OpenSearch & Elasticsearch: The Intelligent Brain of Your E-Commerce Search
In a modern online shop, search is far more than a text field — it's the most important salesperson. If they can't find it, they won't buy it. Since Magento 2.4, an external search engine is no longer optional — it's the technological heart of the system. At mironsoft, we're masters of Elasticsearch and OpenSearch. We don't configure standard indexes — we build highly precise search architectures that forgive typos, understand synonyms, and deliver results in milliseconds. Find out here how we use the power of Apache Lucene to maximize your conversion rate through intelligent relevance weighting.
01. The Evolution of Search: Why MySQL Hit Its Limits
In the early days of e-commerce, search was based on simple SQL database queries. But as catalog sizes grew and demands for modern features like autocomplete or faceting increased, SQL became the bottleneck. A conventional database is optimized to find exact values, not to calculate similarities or analyze huge amounts of unstructured text in real time.
With the introduction of Elasticsearch, Magento made the leap into the big leagues. Elasticsearch is built on the Apache Lucene library and uses the principle of an inverted index. Picture a huge index at the back of a book — except this index is maintained in real time for millions of products. At mironsoft, we use this technological edge to build searches that respond faster than the user can type.
02. The License Earthquake and the Birth of OpenSearch
Elasticsearch's story took a dramatic turn in early 2021, when manufacturer Elastic changed its license model. This led to the creation of OpenSearch, an open-source fork by Amazon Web Services (AWS). For you as a shop operator, this distinction is technologically almost imperceptible today, but strategically decisive.
At mironsoft, we consistently rely on OpenSearch for modern Magento projects (from version 2.4.4 onward). It guarantees us permanent open-source freedom without hidden license costs, while maintaining full performance and compatibility with the Magento core. We safely migrate your existing Elasticsearch instance to OpenSearch to make your shop future-proof and independent.
03. Intelligent Features: Features That Understand Your Customers
A search engine is only as good as its configuration. Many shops use OpenSearch merely as a "fast database". At mironsoft, we unlock its true potential:
- Fuzzy search: Your customers make typos? No problem. We configure the Levenshtein distance so that "smatphone" still leads to the target.
- Stemming & lemmatization: Our search understands word stems. Someone searching for "run" also finds "running shoes" or "ran".
- Synonym management: We maintain lists so customers searching for "couch" also find your exclusive "sofas".
- Stop-word filtering: We filter out filler words (and, or, the) to sharpen the relevance of results.
04. Relevance Weighting (Boosting): Control What Sells
Not every search result is worth the same. If a customer searches for a brand name, that brand's flagship product should appear at the top — not an accessory screw whose description happens to mention the brand.
With attribute boosting, we give you control back. We weight fields like the product name or SKU higher than the long description. Combined with sales figures or margins, we can even program the search so your bestsellers or most profitable items rise organically to the top. That's search-engine merchandising on a professional level.
05. Infrastructure Design: Search Doesn't Belong on the Web Server
A common mistake in e-commerce hosting is running OpenSearch on the same server as PHP and MySQL. Since OpenSearch runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and is extremely memory-hungry, it can bring down the entire shop during massive search loads.
At mironsoft, we design multi-node clusters. We move the search service onto dedicated servers precisely optimized for Java's RAM requirements. We configure the heap size precisely and use sharding (splitting the index) to make even millions of products searchable in milliseconds. This guarantees maximum stability, even on Black Friday.
06. Faceted Navigation: Filtering Without the Wait
In modern shops (especially with Hyvä Themes), the filter bar in the sidebar is directly coupled to OpenSearch. Every time a user selects a size or color, the search engine calculates the remaining stock for all other filters in the background (aggregations). We optimize these queries so filtering happens smoothly and without noticeable load time. This prevents frustration and keeps the customer in shopping mode.
07. Deep Integration: Elasticsuite & Custom Mappings
Magento's standard search is good, but Smile Elasticsuite is better. We're experts at integrating this open-source extension, which is what really makes OpenSearch shine. We build custom mappings to include attributes from third-party systems (ERP/PIM) in the search index too. This turns your search into an all-knowing navigator through your entire assortment.
08. Why mironsoft Is Your Partner for Search Technology
We don't just install software — we understand the math behind it. We know how tokenizers split words and how search needs to be configured differently for different languages (e.g. German vs. English).
- Java Virtual Machine tuning: For maximum server stability.
- Elasticsuite experts: The most powerful search tool for Magento.
- Full-stack optimization: From the API query to rendering in the Hyvä frontend.
