Search Tips for the Juniper Networks Knowledge Base
Quick Tips
- The Knowledge Base User Guide [PDF 4MB] contains a walk-through of the KB features and functionality.
- Only KB articles are currently included in the KB search. To search technical product documentation and general www.juniper.net web site content, use the main site search engine or the appropriate application search engine for other Customer Support Center (CSC) applications.
- The ideal KB query will use 7 to 8 terms that are carefully chosen for concise accuracy.
- Be specific and descriptive when building your queries. If you want information on a specific router or firewall, use the product name in your query: for example, "E320" will provide more accurate information than "edge router" or "erx" if you want E320 information.
- Search with phrases that provide context to your question, rather than just using a string of keywords. For example: "how to configure a Layer 2 VPN on a NetScreen 25" will provide better search results than "configure L2 VPN NS25".
- Avoid using extra terms that are not important to the search results. For example, avoid using searches such as "load balancing across MCI and AT&T DSL connections". Instead use "load balancing DSL" for more accurate responses.
- You should not need to use quotation marks to create exact phrases, Boolean operators like AND and OR to include or exclude search terms, minus signs to exclude search terms, and other keyword search engine "tricks". The natural language search engine does support these functions, but it is powerful enough to find the information you're looking for without you telling it how to find the content.
KB Content
The information that appears in the Juniper Networks Knowledge Base currently only includes our traditional KB content---FAQs, articles on troubleshooting, configuration, interoperability, etc.
At this time, the KB search does not include Juniper Networks Technical Bulletins, Customer Cases, Problem Reports (PRs/bugs), technical product documentation, or general www.juniper.net site content. Technical product documentation can be searched on the Techpubs Search Engine, while the CSC applications for Case Manager, JUNOS Defect Search, JUNOSe Defect Search, and Technical Bulletins current employ their own application-specific search engines.
The KB search will be expanded to include these additional data sources in 2006.
KB Functionality
Ask the Knowledge Base
The KB search functions best when you leverage the KB search engine's natural language capabilities. Natural language search engines work best when you enter more text into them to build your queries, and you include context for why you're looking for particular information.
For example, you'll get better results if you search for "how to configure a Layer 2 VPN on a NetScreen 25" than if you searched using "NetScreen firewall vpn layer 2 config" (which is how more traditional keyword search engines prefer you to construct queries). Similarly, if you search for "When would I use the setPath, showPaths, and clearPaths SRP shell commands?" you'll get better search results than if you searched for just "setPath, showPaths, clearPaths SRP shell command".
Use at least three significant words/phrases in your query; ideally you should use 7-8 significant words. In the first example above, "configure", "Layer 2", "VPN", and "NetScreen 25" are the significant words, while "how to" and the two articles "a" are less significant, though still quite useful to the search engine for deriving context, importance, and meaning.
Natural language search engines recognize the relationships between words, as well as their function as verbs and nouns in a phrase or sentence, and that recognition allows natural language search engines to provide more accurate search results than simple keyword search engines. For this reason, you don't need to use various keyword search engine "tricks" like using quotation marks to create exact phrases, using Boolean operators like AND and OR to include and exclude certain words, or minus signs to exclude search terms.
Portlets
Portlets appear in the right navigation on the search results page for any query you execute that includes content links that are relevant to your query. Not all portlets will appear in every query, because portlets contain links that are relevant to your specific query. The types of information within each portlet break down into the following groups:
- Did You Know? and Promote - Did You Know? and Promote portlets provide informational links about products in your query (such as whether a product has been recently EOL'd, for example)
- Feedback - Feedback portlets appear in both the search results pages, as well as in each article. The search results feedback allows you to tell us how well the search engine performed relative to the intent of your query, while feedback on the KB articles enables you to tell us how well the content of an article met your expectations.
- Related Links - The Related Links portlet appears in most product-specific search results, and provides links to commonly-used CSC applications and resources such as technical product documentation, software downloads, Technical Bulletins, and Case Manager.
Managed Answers
Sometimes the KB will provide you with a managed answer, which we consider to be the best possible answer in response to your search terms. Managed answers appear at the top of the search results, and they are styled with a [COLOR] background color in order to help to draw your eye to them.
Some managed answers are related to the KB articles, while others are related to your query itself. For example, if you query the KB using only one or two search terms, we provide a managed answer that advises you to use at least three words in your searches; that managed answer also includes a link to these search tips, so that you can learn how to use the KB most effectively.
Process Wizards
Some KB articles consist of a series of sequential articles that are connected together to as process wizards. Process wizards can walk you through a step-by-step process, whether that process is related to configuration, getting started, or troubleshooting.
You navigate through a process wizard by using the Next and Back buttons; the options you have selected will appear in the left nav of the process wizard, so that you can see the history of your selections.
Once you have completed the final step in a process wizard, the Done button will return you to the main KB home page.
Browse KB Topics
Browse KB Topics in the left nav functions as both a search filter and as a content browser.
KB Topics As Search Filters
As a search filter, you can use the KB topics to narrow your search results. The KB topics group the KB articles using three main content descriptions:
- By Product - sub-topics describe Juniper Networks hardware and software products by product family and operating system
- By Network Technology - sub-topics split network technologies into non-IP protocols, IP protocols, network services, network management, and other networking-specific topics
- By Purpose - describes the intent and focus of the content in a KB article, whether that is configuration, installation, interoperability, licensing and contracts, specifications, or troubleshooting.
As we add content sources to the Knowledge Base, a fourth search filter will be applied to the content, which will enable you to choose content By Source. By Source will enable you to differentiate KB articles, bugs, technical product documentation, technical bulletins and security alerts, and general site content on www.juniper.net based on the content's origin.
As you select and apply a KB topic by clicking on its name, the number of articles associated with each KB topic changes based on your selections, and the search results in the main body of the page recalibrate as well.
If you find that you have narrowed the search too far, you can remove any filter in one of two ways. If you select the red X box to the right of the topic name, that removes the filter selection you have made. In addition, you may "bump" your selection back up a level if you have drilled down too far by clicking on the upward-pointing red arrow to the right of the topic name; this removes the child filter, and applies parent filter to the search results. You may apply more than one content filter at a time.
KB Topics As A Content Browser
You can use the KB topics as a subject-based information browser by drilling down into the topic that you're interested in reading about. As you navigate through the content hierarchy, the search results in the main body of the page will display content associated with the topic you have chosen, and will narrow further based on your additional selections. After your first topic choice, and for each that follows, the numbers to the right of the topic names indicate the number of articles associated with each topic, and the article count will recalibrate based upon your selections. As with search filters, you may browse in multiple topics, and while browsing you may clear selections to broaden your search results by using either the red X box or the upward-pointing red arrows to the right of the topic names.
If you execute a search at any given point from within your browsing session, the search results will start fresh; if you wish to apply filters by selecting topics after you have executed a search, you may do so.
Unable To Find What You're Looking For?
If you're not able to find the content that will answer your question in the KB, please try to rephrase your question. If the KB still doesn't contain the information you want, please consult your appropriate technical product documentation if you haven't already done so.
If you have searched the KB and your product's techpubs content, please let us know that you're not able to find the information you want by sending Feedback to us from either the KB search results or KB article details pages. You may also contact us by opening a Customer Care case in Case Manager, or by calling Customer Care.