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Solr full-text search ​

Solr is an optional full-text search engine. It is typically faster and more capable than NADA’s built-in database search, especially for large catalogs and variable-level search.

By default NADA uses database search (search_provider = db). After Solr is installed and indexed, you switch the catalog to Solr in Site configurations.

Checklist ​

  1. Install Java and Solr (Windows or Linux).
  2. Confirm Solr Admin UI at http://localhost:8983 (or your Solr host).
  3. Continue in the admin guide: Solr search — connect NADA, create core, schema, index, and enable the search provider.

Requirements ​

ComponentNotes
Solr9.x recommended (examples below assume Solr 9)
JavaA JDK version supported by your Solr release — see Solr system requirements
NetworkPHP/NADA host must reach Solr (often localhost:8983)
NADA accessSite administrator with permission to edit configurations

Do not expose Solr’s Admin UI (8983) to the public internet without authentication and a firewall.

Install Solr on Windows ​

For a full NADA install on Windows, see Installation (Windows).

1. Install Java ​

  1. Install a supported JDK for your Solr version (Windows x64).
  2. Set a system environment variable JAVA_HOME to the JDK folder (for example C:\Java\jdk-17).
  3. Open a new Command Prompt and run echo %JAVA_HOME% to confirm.

2. Install Solr ​

  1. Download the Solr 9 binary package from solr.apache.org/downloads.
  2. Extract it to a stable folder, for example C:\solr.
  3. Open Command Prompt:
bat
cd C:\solr
bin\solr.cmd start

On some installs the command is bin\solr start. Use whichever script exists under bin.

  1. Open http://localhost:8983 in a browser. You should see the Solr Admin UI.
  2. Stop Solr for the next step:
bat
bin\solr.cmd stop

3. Run Solr as a Windows service (NSSM) ​

Solr does not install a Windows service by itself. NSSM can run Solr in the background and start it on reboot.

  1. Download and extract NSSM (for example to C:\nssm).
  2. Open an elevated Command Prompt:
bat
cd C:\nssm\win64
nssm install solr9
  1. In the NSSM dialog:
FieldExample
PathC:\solr\bin\solr.cmd
Startup directoryC:\solr\bin
Argumentsstart -f -p 8983
  1. On the Details tab, set a display name (for example Apache Solr 9) and install the service.
  2. Start the service from Services (services.msc), or:
bat
nssm start solr9
  1. Confirm http://localhost:8983 again.

Install Solr on Linux ​

For a full NADA install on Linux, see Installation (Linux).

Examples below use Debian/Ubuntu-style commands and /opt/solr. Adjust paths and package names for your distribution.

1. Install Java ​

bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk-headless
java -version

Use a JDK version supported by your Solr release.

2. Install Solr ​

bash
cd /tmp
# Download the Solr 9.x tgz from https://solr.apache.org/downloads.html
tar xzf solr-9.*.tgz
sudo mkdir -p /opt/solr
sudo cp -a solr-9.*/* /opt/solr/
sudo useradd --system --home-dir /opt/solr --shell /usr/sbin/nologin solr || true
sudo chown -R solr:solr /opt/solr

Test start:

bash
sudo -u solr /opt/solr/bin/solr start

Open http://YOUR_SERVER:8983. Then stop:

bash
sudo -u solr /opt/solr/bin/solr stop

3. systemd unit (recommended) ​

Create /etc/systemd/system/solr.service:

ini
[Unit]
Description=Apache Solr
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=solr
Group=solr
Environment=SOLR_PID_DIR=/opt/solr
Environment=SOLR_HOME=/opt/solr/server/solr
WorkingDirectory=/opt/solr
ExecStart=/opt/solr/bin/solr start
ExecStop=/opt/solr/bin/solr stop
Restart=on-failure
LimitNOFILE=65535

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now solr
sudo systemctl status solr

Confirm http://YOUR_SERVER:8983. Restrict port 8983 with a firewall if the server is publicly reachable.

Next: connect NADA and index ​

With Solr running, finish setup in the administrator guide:

Solr search — solr.php connection, create core, schema, indexing, and enabling the search provider.

Troubleshooting (install) ​

IssueWhat to check
Solr Admin UI not reachableJava installed; Solr started; port 8983; firewall
Service fails on boot (Windows)NSSM service path/arguments; JAVA_HOME for the service account
Service fails on boot (Linux)systemctl status solr; user solr owns /opt/solr; LimitNOFILE

For ping, schema, and indexing issues after connect, see Solr search — troubleshooting.