This document provides step-by-step instructions to set up Elasticsearch on Linux and Windows, along with common operations such as creating an index, syncing data, and searching data.

Overview

The Elasticsearch implementation provides a high-performance search solution for beneficiary data. It enables fast, fuzzy, and flexible searching across millions of beneficiary records with sub-second response times.

Key Features

• Lightning-fast search: Sub-second queries even with millions of records
• Fuzzy matching: Find beneficiaries even with spelling mistakes
• Flexible filtering: Search by multiple criteria simultaneously
• Real-time sync: Automatic indexing when beneficiaries are created/updated
• Scalable: Handles growing data volumes efficiently

Why Elasticsearch?

Business Problem

The existing database search was experiencing performance issues:

• Slow queries: Complex searches taking 5-15 seconds on large datasets
• Limited fuzzy matching: Exact matches required, causing missed results
• Database load: Heavy search queries impacting transactional operations
• Poor user experience: Users waiting too long for search results

Prerequisites

• Java (Elasticsearch 8.x comes with bundled JDK – no separate Java install required)

• Minimum 4 GB RAM (recommended)

• Database with beneficiary data

• Open ports: 9200 (HTTP), 9300 (Transport)

Elasticsearch Installation

Linux Setup (Ubuntu / RHEL)

Step 1: Download Elasticsearch

wget https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-8.x.x-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

Step 2: Extract the Archive

tar -xzf elasticsearch-8.x.x-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
cd elasticsearch-8.x.x

Step 3: Configure Elasticsearch

Edit config/elasticsearch.yml

cluster.name: elasticsearch-cluster
node.name: node-1
network.host: 0.0.0.0
http.port: 9200
discovery.type: single-node

Step 4: Start Elasticsearch

./bin/elasticsearch

Step 5: Verify Installation

curl http://localhost:9200

Windows Setup

Step 1: Download Elasticsearch

• Download the Windows ZIP from Elastic official site

Step 2: Extract ZIP File

• Extract to a directory (example: C:\elasticsearch)

Step 3: Configure Elasticsearch

Edit config\elasticsearch.yml

cluster.name: elasticsearch-cluster
node.name: node-1
network.host: localhost
http.port: 9200
discovery.type: single-node

Step 4: Start Elasticsearch

bin\elasticsearch.bat

Step 5: Verify Installation

Open browser or Postman:

http://localhost:9200

Docker Setup

Step 1: Create docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  elasticsearch:
    image: docker.elastic.co/elasticsearch/elasticsearch:8.11.0
    container_name: amrit-elasticsearch
    environment:
      - discovery.type=single-node
      - xpack.security.enabled=true
      - xpack.security.http.ssl.enabled=false
      - ELASTIC_PASSWORD=Password
      - "ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms1g -Xmx1g"
    ports:
      - "9200:9200"
      - "9300:9300"
    volumes:
      - es-data:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
    networks:
      - elastic

  kibana:
    image: docker.elastic.co/kibana/kibana:8.11.0
    container_name: amrit-kibana
    environment:
      - ELASTICSEARCH_HOSTS=http://elasticsearch:9200
      - ELASTICSEARCH_USERNAME=elastic
      - ELASTICSEARCH_PASSWORD=Password
    ports:
      - "5601:5601"
    depends_on:
      - elasticsearch
    networks:
      - elastic

volumes:
  es-data:
    driver: local

networks:
  elastic:
    driver: bridge

Step 2: Start Elasticsearch Container

docker compose up -d

Step-3: Verify Elasticsearch is running
curl -u elastic:Password http://localhost:9200