Setting Up Apache Solr on Fedora

Apache Solr is an open-source search platform built upon a Java library called Lucene. Solr is a popular search platform for web sites because it can index and search multiple sites and return recommendations for related content based on the search query’s taxonomy.

This guide will walk you through the installation process of Apache Solr on a Fedora system. Please note that the instructions below assume that you have root access to your Fedora system.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you’ll need:

• A Fedora system
• Access to a terminal window/command line
• A user account with sudo or root privileges

Step 1: Update System Packages

First, we need to update the system packages to their latest versions. Open your terminal and execute the following command:

sudo dnf update -y 

Step 2: Install Java

Since Apache Solr is built on Java, we need to install it first. You can check if Java is already installed by using the command:

java -version 

If Java is not installed, or the version is lower than 11, install or update it by using the following command:

sudo dnf install java-11-openjdk-devel 

Verify the installation by checking the Java version again.

Step 3: Install Apache Solr

Next, we’ll download and install Apache Solr. As of today in Jan 2024, the latest version was 9.4.1, but you should replace “9.4.1” in the following commands with the version number of the latest stable release available.

wget https://dlcdn.apache.org/solr/solr/9.4.1/solr-9.4.1.tgz 

Once the download is completed, extract the Solr files from the downloaded package using the following command:

tar xzf solr-9.4.1.tgz solr-9.4.1/bin/install_solr_service.sh --strip-components=2 

Now, run the installation script:

sudo bash ./install_solr_service.sh solr-9.4.1.tgz 

This will install Solr as a service on your machine, running on the default port 8983.

Step 4: Verify Installation

To make sure that Solr is installed correctly, you can check its status by using the following command:

sudo systemctl status solr 

If Solr is running correctly, you should see output indicating that the service is active (running).

You can also access the Solr admin panel by opening a web browser and navigating to http://localhost:8983/solr

Step 5: Configure Solr (Optional)

Apache Solr is now installed and running on your Fedora system. Next, you might want to configure Solr for your specific needs. For example, you might want to create a new Solr core:

sudo su - solr -c "/opt/solr/bin/solr create -c  -n data_driven_schema_configs" 

Replace <corename> with the name of your new core.

Step 6: Allow Solr Access on Public Network

The default Apache Solr runs on localhost only. To allow the Solr server publically accessible over networks, edit the /etc/default/solr.in.sh configuration file.

sudo vim /etc/default/solr.in.sh 

Search for the SOLR_JETTY_HOST variable. Uncomment it by removing the starting hash (#) symbol. Set the value to “0.0.0.0”.

Save the configuration file and restart Solr service:

sudo service solr restart  

You also need to open the port in the system firewall. The below-mentioned command will open port 8983 in firewalld.

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8983/tcp 
sudo firewall-cmd --reload 

Step 7: Access Solr Web Admin Panel

The default Apache Solr runs on port 8983. You can access the Solr port in your web browser and you will get the Solr dashboard.

I already have mapped the domain solr.tecadmin.net with the Fedora server IP address.

  http://solr.tecadmin.net:8983/

Here you can view statics of created core in previous steps named “mycol1”. Click on “Core Selector” on the left sidebar and select created collection.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have installed Apache Solr on your Fedora system! From here, you can further configure Solr to fit your needs, or start indexing and searching documents using the Solr API. Be sure to refer to the official Solr documentation for more detailed information about what you can do with Solr.

Please note that this guide is intended for use on a local development machine. If you’re installing Solr on a production server, there are additional considerations you’ll need to take into account. This might include securing your Solr instances with authentication, setting up an SSL certificate, fine-tuning your server settings for optimal performance, and setting up a proper backup strategy.