Serving > OneBox Modules

Use the Serving > OneBox Modules page to perform the following tasks:

• Specifying OneBox search settings
• Defining a OneBox module
• Managing OneBox modules

For a OneBox module to appear in search results, you need to assign the OneBox module to a front end. For more information about this topic, See Assigning a OneBox Module to a Front End.

Before Starting these Tasks

Before defining or managing a OneBox module, complete the tasks shown in the following table.

About OneBox Modules

A OneBox module provides real-time access to data from a different collection on the same search appliance or from an external source, such as an application or database.

On Google.com, OneBox modules are used to display specially formatted information about movies, weather, stock quotes, tracking numbers, airport information, flight status, and so on. In your organization, a OneBox module could display information from internal files or databases, or from applications. For example, a OneBox module could display contact information, employee telephone numbers, organizational charts, sales figures, part numbers, educational offerings, or employee policies.

OneBox results appear above other results on a user's search results page, formatted according to an XSLT stylesheet template. If there are no results from a OneBox module, the results page looks the way it would if the OneBox module did not exist.

Specifying OneBox Search Settings

• Maximum number of OneBox modules per search limits the number of OneBox results that display to a user.
• OneBox response timeout specifies how long the search appliance should wait for a response from the OneBox provider. If the OneBox provider does not respond in the specified time, the search appliance assumes that there are no results for the provider. Timeouts can occur when a provider is unresponsive or when the network is slow or unavailable. Larger timeout values allow more time for slow OneBox providers to return results, but setting a larger timeout value also results in a slower search time. This timeout has a default value of 1000 milliseconds. The value must be at least 1 millisecond. There is no upper limit on the timeout value.

Defining a OneBox Module

This process defines a OneBox module on the search appliance. You can define a OneBox Module by either of the following two methods:

• Entering configuration values
• Importing a configuration file

Entering Configuration Values

To define a OneBox module by entering configuration values:

1. Under the Define OneBox Module header, fill in the OneBox Name box.
   Specify a name that helps you organize the modules on your search appliance. The name is for your own use and is not shown to users. The name can be up 32 characters, it must start with an alphabetic character, and can contain the characters A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underline (_), dash (-), or dot (.). You can change the name when you create the module definition. Thereafter, when you edit an existing OneBox, you cannot change its name.
2. Click Create Module Definition.
   Options for defining a OneBox module appear. For information about these options, see Admin Help in Serving > OneBox > OneBox Modules.

Importing a Configuration File

Information about how to create a configuration file is available in "OneBox for Enterprise Developer's Guide," which is linked to the Google Search Appliance help center.

To import a configuration file:

1. Under the Import a Configuration File header, browse to the file.
2. Click Import.

Assigning a OneBox Module to a Front End

The Front Ends > OneBox Modules page lets you define a OneBox module, but the module won't be used until it is assigned to a front end. Each front end has a list of assigned OneBox modules, based on what's most appropriate for the users of that front end.

To view or configure the OneBox module assignments for a specific front end, go to Serving > Front Ends. In the list of front ends, click the "edit" link, and then click the OneBox tab.

Managing OneBox Modules

The Current OneBox Modules section lists the currently defined OneBox modules. If there are no entries in the list, you must first define a OneBox module.

For a module that appears in the list, you can take the following actions:

• View the log for the OneBox module. Use the log to monitor and troubleshoot the operations of this OneBox module by analyzing events such as these:
  • Queries that triggered the OneBox module
  • Calls to the OneBox provider
  • Provider timeouts
  • Results and errors returned by the provider
  • Selection or rejection of the provider's results, when the search appliance chooses which result sets to display, based on front end priorities
• Export the OneBox module configuration to a file. You could use this file to share the OneBox module with others, or to edit it for use with another OneBox module.
• Edit the OneBox module definition.
• Delete the OneBox module definition.

About OneBox Module Log Messages

The following table describes the messages that appear for events in the OneBox module logs.

For More Information

For more information about OneBox modules, see the following topics:

• Serving > Front Ends > OneBox Modules
• Serving > OneBox > OneBox Modules
• "OneBox for Enterprise Developer's Guide," which is linked to the Google Search Appliance help center
• "OneBox for Enterprise Design Principles," which is linked to the Google Search Appliance help center
• Google OneBox for Enterprise Simulator