Custom Indexing Strategies for Plone

Large-scale Plone installations require efficient indexing to maintain performance. Custom indexing strategies help optimize queries and speed up content retrieval.

Why Custom Indexing Matters

Plone's default indexing works well for small sites. For large sites, custom indexes reduce query time and improve scalability.

Slow queries can cripple performance. Custom indexes solve this by targeting specific search patterns.

Types of Indexes in Plone

Plone supports several index types. Each serves a different purpose in content retrieval.

FieldIndex: Basic index for exact matches. Ideal for simple queries.

KeywordIndex: Best for tags or categories. Supports multiple values.

TextIndex: Full-text search index. Used for rich content.

For complex queries, combine these indexes. Learn more in our Plone Catalog & Indexing guide.

Creating Custom Indexes

Add custom indexes via GenericSetup. Define them in catalog.xml.

 
<index name="custom_field" meta_type="FieldIndex">
    <indexed_attr value="custom_field"/>
</index>

This creates a FieldIndex for the attribute custom_field.

Optimizing Index Queries

Use getCatalog() to fetch the catalog. Then query indexes efficiently.

 
from Products.CMFCore.utils import getToolByName

def query_custom_index():
    catalog = getToolByName(context, 'portal_catalog')
    results = catalog(custom_field='target_value')
    return results

This fetches objects where custom_field matches target_value.

Advanced Indexing Techniques

For high-traffic sites, consider these strategies.

Partial Indexing: Index only frequently queried fields.

Composite Indexes: Combine multiple fields into one index.

Async Indexing: Use Celery and Redis for background updates.

Monitoring Index Performance

Use Plone's portal_catalog tool to check index health.

bin/instance debug
>>> catalog = app.Plone.portal_catalog
>>> catalog.indexes()

This lists all indexes and their status.

Rebuilding Indexes

Large sites may need periodic index rebuilds. Use clearFindAndRebuild().

 
catalog = getToolByName(context, 'portal_catalog')
catalog.clearFindAndRebuild()

This ensures indexes stay accurate after bulk updates.

Scaling with ZEO and RelStorage

For very large sites, combine custom indexing with ZEO and RelStorage. This distributes the load.

Conclusion

Custom indexing boosts Plone performance at scale. Start with targeted indexes. Monitor and optimize regularly.

For complex setups, combine with async processing and proper scaling. Your large Plone site will run smoothly.