Purchase an OpenSearch Retrieval Engine Edition instance to deploy a managed search cluster with Query Result Searcher (QRS) workers and Searcher workers sized to your workload.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure that you have:
An Alibaba Cloud account with real-name verification complete
An AccessKey pair for your Alibaba Cloud account — required to create and use OpenSearch instances. When you log on to the OpenSearch console using your Alibaba Cloud account for the first time, you are prompted to create an AccessKey pair before performing subsequent operations.
A virtual private cloud (VPC) is created. For more information, see What is a VPC?
To access an OpenSearch Retrieval Engine Edition instance as a RAM user, attach the AliyunSearchEngineFullAccess or AliyunSearchEngineReadOnlyAccess policy to the RAM user using your Alibaba Cloud account. For setup instructions, see Create a RAM user and grant permissions to the RAM user.
Create an instance
Log on to the OpenSearch console. In the upper-left corner, switch to OpenSearch Retrieval Engine Edition.
On the Instances page, click Create Instance.
On the buy page, set Service Edition to Retrieval Engine Edition, then configure the following parameters: The estimated cost updates automatically on the buy page as you adjust worker counts and specifications. Click Buy Now.
Parameter Description Region and Zone The region and zone where the instance is deployed. QRS Workers The number of QRS workers. QRS Worker Specifications The compute specification for each QRS worker. Searcher Workers The number of Searcher workers. Searcher Worker Specifications The compute specification for each Searcher worker. Total Storage Space of Single Searcher Worker The storage allocated per Searcher worker. Each worker includes a free quota. Additional storage is available in increments of 50 GB; you are charged only for the amount that exceeds the free quota. VPC The VPC for the instance. You must select the same VPC used by the ECS instance that accesses OpenSearch. A mismatched VPC or vSwitch returns {'errors':{'code':'403','message':'Forbidden'}}.vSwitch The vSwitch within the VPC. You must select the same vSwitch used by the ECS instance that accesses OpenSearch. Username The username for query permission verification. Do not use your Alibaba Cloud account credentials. Password The password for query permission verification. Do not use your Alibaba Cloud account credentials. On the Confirm Order page, review your configuration, accept the service agreement, and click Activate Now.
After activation, click Console. The new instance appears on the Instances page.
(Optional) To rename the instance, click Manage in the Actions column to open the Instance Details page. In the Basic Information section, click the Modify icon next to the instance name, enter a new name, and click Confirm.
What's next
With the instance running, complete the following steps to prepare for production traffic:
Configure indexes and data sources — Define the schema for your data and connect your data sources. See Getting started.
Push data to the instance — Index your data to make it searchable.
Run test queries — Validate your setup and confirm search results match expectations before going live.