Sphinx Search is distributed as another example of the Search API project and uses Sphinx has a backend for searching.
The plugin requires some additional server side work (installing and configuring Sphinx, a cron job, etc.), so it should only be used by advanced users. Details on how to install the plugin can be found on the Installation page.
To install Sphinx you will need ssh access and the proper permissions for installing and compiling applications. The Sphinx Search website
contains a tutorial on how to install Sphinx.
- Make sure that the Search API plugin has been installed.
- Upload the files in this directory in this archive to 'wp-content/plugins/search/'
- Go to the Plugins page and activate "Sphinx Search". Make sure all other search plugins have been disabled.
- Next set up a configuration file. There is a sphinx.conf within this archive that you should base your Sphinx configuration on. Make sure to edit the SQL username, password, and database paths as well as the table name in the configuration file. Follow the directions in the Sphinx documentation on how to use the Sphinx configuration file.
- Finally, set up a cron job to reindex the data. This step depends on your system and if your host allows cron jobs. Some hosting control panels allow you to add this feature. The job should run the following command (paths may need to be adjusted).
indexer --all --config /path/to/sphinx.conf