apache / apache/lucene

Ability to mlock certain fields from the terms dict [LUCENE-3214]

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legacy-jira-priority:Major type:enhancement
Dominant language
Java
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Description

This is a hacked up prototype! It works but I'm not sure how to get this to a committable point.

The patch invokes mlock() (tested only on Linux), locking pages from the terms dictionary file that hold terms for a specified field. You can only do this with MMapDirectory.

I used this to lock pages for the "id" field in the NRT stress test; it's an alternative to MemoryCodec. But, it requires you set up the OS to allow the app/user to lock pages in RAM.

It works very well in reducing the NRT reopen latency even when large merges are running...

---
Migrated from [LUCENE-3214](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/LUCENE-3214) by Michael McCandless (@mikemccand)
Attachments: [LUCENE-3214.patch](https://apache.github.io/lucene-jira-archive/attachments/LUCENE-3214/LUCENE-3214.patch)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reviewing the attached LUCENE-3214.patch and the MMapDirectory and terms-dictionary paths it changes. Check the Linux-only mlock behavior, the required OS permissions, and the NRT stress-test use case; done means the prototype has a committable design with coverage for locking selected field pages and documented limitations.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java, linux
Domain
backend, search
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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