Set up P4 Server

You must integrate P4 Search with P4 Server. P4 Server is where digital content is version controlled in a single repository.

Requirements

The P4 Server requirements for P4 Search are:

  • P4 Server 2024.1 or later
  • HTTPS or non-HTTPS mode (both are supported)
  • Unicode or non-unicode mode (both are supported)

Connecting to a P4 Server proxy is not supported.

For information on hardware requirements, see Memory in the P4 Server Administration Documentation.

You will also need at least one P4 user:

  • Perforce Service User: A Standard or Service user with a minimum of admin access. Used to authorize the proxy connection at Security level 5 and above. For instructions on creating the Perforce Service User and printing out the ticket, see Create the Perforce Service user .

  • Optional: Perforce Index User: A Standard user with super access. Used to read content from the P4 Server, to set file attributes, and to install extensions. For instructions on creating the Perforce Index user and printing out the ticket, see Create the Index user . If the Index user is not defined, the Perforce Service user is used.

For Linux installations, after the package install you can run the etc/configure.sh script file to configure users, groups, and the required permissions for P4 Server. The etc/configure.sh script file is located in the installation directory. For more details, see Configure P4 Search.

Install P4 Server

To install P4 Server, see Install the server in the P4 Server Administration Documentation.

Create users and tickets for external services

After the package installation, you can run the etc/configure.sh script file to configure users, groups, and the required permissions for P4 Server. For more information, see Configure P4 Search.

If you wish to install P4 Search manually, you must create the P4 Server users and tickets required by the external services.

  • At Security level 6 (or Security level 5, when using service specifications):

    • The P4 Index user must be of type 'standard' with super permissions.

    • The P4 Service user must be of type 'service' with admin permissions.

      • The long-lived ticket must be a local ticket and not an all-hosts ticket.

    • The P4 Server must have a valid server spec with the AllowedAddresses field set. For information about Security level 6, see Server security levels in the P4 Server Administration Documentation.

  • At lower security levels:

    • The P4 Index user must be of type 'standard' with super permissions.

    • You can use the same P4 user for both the Index user and Service user.

    • If you are using a different P4 Service user, then it must be of type 'standard' with admin permissions.

Create the Perforce Service user

The Perforce Service user can be a 'standard' or 'service' user with a minimum of admin permissions to authorize the proxy connection at Security level 5 and above.

The Service user name and ticket details are required when you set the following configurables:

  • com.perforce.p4search.core.service.p4user

  • com.perforce.p4search.core.service.p4ticket

  1. On your P4 Server, create the user:

    2. p4 user -f p4search

  2. Create a group with unlimited timeouts and add the user to the group. For example:

    1. Create a group called unlimited:

      2. p4 group unlimited

    2. Edit the group spec to change Timeout to unlimited.

    3. Edit the group spec to add the p4search user to the group.

  3. Open user protections form:

    p4 protect

  4. Give the p4search user admin permissions by adding the following entry to the form:

    5. admin user p4search * //...

  5. Set the password:

    6. p4 -u p4search passwd

  6. Get a ticket for the user with one of the following commands based on the on the security level of the P4 Server:

    • Security level 4 and below: create an all hosts ticket:

      • p4 -u p4search login -ap

    • Security level 5 and above: create a local host ticket:

      • p4 -u p4search login -p

  7. Make a note of the p4search user name and ticket details.

Create the Index user

The Index user must have super permissions to read content from P4 Server, to set file attributes, and to install extensions. If the Index user is undefined, the Perforce Service user is used.

The Index user name and ticket details are required when you set the following configurables:

  • com.perforce.p4search.core.index.p4user

  • com.perforce.p4search.core.index.p4ticket

  1. On your P4 Server, create the Index user:

    2. p4 user -f p4index

  2. Create a group with unlimited timeouts and add the user to the group. For example:

    1. Create a group called unlimited:

      2. p4 group unlimited

    2. Edit the group spec to change Timeout to unlimited.

    3. Edit the group spec to add the p4index user to the group.

  3. Open user protections form:

    p4 protect

  4. Give the p4index user super permissions by adding the following entry to the form:

    5. super user p4index * //...

  5. Set the password:

    6. p4 -u p4index passwd

  6. Get a ticket for the user:

    7. p4 -u p4index login -ap

  7. Make a note of the p4index user name and ticket details.