To enable Full-Text Search in scenarios where .NET Aspire acts as an orchestrator or development environment host, the key point is that FTS is a SQL Server engine-level feature and is directly related to the configuration of the SQL Server instance itself; therefore, the first requirement is to ensure that FTS is available and enabled on the instance to which the Aspire application connects. In practical terms, there are two main paths: either use an external SQL Server instance (VM, managed service, or physical server) on which FTS is installed and started, or the SQL Server instance should be run as an image/container that contains the FTS package (usually the package associated with mssql-server-fts). Once the capable engine is provided, full-text catalogs and indexes should be designed and created at the database level, and then text searches can be performed using the relevant operators and functions.

Infrastructure Prerequisites and Considerations: The user or team must have sufficient administrative access to the SQL Server instance or the ability to build and deploy a custom container image; must be familiar with the full-text structural requirements, including the need for a unique key index for the target table, language/LCID settings for text parsing, and managing stoplists and word breakers for proper behavior in the required languages. It is also essential to understand the limitations and implications of using SQL Server in a containerized environment: The official SQL Server on Linux image typically does not provide FTS by default, and if using a container, the FTS package must be added to the image or an external instance must be used. At the operational level, the necessary planning for data persistence, backup/recovery strategies, and HA/replication solutions in the production environment must also be done, as running SQL Server in a container for production requires careful consideration of I/O, monitoring, and maintenance strategies.

Practical solutions can be divided into two paths: the first path connects to an external SQL Server instance on which FTS is enabled; in this case, the responsibility for installing and maintaining FTS lies with the database management team, and the Aspire project simply connects to that instance. The second path is suitable for a local development environment and involves running SQL Server under Aspire control as a container; in this case, it is necessary to use an image that includes the FTS package or customize the official image by adding the FTS package. In both paths, after starting the engine, the catalog and full-text index definition operations must be performed, and the configurations related to language/stoplist and index population mode must be determined.

Implementation steps and issues to consider after provisioning the engine include: ensuring a suitable unique index exists as a technical key for the full-text index (Full-Text Index requires a single-column unique key), selecting or defining a full-text catalog and, if necessary, a custom stoplist, defining a full-text index on text columns by specifying the appropriate language/LCID for each column so that the corresponding word breaker and stemmer are applied, planning and monitoring the initial indexing process and subsequent population policies (full or incremental) and determining index update methods in response to data changes, and finally validating the performance and accuracy of results through CONTAINS/FREETEXT-based queries and reviewing the query execution plan to ensure proper use of full-text indexes.

Important technical and operational considerations to consider before implementation include: SQL Server version and distribution compatibility with the FTS package in the Linux/container environment (some version/distribution combinations require additional packages or special settings), the requirement to design the database schema to have a proper single-column unique key, configuring port mapping and network and firewall rules for access by management tools (especially in containerized scenarios where orchestration systems may dynamically map ports), capacity and monitoring considerations as full-text indexing can generate significant I/O and CPU load, and examining backup behavior and index rebuild time after restore to reduce downtime risks. Also, if non-English language support is required, appropriate language settings and word breakers for those languages ​​need to be implemented and tested to ensure that search results are accurate and acceptable.

Common troubleshooting points to note include: Failure to detect FTS in a SQL instance is often due to using a container image that does not have the FTS package, and the first step is to check the contents of the packages/features installed on the engine; Unique key errors when defining a full-text index usually indicate the absence of a single-column unique key or the presence of null values ​​in the key column; Poor performance or incomplete search results can be caused by incorrect language/stoplist configuration or incomplete index population; and connectivity issues from outside the container usually stem from port mappings, network rules, or permissions, and the network and orchestration configuration should be checked.

Implementation recommendations and summary: For a local development environment, the fastest and least cumbersome approach is to use a container image that includes mssql-server-fts and configure Aspire to run that image; In this case, be sure to emphasize data persistence (volume), fixed port mapping, and local backup policies so that the development team and management tools have reliable access. For production environments or enterprise-level team use, it is recommended to use managed instances or SQL Server virtual/physical machines that FTS