Creating and managing an effective search index in Full-Text Search (FTS) production systems is crucial for optimizing indexing and querying performance. Users are encouraged to understand and apply various index management strategies, such as adjusting memory quotas and index partitions, to ensure efficient system operation. Allocating sufficient memory is essential, as inadequate memory can lead to query rejections, slow queries, and increased latency. It's advised to avoid hosting multiple services on a single node to prevent resource contention and to use single-service nodes for easier performance troubleshooting. Index topology considerations, including the number of partitions and replicas, play a significant role in balancing search parallelization and high availability. Adjusting the merge policy for update-heavy workloads can improve disk space reclamation and search performance by managing index segments more effectively. Index aliases provide flexibility in managing index updates without downtime, allowing seamless transitions between index versions. Users are advised to be aware of the implications of index definition updates, as some changes may require a complete index rebuild, affecting live traffic. These operational tips can significantly enhance the performance and reliability of FTS systems.