Conclusion

A portal really isn't a portal without search capabilities that can handle unstructured as well as structured information. That means we need full-text search capability. Because the portal contains many kinds of data in multiple repositories, we need search tools that can integrate these sources and provide results from all of them from a single query.

Microsoft has developed advanced and easy-to-use search capabilities that have been implemented in various ways throughout its software products. Ranging from file searching in Windows XP to catalog searching in Commerce Server and document searches in SharePoint Portal Server, you have several options for search engines.

For the enterprise portal, SharePoint Portal Server is the hands-down winner for most organizations. It is the most advanced search product offered by Microsoft, and it is capable of indexing the greatest variety of data sources. As shown in this chapter, it has a rich, yet relatively easy, administrative user interface. Your software licensing for SharePoint in the enterprise already includes the search capability, and you would be remiss not to include it in your portal.

An external portal, on the other hand, may be better served with other search engines. Index Services for Windows can adequately index your web pages and provide both simple and advanced search for your users. Best of all is the price, as it is included in Windows Server.

Whatever search engine you choose, be sure to spend the time it takes to catalog and index data that will be helpful to your users. This effort will be rewarded by helping users find the content they need in your portal, making it a more productive experience.