How to modify the default index location search

Normally when you configure the SSP on MOSS 2007 the default path is set to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Data\Office. Only in some occasions you would like to change this path, for example if you want to put it on a different volume with cheaper storage (not like a D:\ partition on the same disc).

I came a cross a portal where they managed to split the default indexing location on drive C:\index and D:\index both on the same disk. I wonder how, the why I don’t even dare to imagine.

To do this I did the following steps 

1.  I checked the Windows search service, for the account and if it was started.
2. Same for the Office SharePoint Search Service in the Central Admin Console.I made some screen shots just in case. Now I know what I’m up to here are the ingredients.
3. The index location has to be set on to different places the OSEARCH and the SSP. Below you find the STSADM commands. Don’t forget the little quotes sometimes you need them and sometime not.

   stsadm -o osearch -defaultindexlocation “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Data\Office”

   stsadm -o editssp -title Sharedservices1 -ssplogin DOMAIN\account -ssppassword <xxxxxxx> -indexserver <HOSTNAME_SERVER> -indexlocation “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Data\Office”

4. After all this I performed an iisreset /noforce and checked my handy work and if the portal was still doing all her cool stuff.

Hell yeah, yet another dragon slayed !!

Cluttered Diagnostic Logging settings

I’m maintaining a portal to which more people than just me used to have access. The result is that a lot of settings are weird and strange errors are coming from lots of diffrent places. We had an issue with the Windows SharePoint Timer service which was spontaneously stopping constantly and I fix it by using this stsadm command.

stsadm -o updatefarmcredentials -identitytype configurableid -userlogin DOMAIN\service_account -password *******

The result was positive and everything works like a dream again, except…………

The next morning I noticed that from a certain moment in the night my Trace Logs where growing enormously. The only thing is that it was logging just information and no special errors or something. Then I noticed that the Diagnostic loging settings (CentralAdmin) where changed from the defaults so many times nobody knew the original settings anymore.

Normally you change the settings for a reason, do your troubleshooting magic and return the settings to the original. But not everybody is doing a proper job in maintaining the settings. Their for theirs a brilliant stsadm command to just reset your Diagnostic logging settings to the default.

stsadm -o setlogginglevel -default

It’s also possible just to reset a category by adding a special category switch.