Our environment is at most current version 5.7.9.1 on Windows Server 2022. I inherited the environment when I came onboard in early 2024, and the configurations I am dealing with now were pre-existing. I am looking at our Indexing Mode configurations.
We currently have indexing mode set to “compound term”, but it seems to be an intense resource hog, that at many times has kept our two server DQS environment at 100% resource utilization. This particular mode also causes the indexer to “hang” for 1+ hours on threads - repetitively through the day/night. While opening many support tickets and implementing many configuration adjustments have reduced resource usage, we still are looking at all our options.
One key point: Our upline management would like to maintain our capacity to redact data in our workflows.
My questions:
Can anyone clarify that if we choose to modify our indexing mode to “no-index”, will we still have the ability to redact documents, or will we lose that ability?
I was also wondering if we choose “keyword” indexing mode, will we maintain the ability to redact data from documents and lessen our resource usage?
If anyone has had direct experience with this, I would appreciate a reply.
Switching your Netwrix Data Classification (NDC) indexing mode from ‘compound term’ to ‘no-index’ will significantly reduce resource usage, but it will also remove the ability to search and may impact redaction workflows. The ‘keyword’ mode offers a balance: it supports keyword search, maintains redaction capabilities, and uses fewer resources than ‘compound term’ mode.
No-Index Mode:
In ‘no-index’ mode, the core search index is disabled. This reduces disk space usage and increases document processing throughput.
However, search functionality is not available and the ‘Browse’ feature is not security trimmed. Critically, most redaction workflows in NDC depend on the ability to search and identify sensitive content within documents. If you disable the index, you will lose the ability to perform content-based redaction, as the system cannot efficiently locate and process sensitive terms or patterns without an index.
‘No Index’ mode is recommended only for scenarios where search and content-based actions (like redaction) are not required.
Keyword Mode:
In ‘keyword’ mode, a search index is created, but it is less resource-intensive than ‘compound term’ mode. This mode supports both ‘Browse’ and ‘Search’ by keyword, and is recommended for compliance, data discovery, and classification rules tuning.
Redaction capability is maintained in this mode, as the system can still search for and identify sensitive content for redaction workflows. Resource usage is significantly lower than in ‘compound term’ mode, making it a good compromise for large environments where redaction is required.
Recommendations
If you need to maintain redaction workflows, do not switch to ‘no-index’ mode.
Switching to ‘keyword’ mode will reduce resource usage compared to ‘compound term’ mode and will still allow you to redact data from documents.
If you decide to change the indexing mode, be aware that this requires running the index cleaner and may disrupt server operations for an extended period, especially in large environments.
Additional Notes
Always back up your environment before making major configuration changes.
Monitor system health and performance after switching modes to ensure the new configuration meets your needs.
If you continue to have issues we recommend opening a Technical Support ticket.