Updated on 2026-04-30 GMT+08:00

Procedure

This topic introduces the end-to-end procedure for using CSS OpenSearch to build enterprise-grade search and analytics applications, covering key steps from environment setup to application rollout.

Figure 1 Procedure for using CSS OpenSearch
Table 1 Procedure for using OpenSearch

Stage

Key Step

Description

Details

Planning and deployment

Cluster planning

Based on projected data volumes and intended use cases, plan node specifications, multiple-AZ deployment, and security mode in advance to minimize the need for changes after cluster creation.

Planning Cluster AZs and HA

Planning the Cluster Version and Security Mode

Planning Node Types and Resource Specifications

Creating a cluster

Create an OpenSearch cluster based on your planning and service requirements.

Creating a Cluster (New Version)

Networking and security

Network settings

CSS OpenSearch clusters support four networking modes. Choose the configuration that best suits your connectivity needs.

Overview

Security settings

Configure user permissions and authentication policies to ensure cluster access security.

Creating Users for a Cluster and Granting Cluster Access

Configuring LDAP Authentication

Development and connectivity

Connecting to your cluster

CSS OpenSearch provides multiple connection options tailored to different roles, programming languages, and network environments. At the application layer, CSS supports open-source RESTful APIs and SDKs for popular languages. It also includes built-in visualization and management tools such as OpenSearch Dashboards and Cerebro.

Cluster Connection Methods

Connecting to Cluster Through OpenSearch Dashboards

Connecting to a Cluster Through Cerebro

Data management

Data ingestion

CSS OpenSearch clusters provide multiple data ingestion options, including Logstash, open-source OpenSearch APIs, and the Cloud Data Migration (CDM) service. Choose one that best suits your service requirements.

Migrating Data Using CDM

Ingesting Data Using Self-Managed Logstash

Ingesting Data Using Open-Source OpenSearch APIs

Index lifecycle management

CSS OpenSearch clusters provides the Index State Management (ISM) plugin that you can use to configure and manage index lifecycle policies and automate index rollover. This helps reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Configuring Index State Management (ISM) Policies

Search

Search and analytics

CSS OpenSearch clusters support both DSL and SQL as query languages, along with an efficient tokenization plugin. It helps you build an intelligent search and big data analytics platform for efficient data mining and accurate insights.

Using DSL for Search

Using SQL for Search

Configuring Custom Word Dictionaries

Switching Between Simplified and Traditional Chinese for Data Search

Enhancements

CSS enhancements over open-source OpenSearch

CSS offers major enhancements over open-source OpenSearch, delivering better performance, stability, and more cost-effective storage.

CSS Enhancements Over Open-Source OpenSearch

Monitoring and observability

Monitoring management

Cloud Eye enables efficient visualization and monitoring of key cluster metrics as well as index-level monitoring. The O&M team can monitor cluster health and performance bottlenecks in real time, ensuring high service availability.

Using Cloud Eye to Monitor Clusters

Configuring Index-Level Monitoring

Supported Metrics

Log management

The O&M team can analyze run logs, slow query logs, and operation audit records to quickly demarcate issues, analyze performance, and ensure security and compliance. Logs can be ingested into OpenSearch in real time or backed up to OBS for long-term storage, meeting diverse, enterprise-grade operational and auditing requirements.

Querying Logs

Ingesting Logs into a Cluster

Backing Up Logs to OBS

Viewing Audit Logs

Alarm management

CSS OpenSearch clusters support custom alarm rules, flexible notification channels, and seamless integration with the native Prometheus monitoring ecosystem. Integration with SMN enables real-time push of cluster exceptions, shifting from passive response to proactive defense and ensuring service continuity.

Configuring OpenSearch Alert Notifications via SMN

Synchronizing Alerts and Metrics to Prometheus

Intelligent diagnostics

The O&M team can easily perform periodic health checks on clusters, and comprehensive results enable prompt risk detection and handling, improving cluster reliability and availability.

Intelligent Diagnostics

Operations and management

Managing cluster changes

You can easily manage cluster changes throughout the entire lifecycle, such as cluster scaling, version upgrade, multi-AZ configuration, and HA configuration, all while ensuring service continuity.

Scaling Out/Up

Scaling In/Down

Changing Node Specifications

Replacing a Faulty Node

Upgrading the Cluster Version

Switching AZs

Changing the Security Mode

Backup and restore

CSS OpenSearch provides comprehensive backup and restore capabilities for clusters. Using snapshots, you can save point-in-time copies of cluster data in OBS buckets and quickly restore them in the event of data loss or other operational needs. This improves data reliability.

Creating Snapshots to Back Up Data

Restoring Data Using Snapshots

Deleting a Cluster Snapshot

Cluster management

Cluster resources can be isolated by enterprise project and tagged for refined management. You can easily restart and delete clusters and optimize them through YML parameters, ensuring efficient cluster management.

Viewing Cluster Details

Checking Default Cluster Plugins

Modifying Cluster Parameters (YML)

Managing Cluster Tags

Associating a Cluster with an Enterprise Project

Restarting a Cluster

Deleting a Cluster