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Define and disambiguate Elasticsearch in glossary #4031

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Define and disambiguate Elasticsearch in glossary
leemthompo Nov 21, 2025
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precision, use glossary link for spaces
leemthompo Nov 21, 2025
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leemthompo Nov 21, 2025
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22 changes: 21 additions & 1 deletion reference/glossary/index.md
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$$$glossary-elastic-stack$$$ {{stack}}
: Also known as the *ELK Stack*, the {{stack}} is the combination of various Elastic products that integrate for a scalable and flexible way to manage your data.

$$$glossary-elasticsearch$$$ {{es}}
: The open source search and analytics engine, data store, and vector database which is the core of the [{{stack}}](#glossary-elastic-stack) and powers the Elastic platform.
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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025

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🤔 what if this glossary definition just had all of the disambiguation stuff in it? elasticsearch might mean any of these things: ...

:::{admonition} Disambiguation
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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025

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nitpick: disambiguation is a big word. how does "What else can Elasticsearch mean?" or something a little friendlier strike you?

The term "{{es}}" has several meanings depending on the context in which it is used.

**The standalone software**
- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).
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@lcawl lcawl Nov 21, 2025

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Is project intentional here?

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- The [`elasticsearch` open source project](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).
- The [`elasticsearch` open source product](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a standalone piece of software. Pre-built artifacts are available for download and installation from [elastic.co](https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch), or you can build from source. Learn more about [deploying a self-managed cluster](/deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).

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@leemthompo leemthompo Nov 21, 2025

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it was intentional, but maybe we don't need to mention either project or product here

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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025

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is it important that we hint about methods of installation at this stage? for our own disambiguation needs, I think we need to get across that it is:

  • an analytics engine/data store/vector DB
  • an installable piece of software
  • a component of our platform / the elastic stack

- An `elasticsearch` [node](#glossary-node) is a running instance of the software, which can be part of a [cluster](#glossary-cluster) and exposes REST API endpoints. Refer to the [reference documentation](elasticsearch://reference/elasticsearch/index.md) for usage details.
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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025 •
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I don't think we refer to nodes as "elasticsearch". we're more likely to refer to a cluster as "elasticsearch". would suggest removing this, and, in the definition above, we could say that it is distributable and link out to the architecture docs

also think that throwing to the reference docs does not help the user at this stage


<br>
**The project type / solution view**
- {{es}} is the name of a [project type (or solution view)](/solutions/search.md) that includes UI features tailored for general-purpose search use cases:
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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025

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do we need to specify that what it brings is UI features? could we just say "that is tailored for x"?

consider splitting this in two and defining them separately to reduce mental load

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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025

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looking at this again, I see what you wrapped them together (to connect them well to the search solution section). I still think we should split them and just link to the search section on general-purpose search use cases or something instead in each definition perhaps

- {{es}} is the name of a **project** type on {{serverless-full}}.
- {{es}} is the name of a **solution** in {{stack}} deployments. Each [space](#glossary-space) has its own navigation or "solution view".

<br>
**The platform**
- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.
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@lcawl lcawl Nov 21, 2025

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IMO this is the piece that still needs refinement since it's not clear on that site how the "platform" concept overlaps with the Stack or the deployment types.

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- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.
- The {{es}} [platform](https://www.elastic.co/platform) (also known as the Elastic platform or Search AI Platform) refers to various {{stack}} components deployed together with additional management affordances to power Elastic's managed services.

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@leemthompo leemthompo Nov 21, 2025

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yeah we shouldn't link there, this is all mainly food for thought, but perhaps if we define "platform" satisfactorily in the glossary too, we can just link to that definition here and reuse it when we revisit the fundamentals or wherever we explain the platform more thoroughly

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@shainaraskas shainaraskas Nov 21, 2025 •
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consider rolling stack into this (another former/current name of the platform, currently the docs name for the versioned platform)

:::

$$$glossary-elasticsearch-service$$$ Elasticsearch Service
: The former name of {{ech}}, which is the official hosted {{stack}} offering, from the makers of {{es}}. Available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering on different cloud platforms, such as AWS, GCP, and Microsoft Azure.

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: In {{ecloud}}, the application of a rolling update on your deployment without actually applying any configuration changes. This type of update can be useful to resolve certain health warnings.

$$$glossary-node$$$ node
: 1. A single {{es}} server. One or more nodes can form a [cluster](/reference/glossary/index.md#glossary-cluster). See [Clusters, nodes, and shards](/deploy-manage/production-guidance/elasticsearch-in-production-environments.md).
: 1. A single [{{es}}](#glossary-elasticsearch) server. One or more nodes can form a [cluster](/reference/glossary/index.md#glossary-cluster). See [Clusters, nodes, and shards](/deploy-manage/production-guidance/elasticsearch-in-production-environments.md).

Check notice on line 566 in reference/glossary/index.md

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GitHub Actions / vale 

Elastic.WordChoice: Consider using 'refer to (if it's a document), view (if it's a UI element)' instead of 'See', unless the term is in the UI.
2. In {{eck}}, it can refer to either an [Elasticsearch Node](elasticsearch://reference/elasticsearch/configuration-reference/node-settings.md) or a [Kubernetes Node](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/architecture/nodes/) depending on the context. ECK maps an Elasticsearch node to a Kubernetes Pod which can get scheduled onto any available Kubernetes node that can satisfy the [resource requirements](/deploy-manage/deploy/cloud-on-k8s/manage-compute-resources.md) and [node constraints](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/assign-pod-node/) defined in the [pod template](/deploy-manage/deploy/cloud-on-k8s/customize-pods.md).

$$$NodeSet$$$NodeSet
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