- Coverage by target cloud
- How the targets compare
- On Google Cloud, Azure, and Private Kubernetes
- On Google Cloud
- On Azure
- On OCI
Coverage by target cloud
How the targets compare
Each row compares a capability of OpenSearch Domain with its adaptation on each target. A dash means this row is not stated for that target.Infrastructure-only adaptation
On Google Cloud, Azure, and Private Kubernetes
Via OpenSearch
OpenSearch in the customer cluster
Tensor9 provisions OpenSearch on Kubernetes through an OpenSearchCluster resource or Helm chart and configures the application endpoint. Document and search requests go directly to the cluster’s OpenSearch API. The customer operates the cluster and its storage.
Engine and plugin compatibility
The target runs the OpenSearch engine and its bundled plugins. The listed document, index, search, aggregation, ingest and scripting operations retain their OpenSearch APIs. Match the engine and plugin versions to the application; sharing an engine name does not make different versions byte-identical. The distribution includes k-NN vector search, SQL, PPL, Index State Management, Alerting, Anomaly Detection and ML Commons. Their native _plugins APIs run on the cluster. Elasticsearch licensing endpoints _license and _xpack are not OpenSearch APIs.Topology and access
Define node pools with CPU, memory and PersistentVolume capacity. A dedicated cluster_manager pool maintains the cluster quorum; use at least three eligible nodes and distribute replicas across failure domains. OpenSearch renamed the master role to cluster_manager in version 2.0. Configure shard allocation and plan rolling upgrades for the selected version. The OpenSearch Security plugin controls roles, role mappings and internal users, including supported SAML, OIDC or LDAP sign-in and document- or field-level access. Translate AWS IAM-based access into this configuration. Replace bootstrap certificates and default credentials before exposing the cluster.Storage and recovery
PersistentVolumes and their StorageClasses determine disk capacity, IOPS and encryption. They do not inherit a domain-specific AWS KMS key setting. Availability depends on node placement, quorum and index replicas; the self-managed cluster has no managed uptime SLA. Register a snapshot repository and schedule creation and retention with OpenSearch Snapshot Management. An S3-compatible repository requires the repository-s3 plugin and object-store endpoint configuration. Keep backups outside the cluster’s failure domain and verify a restore. OpenSearch Snapshot Management is distinct from Elasticsearch Snapshot Lifecycle Management.Migration and operation
The cluster starts empty. Restore a compatible snapshot or reindex from the source, then verify index mappings and queries before cutover. Size shards, replicas and storage for the workload; shard sizes in the tens of gigabytes are a starting point to evaluate, not a fixed limit. The customer operates Kubernetes capacity, storage expansion, cluster health, upgrades and snapshots. Tensor9 provisions the deployment and endpoint; it does not add a query proxy or a managed durability guarantee.On Google Cloud
Via Elastic Cloud (managed)
OpenSearch requests on Elasticsearch
Elastic Cloud Hosted runs Elasticsearch 8.x. The Tensor9 adapter accepts the application’s OpenSearch requests, translates supported APIs and authentication, and sends them to the managed Elasticsearch endpoint. Tensor9 provisions an ec_deployment in the customer’s Google Cloud environment. Elastic operates Elasticsearch and Kibana; the customer selects the deployment configuration.
Core requests and authentication
The adapter forwards the supported document, search, aggregation, index, cluster, ingest and scripting operations. It translates request and response differences, including the point-in-time path from _search/point_in_time to _pit. AWS SigV4 authentication is checked by the adapter; target requests use Elastic credentials or API keys. Configure target permissions in Elastic’s security model. Elasticsearch 8.x provides compatible-with=7 headers for its earlier REST API contract. The adapter uses that facility where applicable, alongside the required translations. It does not make every OpenSearch request or client version compatible. Validate the application’s queries, response parsing and client behavior against the listed operations. See Elastic’s API compatibility documentation.Plugin translations
OpenSearch and Elasticsearch use different plugin APIs. The mapping translates k-NN vector mappings from knn_vector to dense_vector and converts the query to Elasticsearch’s knn form. SQL requests move from _plugins/_sql to _sql with translated response fields. Index State Management policies map to Elasticsearch Index Lifecycle Management where their actions can be represented. Custom ISM states and transitions do not round-trip through ILM’s fixed phases. The described alerting, anomaly-detection and machine-learning mappings use Elasticsearch _watcher and _ml capabilities. Some need a paid Elastic subscription. The operation table separates those translations from excluded APIs: PPL, the OpenSearch Security API, notifications and observability objects remain outside the mapping. Elasticsearch _license and _xpack are not OpenSearch APIs.Deployment and availability
The ec_deployment resource exposes hot, warm, cold and frozen tiers, instance size, one to three availability zones, and per-tier autoscaling. Storage is bundled at the selected tier’s disk-to-memory ratio. The subscription determines commercial features and the applicable availability commitment. Elastic Cloud publishes monthly availability commitments of 99.5%, 99.9% and 99.95% for one-, two- and three-zone deployments, subject to the subscription and high-availability conditions. Choose topology and subscription together. The target uses Elastic security configuration, API keys and single sign-on rather than OpenSearch Security roles. Document- and field-level security and other commercial features depend on the purchased subscription. The hosted offering’s subscription conditions apply regardless of the source-code license. Elastic added an AGPLv3 option for the free source portions in 2024; see its licensing FAQ.Snapshots and migration
