Installing the Google Search Appliance virtual edition
Google Search Appliance virtual edition
Posted Dec 2008
This guide contains the information you need to install the Google Search Appliance virtual edition software.
Contents
- Before You Install
- Prerequisites
- Installation Steps
- Verify Requirements
- Download, Install, and Configure the VMware Software
- Download and Uncompress the Google Search Appliance virtual edition
- Start the VMware Software and Run Google Search Appliance virtual edition
- Access the Google Search Appliance virtual edition
- Tips
- For More Information
Before You Install
The Google Search Appliance virtual edition is a free software version of
the Google Search Appliance. With this free software, you can try out
the search capabilities of the Google Search Appliance. You can also
use this software to write and test programs that integrate with the
search appliance.
Prerequisites
The following system resources are required:
- Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 2.80 Ghz with HT or equivalent
- 3 GB of RAM
- 40 GB of free space on hard disk
- Ethernet connection
The following system resources are recommended:
- Intel Pentium D processor 915 (dual core) or equivalent
- 4 GB of RAM
- 40 GB of free space on a 7200 RPM or faster hard disk
- Serial ATA storage interface or better
- Ethernet connection
Installation Steps
Follow the steps in this section to install and set up the Google Search Appliance virtual edition.
Verify Requirements
Ensure that your system meets the requirements for running the software, as listed under Prerequisites.
Download, Install, and
Configure the VMware Software
- If you have not yet set up VMware Server 1.0 or later, or
VMware Player 1.0 or later, install
now: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ or http://www.vmware.com/products/server/
- To ensure the download was not corrupted, match the MD5 key at the Google distribution site to your download value. You can get a freeware MD5 checker (md5sum) from etree.org.
- If you installed VMware Server, the VMware installer prompts for networking parameters. Click Yes to both "NAT" and
"host-to-host" networking.
Download and Uncompress the Google Search Appliance virtual edition
- Download the Google Search Appliance virtual edition and save it to disk.
- Uncompress the download to a directory on the local system. Do not place the download on a shared network system.
If you're using Windows or Linux, use the 7zip utility. Note that this file is
approximately 40 GB when uncompressed.
- Check that the uncompression operation created a directory named
vgsa_{date} where {date} is the release date.
Start the VMware Software and Run Google Search Appliance virtual edition
- Start VMware Player or Server.
- From the Commands section of the player screen, click Open and browse to the
vgsa.vmx image.
- Run
vgsa.vmx to start the Google Search Appliance.
- Wait for 5 to 10 minutes, until you see the networking configuration dialog that states that status is active.
- On that screen you will also find the IP address of the virtual appliance. Note down the IP address.
Access the Google Search Appliance virtual edition
You can now access the Google Search Appliance virtual edition from a browser.
- To
access the administration interface, enter this URL: http://<IP
address>:8000. For information about how to use specific pages of
the Admin Console, click the Help Center link at the top right corner
of any page.
- To access the user search page, enter this URL: http://<IP address>:80
For development information about Google Search Appliance, see:
Tips
Adjust the internal clock for GSAve as follows:
- Enter the IP address for an NTP server in the Admin Console.
- Set the timezone in the virtual machine software.
- Disable the CPU SpeedStep functionality in your host machine's BIOS.
For best performance, DO NOT use VMware Server 2.0.
- GSAve does not provide VMware tools for VMware Server 2.0.
For More Information
To ask questions or exchange information about the Google Search Appliance virtual edition, visit the Google Search Appliance Group.
The Google Search Appliance virtual edition is not
supported by the Google or by Google Support.
This document complies with all copyright statements described in the About link of the Admin Console for the Google Search Appliance virtual edition.
