.
If searching over the LAN is an occasional task, ie a few times a day, or the data set is quite small then this is not a problem. However, if there are potentially thousands of searches a day on gigabytes of data then an index based product may be more appropriate.
- What are the response time requirements for the searches?
If response times for searching gigabytes of data is in the 1 or 2 second range then an indexed search product is the only solution.
- What type of search is required?
If complex regular expression or partial word searches are required then index based searches are not appropriate. Index based searches can usually only handle straight forward boolean searches.
- Is the LAN data constantly changing?
To build a reliable and up to date index an application must constantly monitor source files for changes. Building and maintaining indexes often consumes significant network and processing resources especially if the source files are constantly changing. FileLocator Pro, however, only reads file data on-demand.
For more information on why FileLocator Pro does not use indexing:
Does FileLocator Pro use indexingFileLocator RemoteFileLocator Remote was specifically designed for searching networked computers. More information is here:
http://www.mythicsoft.com/filelocatorremote