The deployment starts empty. Move data with a compatible remote reindex or bulk export/import workflow; do not assume an OpenSearch snapshot restores across the engine fork. Review mappings, analyzers and index settings before loading data, and verify representative queries before switching traffic. Elastic Snapshot Lifecycle Management controls target backup schedules and retention. Preserve the application’s recovery requirements when replacing AWS-managed snapshots. The adapter does not translate OpenSearch Security configuration, PPL or notification/observability objects; these need target-native configuration or an application change.Sizing and performance
Choose shard layout, replicas, data tiers and memory for the application’s indexing and query workload. Published engine benchmarks describe their particular versions and datasets; they do not measure this adaptation. Measure the deployed application, including translated operations, when selecting capacity.On Azure
Via Azure Native Elastic
OpenSearch requests on Elasticsearch
Azure Native Elastic runs Elasticsearch 8.x. The Tensor9 adapter accepts the application’s OpenSearch requests, translates supported APIs and authentication, and sends them to the managed Elasticsearch endpoint. Tensor9 provisions the Elastic resource in the customer’s Azure tenant through the Azure Native integration. Elastic operates Elasticsearch; the resource is purchased and billed through the customer’s Azure subscription.
Core requests and authentication
The adapter forwards the supported document, search, aggregation, index, cluster, ingest and scripting operations. It translates request and response differences, including the point-in-time path from _search/point_in_time to _pit. AWS SigV4 authentication is checked by the adapter; target requests use Elastic credentials or API keys. Configure target permissions in Elastic’s security model. Elasticsearch 8.x provides compatible-with=7 headers for its earlier REST API contract. The adapter uses that facility where applicable, alongside the required translations. It does not make every OpenSearch request or client version compatible. Validate the application’s queries, response parsing and client behavior against the listed operations. See Elastic’s API compatibility documentation.Plugin translations
OpenSearch and Elasticsearch use different plugin APIs. The mapping translates k-NN vector mappings from knn_vector to dense_vector and converts the query to Elasticsearch’s knn form. SQL requests move from _plugins/_sql to _sql with translated response fields. Index State Management policies map to Elasticsearch Index Lifecycle Management where their actions can be represented. Custom ISM states and transitions do not round-trip through ILM’s fixed phases. The described alerting, anomaly-detection and machine-learning mappings use Elasticsearch _watcher and _ml capabilities. Some need a paid Elastic subscription. The operation table separates those translations from excluded APIs: PPL, the OpenSearch Security API, notifications and observability objects remain outside the mapping. Elasticsearch _license and _xpack are not OpenSearch APIs.Deployment and availability
The Azure resource does not expose the full deployment topology. Set size and topology in the Elastic Cloud console. The documented default is 16 GB RAM, 560 GB storage and two availability zones, with instances up to 256 GB RAM. The subscription determines commercial features and the applicable availability commitment. Elastic Cloud publishes monthly availability commitments of 99.5%, 99.9% and 99.95% for one-, two- and three-zone deployments, subject to the subscription and high-availability conditions. Choose topology and subscription together. The target uses Elastic security configuration, API keys and single sign-on rather than OpenSearch Security roles. Document- and field-level security and other commercial features depend on the purchased subscription. The hosted offering’s subscription conditions apply regardless of the source-code license. Elastic added an AGPLv3 option for the free source portions in 2024; see its licensing FAQ.Snapshots and migration
The deployment starts empty. Move data with a compatible remote reindex or bulk export/import workflow; do not assume an OpenSearch snapshot restores across the engine fork. Review mappings, analyzers and index settings before loading data, and verify representative queries before switching traffic. Elastic Snapshot Lifecycle Management controls target backup schedules and retention. Preserve the application’s recovery requirements when replacing AWS-managed snapshots. The adapter does not translate OpenSearch Security configuration, PPL or notification/observability objects; these need target-native configuration or an application change.Sizing and performance
Choose shard layout, replicas, data tiers and memory for the application’s indexing and query workload. Published engine benchmarks describe their particular versions and datasets; they do not measure this adaptation. Measure the deployed application, including translated operations, when selecting capacity.On OCI
OpenSearch managed by Oracle
Tensor9 provisions OCI Search with OpenSearch in the customer’s Oracle Cloud tenancy and configures the application to use its opensearch_fqdn endpoint. Document and search requests reach the managed cluster directly. Oracle operates the OpenSearch service.
