# About DIH

The Micro Focus Distributed Index Handler (DIH) is a distribution server that distributes index actions to IDOL Servers. Distribution enables you to scale your system in a linear manner, increasing the speed of index actions and saving processing time. Distributing the index between multiple copies of IDOL Server can also ensure uninterrupted service if an IDOL Server fails.

The setup of your IDOL Servers is independent of the DIH, because they are architecturally unaware of it.

The DIH can index unstructured, semi-structured, or structured data into the connected IDOL Servers. You can aggregate this data from any type of repository by using IDOL Connectors. Connectors import the data into IDX file format (unless the data is in XML format, which IDOL Server also accepts) and passes it on to the DIH.

In addition to indexing data into the connected IDOL Servers, the DIH can also forward administrative index actions to its child IDOL Servers, for example to:

- activate IDOL Server configuration changes.

- delete content from IDOL Servers.

- create new IDOL Server databases.

- expire documents.

- compact IDOL Servers.

- change field values in IDOL Server documents.

- back up IDOL Servers.

- initialize IDOL Servers.

- validate the subindexes in an IDOL Server.

For details of all the index actions that the DIH accepts, refer to the Distributed Index Handler Reference.

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