Serving > OneBox Modules

This page lets you define OneBox modules used by this appliance, manage modules, and define new modules.

About OneBox Modules

A OneBox module provides real-time access to data from a different collection on the same appliance or from an external source, such as an application or database.

On Google.com, OneBox modules are used to display specially formatted information about movies, weather, stock quotes, tracking numbers, airport information, flight status, and so on. In your organization, a OneBox module could display information from internal files or databases, or from applications. For example, a OneBox module could display contact information, employee telephone numbers, organizational charts, sales figures, part numbers, educational offerings, or employee policies.

OneBox results appear above other results on a user's results page, formatted according to an XSLT stylesheet template. If there are no results from a OneBox module, the results page looks the way it would look if the OneBox module did not exist.

Before you can use a OneBox module with an external data source, a developer must create a OneBox provider, a program that receives queries from the appliance, obtains data from the application, and returns results to the appliance. For information about how to create a OneBox provider, refer to the OneBox Developer's guide on code.google.com.

OneBox Search Settings

OneBox search settings define the way that this appliance uses OneBox modules.

• Maximum number of OneBox modules per query limits the number of OneBox result sets whose results are displayed to the user. It does not limit the number of OneBox modules that are triggered by a user's search.
  
  As an example, suppose you set this value to two, but a user's search query triggers five OneBox modules. Results return from four of those. Each front end configuration has a prioritized list of OneBox modules, so the appliance would display the two result sets with the highest priority.
  
  
• OneBox response timeout specifies how long the appliance should wait for a response from the OneBox provider. If the OneBox provider does not respond in the specified time, the appliance assumes that there are no results for the provider. Timeouts can occur when a provider is unresponsive or when the network is slow or unavailable. The range for this value is 1-3000 msec.

Current OneBox Modules

This table contains a list of the currently defined OneBox modules. If there are no entries in the table, you must first define a OneBox module.

For a module that appears in the table, you can take the following actions:

• View the log for the OneBox module. Use the log to monitor and troubleshoot the operations of this OneBox module by analyzing events such as these:
  • Queries that triggered the OneBox module
  • Calls to the OneBox provider
  • Provider timeouts
  • Results and errors returned by the provider
  • Selection or rejection of the provider's results, when the appliance chooses which result sets to display, based on front end priorities
• Export the OneBox module configuration to a file. You could use this file to share the OneBox module with others, or to edit it for use with another OneBox module.
• Edit the OneBox module definition.
• Delete the OneBox module definition.

Define OneBox Module/Import a Configuration File

This process defines a OneBox module on the search appliance. You can manually enter the configuration values or upload a configuration file.

To manually create a OneBox module definition:

1. Under the Define OneBox Module header, fill in the OneBox Name box. Specify a name that helps you organize the modules on your appliance. The name is for your own use and will not be shown to users.
2. Click Create Module Definition.

To upload a configuration file:

1. Under the Import a Configuration File header, browse to the file.
2. Click Import.

Information about how to create a configuration file is available in the OneBox Developer's Guide on code.google.com.

Configuring Use of the OneBox Module

The Front Ends > OneBox Modules page lets you define a OneBox module, but the module won't be used until it is assigned to a front end. Each front end has a list of assigned OneBox modules, based on what's most appropriate for the users of that front end.

To view or configure the OneBox module assignments for a specific front end, go to Serving > Front Ends. In the list of front ends, click the "edit" link, and then click the OneBox tab.

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