Connecting to a Milvus content repository

Update Milvus settings

To change the settings of the Milvus content repository:

1. Go to the Knowledge section.
2. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) next to the selected knowledge source.
3. Select Edit details and update the configuration.
4. Save your settings.

Delete Milvus repository

To delete a Milvus content repository:

1. Go to the Knowledge section.
2. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) next to the selected knowledge source.
3. Click Remove.

Update Milvus authentication credentials

IBM watsonx.data version 2.3 removes the default Milvus username ibmlhapikey. If you use Milvus with watsonx Orchestrate agent knowledge or watsonx Assistant search integration, update your connection by 10 December 2025 to avoid critical service interruptions.

The following are the steps to update your credentials:

Define filter expressions

In the Advanced Milvus settings section, you can configure the custom filter to query results from Milvus. This following example shows how you can define a filter expression:

• Contains: Returns only the search results with title that contains the word action. Example:

  title like "%action%"
  

• Doesn't contain: Returns only the search results with title not containing the word action. Example:

  not (title like "%action%")
  

• Nested filter expression: Returns only the search results with the title that contains the word "action" and the url being one of ["www.url1.com", "www.url2.com"]. Example:

  (title like "%action%") and (url in ["www.url1.com", "www.url2.com"])
  

Pass context variables

You can make your filters dynamic by referencing context variables in your Milvus filter templates. This enables runtime substitution of values based on user or session context, making your queries more flexible and personalized.

How it works

• In your content repository, set up filters and reference context variables in the format: {context_var}
• When the agent runs, it fetches context from:
  • The runs endpoint payload, or
  • The JWT token associated with the session
• The knowledge runtime replaces the context variables in your filter template with actual values from the context

Example for Milvus filter substitution

The example includes:

• filter: A template with references to context variables, entered in the filter field for dynamic substitution.

• final_filter: The template after replacing context variables with actual values. The query is sent to Milvus for data retrieval.

• context_variable: A set of key-value pairs defining the context variables used in substitution.

Example:

    filter = "(title like \"%{action}%\") and (url in {url})"
    context_variable = {"action": "send-email", "url": ["a.com", "b.com"]}
    final_filter = "(title like \"%send-email%\") and (url in [\"a.com\", \"b.com\"])"

Manage collections with aliases

Use an alias to separate your application logic from a specific collection name. This approach helps you update collections without downtime or changes to your client configuration.

For example, if your application queries a collection called prod_data, you can update the underlying data without interrupting the service. Do the following steps:

1. Create a new collection: Create a new collection such as prod_data_v2.

2. Prepare the data: Load and index your data in prod_data_v2.

3. Switch the alias: When the collection is ready, reassign the alias prod_data from the old collection to the new one.

Your application continues to query prod_data without needing to know the physical collection name. This method supports seamless updates and simplifies tasks such as blue-green deployments. For more information, see Why Use an Alias?