🏋️‍♂️ Trading Performance for Index Size: The Art of a Leaner Solr

Sometimes, you’ve got to make a trade: a bit less speed for a lot less disk space.
Here’s how you can shrink your Solr index like a pro (and keep your server from bursting at the seams):

⚡ Field Types: Small Tweaks, Big Savings

• Go for int instead of tint
  Using an int field takes up less space than a trie integer (tint).
  But beware!
  Range queries on int will be slower than tint. (It’s a classic “pick two out of three” scenario: fast, small, cheap.)

🔬 Time for a Field Audit!

• Take a hard look at your fields.
  Sometimes, to get a slimmer index, you need to be ruthless.

• Are you hoarding stored fields?
  If you’ve got lots of stored fields, try this power move:

  • Remove stored fields from Solr.
  • Query your main database for details after Solr gives you the results.
  • Your index (and your disk) will thank you!

🧠 Schema Jedi Tricks

• Add omitNorms="true"
  On text fields that don’t need length normalization.
  (Translation: If you don’t care about short/long document bias, ditch the norms and reclaim space!)

• Add omitPositions="true"
  On text fields that don’t require phrase matching.
  (You lose phrase search on those fields, but win back precious bytes.)

• Beware the NGram monster!
  Special fields like NGrams can gobble up a ton of space.

  • Use them only where necessary.
  • Regular text fields will do the trick in most cases.

🛑 Stop Words: Use ’Em!

• Are you removing stop words from text fields?
  Common words like “the,” “and,” and “of” just take up space and slow down searching.
  • Remove them at index time and keep your index mean and lean!

✨ Final Pro Tips

• Every byte counts in large-scale Solr.
• Think before you index: Will I ever search/filter on this field?
• Regular “field cleanups” can save money and headaches.

Shrink smart, and may your search be speedy and your indexes svelte! 🚀🗜️