Troubleshoot the Knowledge Base Indexer

The application logs are the primary diagnostic surface in the Knowledge Base Indexer. Use them with the crawl controls to identify invalid URLs, authentication failures, excessive crawl scope, long processing times, and high resource use.

Review the logs

The logs display:

• URLs being crawled.
• Pages discovered and processed.
• Progress information.
• Errors and warnings.
• Completion status.

Review the logs first when a crawl reports an error or does not behave as expected.

Resolve protected-website authentication problems

Protected website content may require an Authentication URL.

1. Confirm that an Authentication URL is configured.
2. Run the crawl in Discovery Mode.
3. Review the logs for authentication errors or warnings.

Public websites do not require an Authentication URL.

Resolve protected-website authentication problems

Protected website content may require an Authentication URL.

1. Confirm that an Authentication URL is configured.
2. Run the crawl in Discovery Mode.
3. Review the logs for authentication errors or warnings.

Public websites do not require an Authentication URL.

Resolve invalid URL errors

The Indexer accepts only HTTPS URLs.

Check that:

• Each URL begins with https://.
• Each URL appears on a separate line.
• The URL is not a local network address.
• The URL is not a loopback address.
• The URL does not use a restricted IP address.

Local network addresses are blocked as a security measure. Each invalid URL generates an error in the logs.

Correct the URL, then start the crawl again.

Resolve Knowledge Base authentication problems

Upload Mode requires authentication to Knowledge Base in Acrobat.

If authentication fails:

1. Confirm that your Knowledge Base credentials are valid.
2. Clear Discovery Mode.
3. Select the refresh icon next to the collection selector.
4. Complete the authentication process in the browser window.

If the session token expires during an operation, the Indexer attempts to refresh it. Authentication tokens are handled securely and are not stored permanently.

Select Logout to invalidate the current session token.

Resolve protected-website authentication problems

Protected website content may require an Authentication URL.

1. Confirm that an Authentication URL is configured.
2. Run the crawl in Discovery Mode.
3. Review the logs for authentication errors or warnings.

Public websites do not require an Authentication URL.

The destination collection is not listed

The collection list includes only collections where you have write access.

1. Clear Discovery Mode to enable Upload Mode.
2. Select the refresh icon next to the collection selector.
3. Complete authentication when prompted.
4. Confirm that you have write access to the destination collection.
5. Refresh the collection list when needed.

The crawl includes too many pages

Deep crawl settings can cause the Indexer to follow more links than intended.

To reduce the crawl scope:

• Lower Crawl Depth.
• Lower Page Limit.
• Use a starting URL for a specific website section instead of an entire domain.
• Test the revised configuration in Discovery Mode.

The crawl takes too long

Large page limits and deep crawl depths can increase processing time.

Try the following:

• Reduce Page Limit.
• Reduce Crawl Depth.
• Target a smaller website section.
• Review the progress information in the logs.

The computer uses too many resources

Higher worker counts increase parallel processing and resource use.

1. Select Stop to end the current operation.
2. Lower Number of Workers.
3. Start the crawl again.

The default worker count is 4. The recommended range for most systems is 4–8, depending on the number of processor cores.

Best practices

• Start with a shallow crawl depth and a small page limit.
• Test the configuration in Discovery Mode before uploading content.
• Review warnings and errors in the logs.
• Reduce crawl depth or page limit when the crawl scope is too broad.
• Reduce the number of workers when resource use is high.
• Avoid excessive crawling of the same website within a short period.

Things to know

• Select Stop to end the current operation.
• Invalid URLs generate errors in the logs.
• Higher worker counts can improve processing speed but use more system resources.
• Large page limits can extend processing time.
• Deep crawl depths can include more pages than intended.