I’ve always had a passion for searching out answers. Ultimately, search revolves around processing a query, deciphering its intent, and then delivering the most relevant response. In the distant past, as part of my doctoral research, I undertook an innovative AI-powered robotics project that successfully integrated a vast library of plan fragments with real-world scenarios through targeted searching. Having built a business search engine from scratch during a previous tenure. As an experienced options architect at AWS, I have had the privilege of working closely with clients to develop tailored solutions leveraging the full scope of our search services.
Like many builders, I share a passion for open source. Originating from my experience in teaching, I find myself influenced by the academic environment where scholars collaborate to advance the greater good, building upon and learning from the cumulative knowledge of their respective disciplines. Throughout my experience, I have utilized and made significant contributions to numerous open-source technologies, ranging from modest projects with singular objectives to comprehensive initiatives featuring dedicated, enthusiastic communities. The neighborhood of search has a distinctive character, shaped by the confluence of longstanding educational pursuits such as data retrieval, psychology, and symbolic artificial intelligence. Open-source software has had an outstanding impact on this community. The democratization of search know-how has accelerated significantly over the past decade and a half, largely due to open-source endeavors such as Apache Lucene, Apache Solr, and the Elasticsearch and OpenSearch licenses.
What drives my passion and enthusiasm in this situation is the rich context within which I find myself. As a key milestone in the development of the OpenSearch framework, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has officially transferred ownership of OpenSearch to the Linux Foundation. On the 2021 mission launch, we emphasized the importance of ensuring customers have access to a secure, high-quality, transparent supply chain analytics suite with a robust roadmap for future innovations. We’ve consistently prioritized this need, and our recent transition is a testament to that commitment, bringing the community together through open governance to achieve this goal.
There are two crucial elements to consider regarding this declaration: firstly, Nothing is changing for customers who are buyers of Amazon OpenSearch Service?Significant changes are occurring on the open supply front, resulting in a substantial revenue boost for the service. As we propel forward into the future of OpenSearch, our momentum will surge thanks to intensified cooperation and engagement from the community. Ultimately, this will drive value back to our AWS customers through increased efficiency and cost savings.
Amazon OpenSearch Service: The Evolution of Scalable Search
From its inception, Amazon’s primary objective has been to develop OpenSearch as an open-source project. We initiated our project by developing a functional codebase equipped with features for seamless code import and naming conventions. We successfully introduced OpenSearch 1.0 in July 2021 and subsequently rebranded our managed offering as Amazon OpenSearch Service in September of the same year. We launched Amazon OpenSearch Service, offering support for OpenSearch 1.0 as a viable engine option alongside other alternatives.
As our workforce at Amazon developed and innovated within the OpenSearch project, we introduced enhancements to Amazon OpenSearch Service, including support for corresponding versions. At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we leveraged the power of open source by collaborating to publish and discuss concepts, Request for Comments (RFCs), and have requests with the community. As the mission unfolded over time, we successfully integrated neighborhood maintainers and welcomed a diverse array of contributors from both within and outside Amazon Web Services.
As an Amazon OpenSearch Service customer, you’ll seamlessly receive updates and novel feature enhancements directly from the open-source community, effortlessly integrated into our fully managed service. You’ll also capitalise on ongoing innovation driven by our investment in scaling up the mission, its community, and codebase.
The OpenSearch project is gaining significant traction, boasting over 700 million software downloads and collaborating with thousands of contributors and more than 200 dedicated maintainers. The OpenSearch software foundation launched with support from premier members Amazon Web Services (AWS), SAP, and Uber, as well as basic members Aiven, Aryn, Atlassian, Canonical, DigitalOcean, Elastic, Graylog, NetApp, Instaclustr, and Portal26.
Amazon OpenSearch Service: Going ahead
Amazon OpenSearch Service updates its features to enhance search functionality and performance. As a champion of innovation, Amazon remains deeply committed to advancing the OpenSearch project, fostering collaboration through an expanding pool of contributors and maintainers. As this innovation gains momentum, widespread engagement from a global community will accelerate its progress, incorporating diverse perspectives and ideas. At our core lies a steadfast commitment to ensuring that customers continue to enjoy a safe, high-quality, and open supply search and analytics suite, backed by a robust roadmap of innovative and modern advancements. We remain dedicated to working closely with the community, contributing code improvements, and bringing these enhancements to our managed service.
The existing functionality and process of joining or using Amazon OpenSearch Service remains unaffected by this announcement. The Amazon OpenSearch Service is transforming into a fully managed solution, providing seamless access to OpenSearch and OpenSearch Dashboards via service-provided endpoints, in addition to our comprehensive suite of existing managed services? If you’re using Amazon OpenSearch Service, there’s no need to make any changes. No changes will be made to licensing agreements or pricing as a result of transitioning to a new platform.
Amazon will leverage its expertise to drive progress in areas where customers demand the most innovation, including cloud-native technologies for massive-scale distribution, advanced search capabilities, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The Linux Foundation’s involvement may also foster collaboration with other prominent open-source organizations like the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), a key player in driving cloud-native and open-source innovation. Our primary objective remains to tackle the most pressing customer challenges, starting with identifying and addressing the root causes of supply chain disruptions. As a testament to our product’s open-source ethos, we anticipate a vast array of alternatives and look forward to collaborating with our clients to address their challenges through innovative coding solutions.
We have consistently encouraged our clients to participate in the OpenSearch Project. The mission now boasts a thoroughly structured framework for governance and operations, comprising a governing board and technical steering committee, both populated by representatives from diverse professional spheres, including those within and outside Amazon. The governing board assumes responsibility for the mission’s financial and administrative oversight, while the technical steering committee focuses on navigating the project’s technological trajectory. By expanding access to our managed services, you’ll be able to seamlessly integrate your existing knowledge with ours and actively contribute to refining the expertise we utilize. Amazon OpenSearch Service buyers are warmly invited to participate in shaping the future of their experience by providing input – no matter how big or small – through submission of ideas, requesting features, commenting on Requests for Comments (RFCs), and even contributing code.
Conclusion
As a pivotal moment unfolds, the stakes are high for the mission, the community, and Amazon OpenSearch Service alike. As an AWS customer, you won’t need to make any adjustments for usage, nor are there any changes required under the terms of the Apache License, version 2.0, or the pricing structure. By migrating to a Linux foundation, we can leverage the collaborative ethos of open-source software development, fostering a similar sense of community within Amazon OpenSearch Service. As search technology advances, our capacity for grasping complex queries will continue to refine, enabling us to provide more accurate and relevant results.
You can learn more about this on the AWS Open Source blog.
In regards to the creator
He serves as the Director of Options Structure for Search Companies at Amazon Internet Services, with a primary presence in Palo Alto, California. With unwavering dedication, Jon collaborates seamlessly with OpenSearch and Amazon OpenSearch Service, providing expert guidance and support to a diverse range of clients seeking scalable solutions for their search and log analytics workflows within the OpenSearch ecosystem. Prior to joining Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jon’s professional experience as a software development expert spanned four years, during which he worked on developing a comprehensive, large-scale e-commerce search engine. Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. D. With a degree in Laptop Science and Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern University.
