PeopleSoft Search: Transitioning to OpenSearch

In October 2023, the Quest PeopleSoft community joined together for RECONNECT Dive Deep – Virtual, an annual virtual conference designed to provide users with in-depth PeopleSoft content, which included an update from Oracle on Search in PeopleSoft.  As a part of this update, users were encouraged to transition from Kibana and Elasticsearch to OpenSearch and OpenSearch Dashboards.  While most users can expect minimal impact with this Search transition, it’s important for system administrators to understand what to expect.

PeopleSoft Search and Insights Improvements

Improvements in PeopleSoft Search and Insights can be easy to implement and low cost, while making a huge impact on your day-to-day experience.

Most recently, exciting changes can be found in:

• Navigation
• Transactions
• Suggestions
• Component Search
• Real-time Indexing
• PeopleSoft Insights

Navigation

You can now navigate more efficiently with an intuitive type ahead. To add this feature to your platform, deploy PTSF_RECENTMENU and enable RTI. This simple deployment can be completed in approximately five minutes.

Transactions

You no longer need to know a specific Job ID to review transactions. Instead, you can switch the context and use freeform text.

Suggestions

When you begin a search, you can now get suggestions based on your individual recent activity and/or weighted suggestions based on the activity of other users in your ecosystem. This change will be especially helpful for new hires who are still learning the most efficient ways to find information in the PeopleSoft system. To implement this feature, deploy PTSF_RECENT_KW and enable RTI.

Component Search

Previously, Classic and Fluid component search had several differences. Moving forward, Classic and Fluid will be more closely aligned and more consistent in formatting. The framework will provide a one-stop shop for all configurations so you can truly make it your own. This requires a minimal implementation cost during upgrades.

Real Time Indexing (RTI)

Real Time indexing keeps the search index updated as application transactions are inserted, updated, or deleted. This feature was available beginning in 8.59, but it’s disabled by default. You’ll need to enable at the Search Definition level and check support for delivered search definitions. You can download the trigger script and execute on the database. Note that RTI trigger names have the prefix SFA and suffix TR.

PeopleSoft Insights

PeopleSoft Insights is an interactive interface where you can explore data and navigate to transactions. With over 400 delivered visualizations, you can achieve operational and actionable insights with ease. This tool is one of the easiest to implement but makes a tremendous impact.

Harvard University, the State of North Carolina, and Cape Cod Healthcare are already finding success with PeopleSoft Insights.

PeopleSoft Search Engine Update

Additionally, there are minor changes for System Administrators related to the Search Engine.

Due to licensing changes introduced by Elastic, Elasticsearch 7.10.0 and Kibana 7.10.0 will be the last version delivered by Oracle PeopleSoft. PeopleTools will move to OpenSearch (OS) and OpenSearch Dashboards (OSD). (OS and OSD were forked from Elasticsearch 7.10.2 and Kibana 7.10.2 in 2021 and now operate as an Apache 2.0 licensed and separate open-source project.) This is available starting with PeopleTools 8.60.07 and 8.59.21 patches.  Elasticsearch 7.10.0 and Kibana 7.10.0 will be the last versions used in PeopleSoft and fixes will not be available.

Moving from Elasticsearch and Kibana to OpenSearch

Moving from Elasticsearch and Kibana to OpenSearch will cause very minimal impact on your users. It’s primarily a cosmetic change, where PeopleSoft Insights will replace any reference to Kibana in the UI and documentation. (Example: Kibana Administrator will become Insights Administrator.) Changes will take effect regardless of whether you switch to OS/OSD.

For search, there’s no need to re-deploy or re-index. Search indices will be automatically compatible and Real Time Indexing will continue to work after switching to OS.

Steps to Migrate to OpenSearch

To migrate, the system administrator will complete the following steps:

1. Install OSK:
   1. Use OSK DPK to install.
   2. Complete a full data copy from Elasticsearch.
2. Configure OpenSearch:
   1. Create a new search instance for OpenSearch in the OpenSearch program.
   2. Select ‘Copy Deployment Data’ button to clone deployment and run control data.
3. Validate:
   1. Use dedicated users to perform validations.
4. Switch to OpenSearch:
   1. Switch the primary instance to OpenSearch.
   2. Restart the process scheduler for RTI service to pick up changes. (You need to do this any time you make any changes to the Search Engine.)
   3. Incremental indexing will catch up delta from the initial copy.
   4. Apply any application updates/PRPs via PUM.

OpenSearch Region Map Considerations

OpenSearch Dashboards are powered by OpenSearch maps service, so there are subtle differences from Kibana and Elastic Maps Service such as:

• FIPS 5-2 alpha code will not work in OpenSearch. Enter the state name in the Join field instead.
• Post code is not available in OpenSearch. Enter the state name or explore custom vector options using GeoJSON for more granularity. (These are only available in PeopleTools with OpenSearch Dashboards. Restricted to 25 MB size, 10000 features.)

Key Takeaways

With the PeopleSoft search engine transition from Kibana/ElasticSearch to OpenSearch, customers are encouraged to make the move as quickly as possible.

After the general availability date of OSK DPK in PeopleTools 8.60.07 and 8.59.21 patches, support will be available for one year or until the PeopleTools release is end of life, whichever is sooner.

Community Healthcare System is a heavy user of Search, Real Time Indexing, and Insights, and company leaders made the switch to OpenSearch quickly and easily.  They shared, “With the transition from Kibana to OpenSearch and OpenSearch Dashboards, the change was seamless and transparent for our end users. The absence of index rebuilding saved us valuable time.”

More on PeopleSoft Search

For a full update from Oracle on PeopleSoft Search you can watch this RECONNECT Dive Deep recording here: Leverage the Power of Search in PeopleSoft.

For more PeopleSoft updates from Oracle, be sure to attend RECONNECT Dive Deep – Virtual 2024, October 28^th – 31^st.  You’ll walk away with insights and new ideas on how to best utilize PeopleSoft!