SharePoint 2013 Search IO critical component locations

While working with a customer I found an undocumented (on TechNet anyways) bit of information on where SharePoint 2013 keeps Indexing files, Analytic report and link databases and crawler / gatherer temp files.

This blog will help you understand where those files are and how to change them.

 

TechNet reports on hardware recommendations for Indexing and Analytics but nothing for Crawler temp files or how to make that change HERE:

Application servers hosting search components

Index component

                       
             80 GB regardless of the number of search components hosted on the server.

            500 GB additional disk space, preferably a separate disk volume/partition.

 

Analytics processing component

           
            80 GB regardless of the number of search components hosted on the server.

            300 GB additional disk space, preferably a separate disk volume/partition. This disk space is necessary for local processing of analytics data before it is written to the analytics reporting database.

 

 

Index file location, default:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\15.0\Data\Office Server\Applications\Search\Nodes\34357C\IndexComponentN

Analytic file location, default:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\15.0\Data\Office Server\Analytics_f04b3beb-ee00-4f2b-b7db-ed368ccca47f -This GUID will be different per install

Gatherer temp files were being place in two places:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office Servers\15.0\Data\Office Server\Applications\gthrsvc

C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office Servers\15.0\Data\Office Server\Applications\f04b3beb-ee00-4f2b-b7db-ed368ccca47f-crawl-0\gthrsvc  -This GUID will be different per install

This can be found in these two registry keys respectfully:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\15.0\Search\Global\Gathering Manager] TempPath

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\15.0\Search\Components\c96ac2e3-b2c0-4abc-aabe-e61c6546d90b -crawl-0] GathererDataPath -This GUID will be different per install

 

Currently (As of Oct and Dec 2013 CU) the only supported way to make this change is by reinstalling SharePoint 2013 server, at install time change the location of your new drive and bring the node back into your farm. There are a few scripts showing up online that make these changes on the fly but this may create issues when updating CUs. Screenshot of what this look like at install time: