Install plugins with shell script es-plugins.sh under elasticsearch root directory.
Run ./elasticsearch (with optional heapsize settings: -Xmx2G -Xms2G)
Go to http://:9200/_plugin/HQ to see cluster status
Backup
Register a repository with a PUT to /_snapshot/<REPO_NAME> with body as in repo_s3_register.json
Make a POST to /_snapshot/<REPO_NAME>/<SNAPSHOT_NAME> with optional body as in backup_settings.json. Add ?wait_for_completion=true if you want to wait & see backup summary
Restore
If on another machine/cluster register a repository with a PUT to /_snapshot/<REPO_NAME> with body as in repo_s3_register.json
View available snapshots by GET to /_snapshot/<REPO_NAME>/_all
Make a POST to /_snapshot/<REPO_NAME>/<SNAPSHOT_NAME>/_restore with optional body as in restore_settings.json. Add ?wait_for_completion=true if you want to wait & see restore summary
Note that searching will not be available on under-recovery shards.
Search
Basic queries can be done via GET to /<INDEX_NAME>/<DOC_TYPE>/_search?q=<FIELD_NAME>:<SEARCH_KEYWORD>
Complex queries must be done by POST to /<INDEX_NAME>/<DOC_TYPE>/_search with a body carrying specifications