Creating Index Alias

An index alias points to one or more Full Text Indexes or to additional aliases: its purpose is therefore somewhat comparable to that of a symbolic link in a filesystem. Queries on an index alias are performed on all ultimate targets, and merged results are provided.

The use of index aliases permits indirection in naming, whereby applications refer to an alias-name that never changes, leaving administrators free periodically to change the identity of the real index pointed to by the alias. This may be particularly useful when an index needs to be updated: to avoid down-time, while the current index remains in service, a clone of the current index can be created, modified, and tested. Then, when the clone is ready, the existing alias can be retargeted so that the clone becomes the current index; and the (now) previous index can be removed.

The following process explains how to create an index alias in Couchbase:

Access the couchbase application. In the left pane, click Search. The Full Text Aliases panel is shown at the bottom of the page.

Now, click + Add Alias to add new alias. The Add Alias page opens.

In the Add Alias page, add the alias name in the Index Name field. After that select one or more indexes from the Target Indexes list for which you want to add an alias. The selected index is highlighted in a separate color.

Finally, click Create Index Alias. The new index alias is added to the list in the Full Text Aliases panel.