SearchStax Help Center

Solr Indexing Errors

SearchStax Managed Search service clients frequently report threshold alerts about “indexing errors.” They ask what causes these errors and how to avoid them.

Most indexing errors are due to a mismatch between the collection’s schema and the incoming data. Look in the solr.log file or in the Logging screen of the Solr Dashboard for errors that mention schema fields.

  • Solr.log file shows “Bad Request” errors: Error from server at http://<Solr HTTP Endpoint>... index_shard1_replica_n2: Bad Request This message usually means that you need to publish your schema file. If you are in Sitecore, see Why does Sitecore fail to populate schemas?
  • Solr.log errors complain about an “undefined field”: ERROR: org.apache.soir.common.SolrException: undefined field <field_name> A query tried to match a field that is not in the index. You’ll need to add that field definition to the schema, or fix the queries so they don’t use the field. If you are in Sitecore, see Why does Sitecore fail to populate schemas?
  • Solr.log errors complain about an “unknown field”: ERROR: [doc=sitecore://master/{...}?lang=en&ver=1&ndx=sitecore_master_index] unknown field <field_name> Incoming documents tried to index an unknown field. You’ll need to add that field definition to the schema, or fix the incoming documents so they don’t use the field. If you are in Sitecore, see Why does Sitecore fail to populate schemas?
  • Solr.log file complains about “not an explicit field”. org.apache.solr.common.SolrException: copyField dest :<field_name> is not an explicit field and doesn't match a dynamicField. This is another version of the “unknown field” error. If you are in Sitecore, see Why does Sitecore fail to populate schemas?
  • Solr.log complains about a missing “mandatory” or “required field”. Sometimes the incoming document is missing a field that the schema requires, such as the _uniqueid field. org.apache.soir.common.SolrExceptton: Document is missing mandatory uniqueKey field: <field_name> Correct your application to use the correct id field when submitting documents.
  • Solr.log file complains about “non multiValued field”.
    multiple values encountered for non multiValued field <field_name>
    This occurs when the schema field definition is “single-valued” but the client application attempts to force multiple values into the index.
  • Solr.log file contains errors about “adding field”. Error adding field 'field_name'='field_value' msg=<reason> This happens when the incoming field value does not match the declared field type. To fix this:
    1. Correct the field type in the schema. If you are in Sitecore, see Why does Sitecore fail to populate schemas?
    2. Alternately, fix your application to send data values that match the datatype of the field.
    3. If the problem persists, contact SearchStax Support.
  • Solr.log file contains errors about the document ID.
    Exception writing document id. This usually means the document ID was assembled from fields with incompatible datatypes or unescaped characters. Solr could not interpret the result.

A document that triggers a schema error is not added to the index. Note that changes to schema field definitions require reloading all of your data.

If you are using Solr from a Sitecore project, click the Populate Solr Managed Schema button to update the schema(s), and then the Indexing Manager button to reindex the data.

Questions?

Do not hesitate to contact the SearchStax Support Desk.

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