Extending the solrconfig.xml file using the solrcore.properties file

The solrconfig.xml file defines Solr properties with default values. The default file can be extended using a separate XML file. The most common customizations of the Solr configuration file is defining new values for replication and caching.

Note: Modifying or extending solrconfig.xml directly is not recommended. Automatic updates such as iFixes may change the original solrconfig.xml. If this happens, any customizations you have applied, other than to predefined properties, will be overwritten. You will have to re-apply your customizations every time you receive an iFix.
The recommended procedure is to work with the customizable solrcore.properties file to extend solrconfig.xml. The solrcore.properties file is a Java properties file that contains a series of key/value pairs. Each key/value pair is written on its own line. Values are assigned to the key using the equal ("=") sign. For instance, 
solr.mergeFactor=100
assigns the value 100 to the key solr.mergeFactor.

Procedure

Open the customizable Solr core properties file:
  • WebSphere Commerce DeveloperWCDE_installdir\search\solr\home\masterCatalogId\en_US\Catalogentry\conf\solrcore.properties
  • LinuxAIXWindowsWC_installdir/instances/instance_name/search/solr/home/masterCatalogId/en_US/Catalogentry/conf/solrcore.properties
This directory contains the Master Catalog folder, in which there are the configurations files for each language.
  1. Review the list of properties which can be overwritten in the solrcore.properties file:
    Table 1. Customizable properties of the solrcore.properties file
    Property Default value
    solr.abortOnConfigurationError true
    solr.data.dir
    solr.directoryFactory solr.StandardDirectoryFactory
    solr.writeLockTimeout 1000
    solr.useCompoundFile false
    solr.ramBufferSizeMB 64
    solr.mergeFactor 100
    solr.lockType native
    solr.unlockOnStartup false
    solr.reopenReaders true
    solr.deletionPolicy.maxCommitsToKeep 1
    solr.deletionPolicy.maxOptimizedCommitsToKeep 0
    solr.maxBooleanClauses 3072
    solr.filterCache.size 1000
    solr.filterCache.initialSize 100
    solr.filterCache.autowarmCount 0
    solr.queryResultCache.size 1000
    solr.queryResultCache.initialSize 100
    solr.queryResultCache.autowarmCount 0
    solr.documentCache.size 1000
    solr.documentCache.initialSize 100
    solr.documentCache.autowarmCount 0
    solr.enableLazyFieldLoading true
    solr.queryResultWindowSize 36
    solr.queryResultMaxDocsCached 36
    solr.useColdSearcher false
    solr.maxWarmingSearchers 2
    replication.enable.master false
    replication.enable.slave false
    master.server.url
    solr.replication.pollInterval 00:00:00
    solr.clustering.enabled false
    conditionalCopyFieldChain.enable false
    Note: Detailed information about Solr and its options, parameters, and functions can be found on the Apache Solr website.
  2. Update the value of an existing property with the new value, as required.
    For example, to increase the Solr RAM buffer size from its default value of 64 MB to 256 MB:
    
solr.ramBufferSizeMB=256
  3. Save the file and restart the search server.