Fix your SharePoint 2016 Search after installing security update

[Fixed]: Fix your SharePoint 2016 Search after installing security update

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Fix your SharePoint 2016 Search issue – these days, it has been a common issue after installing a windows security update in the SharePoint server, it breaks the search functionality in SharePoint 2016. In this troubleshooting technique, we will share how to fix the SharePoint 2016 Search after installing the security update.

How to fix the SharePoint 2016 search issue after installing the security update?

When we see this issue after installing the security update in the SharePoint server, many people around the open forums say that we cannot fix this issue. However, we could try resetting the search index, if this does not work we need to re-create the new search service application. I understand if we create a new search service application it will work but I am not convinced with this approach why because if you have a very complex customized search where you need to manually re-create the custom “managed properties”, it is not easy to do until you had a proper backup of the configurations. Moreover, if you are smart enough to handle this, you might open your old search service application manage property page in one tab and you can refer to this configuration for your newly created search service application page but the obstacle here is – the old search manage property page does not open it is error out, so, this door is also closed, we need to find the other way.

To answer my analysis, in short, we need to run the SharePoint configuration wizard in all the servers connected to the farm, starting from the application server, this will fix the issue however, ensure you are completing this wizard run successfully.

Note – prerequisites:

Before running the configuration wizard safely, it is recommended to take backup of the below:

  • SharePoint_Config database
  • Search related database, which will get from the search administration page
  • Image backup of all SharePoint servers

Search Databases in SharePoint 2013/2016/2019

There are four basically search databases in SharePoint on-premises:

  • Crawl Database – This database stores all the crawl-related information, such as the last crawl time and the last Crawl ID.
  • Search Administration Database – This database contains the search configuration settings, such as the search topologies, mapping between the crawled items, the metadata properties, etc.
  • Link Database – The link database stores information extracted by the content processing component. In addition, it stores information about search clicks; the number of times people click on a search result from the search result page.
  • Analytics Reporting Database – This database is used for generating reports on search-related information and usage analysis.

Note:

  • The format of the database name is as:”<Database Name>_<GUID>” example: Search_Service_Application_<GUID>

The common issue you might face while running the configuration wizard is as below:

  • Exception: The operation cannot be performed on the database “WSS_UsageApplication” because it is involved in a database mirroring session or an availability group. Some operations are not allowed on a database that is participating in a database. If you have AG (availability group) setup in SQL, before running the configuration wizard we must remove the “WSS_UsageApplication” database from the AG group and after successfully running the wizard, we must add it back.
  • Exception: The upgraded database schema doesn’t match the TargetSchema (EventID:an59t) – for this, we must upgrade the mentioned database, refer to this article on how to perform the upgrade – [Fixed] The upgraded database schema doesn’t match the TargetSchema(Failed to upgrade SharePoint Products)
  • After running the SharePoint configuration wizard successfully in all the servers in the farm, reset the search index from the central admin search administration page.
  • Restart the application server followed by other servers connected to the farm like the WFE server.
  • Start the Full Crawl, this will plenty of time (minutes/hours) depending on the volume of data you have in the particular content source (web application).
  • After some time, try to search for something in the search box from the site, it should work.

Summary: Fix your SharePoint 2016 Search

Thus, in this article, we have learned the below with respect to fixing the SharePoint 2016 search issue after installing a security update:

  • How to fix the SharePoint 2016 search issue after installing the security update?
  • What are the search databases in SharePoint 2013/2016/2019

See Also: Fix your SharePoint 2016 Search

You may also look into the below SharePoint search troubleshooting articles:

 

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