Don't Keep Your Customers Searching
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Request Search Audit NowFrequently Asked Questions about OpenSearch & Elasticsearch
Can my Magento shop run without Elasticsearch?
As of Magento 2.4, this is officially no longer possible. Adobe removed the old MySQL-based search since it no longer met modern performance demands. Elasticsearch or OpenSearch are now mandatory prerequisites for catalog display and search. We help you correctly install these services so your shop stays stable and performant.
What's the advantage of OpenSearch over Elasticsearch?
The main advantage of OpenSearch is its 100% open-source license (Apache 2.0). While Elasticsearch became paid or restricted for some cloud providers due to license changes, OpenSearch remains permanently free and is supported by a huge community (including Amazon). Technically, both are nearly identical for Magento merchants, but OpenSearch offers higher long-term investment security.
How much RAM does a search server need for a large Magento shop?
It depends on catalog size and traffic. As a rule of thumb: OpenSearch loves RAM. For small to mid-sized shops, we recommend at least 4 GB to 8 GB of dedicated RAM for the search service. Large enterprise shops with millions of variants often need clusters with 32 GB or more. Correct tuning of the JVM heap size, precisely matched to your hardware, is crucial here.
Can the search also search inside PDF documents?
Yes, through special plugins (like Ingest Attachment), OpenSearch can also index content from uploaded PDF files, Word documents, or technical data sheets. This is especially valuable in B2B, so customers can find the right product even via technical specifications that only exist in attachments — we implement this deep search for you.
Why does my search often return irrelevant results?
This is usually due to poorly weighted attributes. If the search values the long description just as highly as the product name, that leads to "noise". We fix this through targeted boosting: we give the name, brand, and SKU higher weight. We also clean the index of stop words so the engine focuses on the terms that actually matter.
Does OpenSearch support autocomplete and suggestions while typing?
Yes, that's one of OpenSearch's signature disciplines. We configure so-called "suggesters" that deliver results after just the first letter. Combined with a fast Hyvä frontend, product suggestions and categories appear almost instantly. This guides the customer in the right direction early and prevents searches that would lead nowhere.
How do you handle typos from my customers?
We use fuzzy matching. This defines a maximum error tolerance (Levenshtein distance). If a customer searches for "phne", for example, the system recognizes the similarity to "phone" and delivers the correct results. We tune this tolerance to forgive typos without triggering false associations for very short search terms.
Can we artificially highlight certain products in search (boosting)?
Yes, we implement merchandising rules. For example, you can set products with high margin, high stock availability, or new arrivals to automatically rank higher for matching search terms. This strategic control over search results turns search into an active sales tool for your marketing team.
How well protected is the search index against data loss?
OpenSearch offers native high-availability mechanisms. We configure "replicas" (copies of the index) across different server nodes. If one node fails, another takes over instantly without data loss. We can also secure regular snapshots of the index to cloud storage (like S3), so search can be restored within minutes in the event of a catastrophic hardware failure.
Does OpenSearch also support multiple languages simultaneously?
Yes, we create a separate index for every store view (and therefore every language). This is important since each language needs its own "analyzers". A German index uses different stemming rules than a French or English index. This ensures search works grammatically correctly and highly relevantly in every one of your country shops.
Can the search also understand synonyms?
Absolutely. We maintain synonym lists that work either one-way ("laptop" also finds "notebook") or two-way ("couch" <-> "sofa"). This is crucial for reflecting your customers' language habits. A well-maintained synonym database prevents frustrating "no results found" pages and keeps the user in the shop.
What happens if my search index is outdated?
If the index isn't current, customers see outdated prices or products that are actually sold out. We optimize your Magento cron jobs so product changes (on-save) flow into the OpenSearch index almost without delay. For very large catalogs, we implement smart delta updates to keep server load minimal during updates.
Can we analyze search data (what customers search for)?
Yes, search queries are a goldmine for your marketing. We analyze which terms often come back without results (to expand your assortment) or which terms have an especially high conversion rate. We also use this data for your SEO strategy, to create targeted landing pages for the terms your customers actually use.
Why is mironsoft the right partner for my search infrastructure?
We don't treat search as an isolated module, but as part of the entire shop architecture. We master fine-grained Java tuning, the optimal sharding strategy, and perfect integration into the Hyvä frontend. With us, you get a search that plays on an enterprise technology level and measurably increases your revenue.
How do we start optimizing my Magento search?
The first step is a technical search audit. We analyze your current configuration, check the relevance weighting, and measure latency times. Then we create an optimization plan to make your search smarter and faster. Just send us a message — we'll get your search results to pole position!