SharePoint 2016 - possible to backup and restore databases used for search application to new sharepoint server?

Question

Is it possible to backup and restore the databases used for searching in SharePoint 2013 to a new SharePoint 2013/2016 server? The server hosting my current SharePoint site is on an old OS that needs to be replaced and I don't want to cause any disruption to the production SharePoint site. I've attempted to just backup and restore the content database on a new server but the search functions don't work despite verifying the settings are the same as the on the old server.

Answer 1

Hi @Max Johnson,

Thank you for posting in this community.

Backing up the content database is not enough if you want to backup and restore the search application from your old database to your new server. SharePoint's search application involves multiple databases.

Reference: Overview of search components and search databases

I recommend that you refer to the steps in this article to back up search service applications in SharePoint Server first: Back up Search service applications in SharePoint Server.

Then Restore Search service applications in SharePoint Server.

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Answer 2

Thank you, I think this will work for me. Just out of curiosity, will this still work for me even though the databases are being restored to a SharePoint server with a different url or would I have to keep the url the same to make this seamless?