Due to requests from users, AIT updated the redirect from search-results.aset.psu.edu to google.com to include as_sitesearch and sitesearch parameters.  This means that users may invoke search-results.aset.psu.edu with their own department site in the (as_)sitesearch parameter and the redirect will keep that request through to google.com.  As before, if no site is specified, the redirect will default to listing returns from all psu.edu sites.

We effectively decommissioned the Penn State Google Search Appliance this morning (09/08/2010) during the maintenance window.  All searches that use search-results.aset.psu.edu/search are now redirected to google.com site: psu.edu.  The index at search.psu.edu has also been changed and directly invokes a site: psu.edu search from google.com as well.

Due to last minute concerns with some units, the Google Search Appliance (GSA) termination has been delayed. The technical support contact has expired, but the appliances will continue to run for the interim. The new termination date is Wednesday, September 8.

As mentioned in on the home page of this site, search-results.aset.psu.edu/search will forward all requests to google.com in accordance with the item #7 of the strategy.  But, you can start testing this now!

We have set up the old test-search-results.aset.psu.edu/search URL to provide this forwarding until September 1, 2010.  To test this, simply change where you invoke the GSAs from search-results.aset to test-search-results.aset on a test version of your page and watch how it works!

The word has been circulating for a while now that Penn State will no longer support an in-house Google Search Appliance (GSA) solution.  It's been a long road to figure out exactly what we should and could do for the community as a whole.  Dwindling dollars, higher prices from Google and a rather sharp decline in the usage of the GSA made us realize that it just wasn't a cost-effective or generally useful solution for the Penn State community, but we knew that we shouldn't just decommission it without providing support of some sort for some type of search strategy.

So, we asked for volunteers from across the University to help us figure out what we should do.  We received responses from a healthy cross-section and began the investigation.  Several months of meetings and work led us to this strategy.  We sincerely hope that we've done all we can to make the transition for web developers as smooth as possible.  Please read the recommendation report, and peruse the site for more information.