How to Enable Elasticsearch and Opensearch in cPanel

Knowledgebase Article

How to Enable Elasticsearch and Opensearch in cPanel

Note: Elasticsearch is not a standard cPanel feature/plugin and so if you're not using our hosting you may not see this feature.

Elasticsearch is a notable performance feature we offer, and is available on our Business Hosting and Magento Hosting. This distinction positions Kualo ahead of many hosting providers.

In this article, you'll understand Elasticsearch, how we offer Opensearch as an option going forward, and how to set them up on cPanel.

What is Elasticsearch?

Elasticsearch is a real-time, distributed, open-source full-text search and analytics engine. Built on the Java programming language, it can run on various platforms. Elasticsearch lets you store, search, and analyze large volumes of data swiftly, returning results in milliseconds. Unlike tables and schemas commonly found in traditional databases, Elasticsearch is designed around documents and offers extensive REST APIs for data storage and search.

What is OpenSearch?

OpenSearch is a community-driven, open-source search and analytics suite that evolved from Elasticsearch 7.10.2. It's not a direct successor, but given its enhancements and community support, we will be offering Opensearch for new deployments. Existing Elasticsearch users will still be supported for backward compatibility. Some advantages include:

Reduced Version Dependency with Magento: One of the challenges with Elasticsearch was the stringent version dependency with Magento. OpenSearch reduces this dependency, making it easier to manage.
Community Engagement: Emphasizing open development and transparent decision-making.
Future-Proofing: As we'll only be adding new versions of OpenSearch moving forward, it may be best to use Opensearch or switch to it if you're still on Elasticsearch.

How to Deploy and Manage Elasticsearch or Opensearch in cPanel

Navigate to the Elasticsearch icon in cPanel.

Select the Version You Need

Select the version of Elasticsearch or Opensearch you require, and press Deploy Elasticsearch. This will install the version of Elasticsearch or Opensearch into your hosting account. This can take a few minutes to complete.

Starting Elasticsearch or Opensearch:

Once deployed, start it by pressing "Start Elasticsearch" and the instance will start.

Connecting Details:

Once started, you'll see details like allocated RAM, IP address, and port to connect to your application.

User Controls and Authentication (Elasticsearch Only):

Elasticsearch includes user management and authentication, this is not a feature of OpenSearch.

To enable this, click Manage Users.

If you've not used authentication before, you will then need to click Enable Authentication for user management in Elasticsearch.

You can then click Create User to add the users you'd like to use with Elasticsearch. You will need to configure this in your application.

Restarting Elasticsearch or Opensearch:

If ever you need to restart Elasticsearch or Opensearch, simply press stop it and then start it again.

Changing Versions:

To change versions, stop the running instance, then press the "Uninstall" button.

Once uninstalled, install a new version by following the same steps above.

Important Note: If you are not using Elasticsearch, ensure that it is in a stopped state, as it consumes a significant amount of resident memory on your account, even if not in use. This means that fewer resources will be available for your website than would otherwise be the case. If you don't plan on using it, you should also remove it entirely to free up resources.

Additional Notes:

Cross Compatibility: Version differences between Elasticsearch and Opensearch are cross-compatible.
Compatibility with Magento: Refer to Magento's documentation for required version compatibility.