Separating FAST Search Index files from FASTSearch directory

Many companies separate applications froms its content for performance purposes, storing content/data on fast & easilly expandable storage while maintaining the app itself on separate (fixed size) disks. Although FAST 2010 for SharePoint doesn't provide an installation/configuration option for this, it can be done.


Although the configuration files contain the DATA location somewhere (could be changed easily), changing these files is not supported. The supported approach is moving the DATA folder to a separate volume and joining the new location to the existing application directory by creating a "junction point", as described in Microsoft KB2506015:


The following steps have to be performed on all FAST Servers within the FAST farm:

1. Stop the FAST Search for SharePoint service.
2. Stop the FAST Search for SharePoint Monitoring service.
3. Move %FASTSEARCH%\data to the larger storage you have added.
4. Run the following in a command prompt: mklink /j %FASTSEARCH%\data %NEW_LOCATION%\data
5. Start the FAST Search for SharePoint Service.

When running out of disk space, this is an easy way to get the FAST farm up and running again.