Working with paused search index

When you want to know what search is up to, check it out with the management shell and these handy hints I copied in from Microsoft Technet – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn745901(v=office.15).aspx

Run this

$ssa = Get-SPServiceApplication -Name "Search Service Application"

$ssa.IsPaused() -ne 0

 

 

if it returns false, the search application is running, if it returns true, the search application is paused.

These commands are definitely the best way to mine data about your search.

 

Command If the command returns True, the Search service application is paused for this reason: Action
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x01) -ne 0 A change in the number of crawl components or crawl databases is in progress. Wait until the topology change completes.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x02) -ne 0 A backup or restore procedure is in progress. Wait until the backup or restore completes.  After the procedure completes, run the command $ssa.ForceResume(0x02) to verify. For more information, see Restore Search service applications in SharePoint 2013.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x04) -ne 0 A backup of the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is in progress. Wait until the backup completes.  After the VSS backup completes, run the command $ssa.ForceResume(0x02) to verify.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x08) -ne 0 One or more servers in the search topology that host query components are offline. Wait until the servers are available again.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x20) -ne 0 One or more crawl databases in the search topology are being rebalanced. Wait until the operation completes.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x40) -ne 0 One or more link databases in the search topology are being rebalanced. Wait until the operation completes.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x80) -ne 0 An administrator has manually paused the Search service application. If you know the reason, you can resume the Search service application. Run the command $ssa.resume() to resume the Search service application.

If you don’t know the reason, find out why someone has manually paused the Search service application.

($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x100) -ne 0 The search index is being deleted. Wait until the search index is deleted.
($ssa.IsPaused() -band 0x200) -ne 0 The search index is being repartitioned. Wait until the operation completes. For more information, see Manage the index component in SharePoint Server 2013.