Chapter 3. Overview of Microsoft Enterprise Search Products
WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?
Overview of the new Enterprise Search product line, with guidance on which product to use for a given situation
Comparing features between SharePoint Server 2010 search and FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint
Exploring typical Enterprise Search applications and which Microsoft product to use for each one
Touring search in other Microsoft products — desktop search, SQL, Exchange, and Bing, — and how to tie them together with OpenSearch federation
Microsoft has been in the Enterprise Search business for a long time. The last two years have seen an increased focus in this area, including the introduction of Search Server 2008 and the acquisition of FAST Search and Transfer. Search is becoming strategic to many businesses, and Microsoft's investments reflect this. In 2010, Microsoft has added new Enterprise Search products and updated existing ones. The result is a set of products that accommodate pretty much any Enterprise Search need, although the lineup can be confusing at times.
Microsoft also has search offerings in several other areas: Windows has desktop search, Bing is focused on web search, and both SQL Server and Exchange have embedded search capabilities. Each of these has independent road maps and versions, and new capabilities worth knowing about. There are licensing variants plus hosted "OnLine" offerings. It can seem overwhelming. But if you understand a bit about the heritage of these offerings, ...
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