Splunk SPLK-1003 Exam Actual Questions

The correct answer is D. The timezone of the forwarder will be added to the event as part of indexing.

According to the Splunk documentation1, Splunk software determines the time zone to assign to a timestamp using the following logic in order of precedence:

Use the time zone specified in raw event data (for example, PST, -0800), if present.

Use the TZ attribute set in props.conf, if the event matches the host, source, or source type that the stanza specifies.

If the forwarder and the receiving indexer are version 6.0 or higher, use the time zone that the forwarder provides.

Use the time zone of the host that indexes the event.

In this case, the event does not have a time zone specified in the raw data, nor does it have a TZ attribute set in props.conf. Therefore, the next rule applies, which is to use the time zone that the forwarder provides. A universal forwarder is a lightweight agent that can forward data to a Splunk deployment, and it knows its system time zone and sends that information along with the events to the indexer2. The indexer then converts the event time to UTC and stores it in the _time field1.

The other options are incorrect because:

A) Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) is not the time zone that Splunk adds to the event as part of indexing, but rather the time zone that Splunk uses to store the event time in the _time field. Splunk software converts the event time to UTC based on the time zone that it determines from the rules above1.

B) The timezone of the search head is not relevant for indexing, as the search head is a Splunk component that handles search requests and distributes them to indexers, but it does not process incoming data3. The search head uses the user's timezone setting to determine the time range in UTC that should be searched and to display the timestamp of the results in the user's timezone2.

C) The timezone of the indexer that indexed the event is only used as a last resort, if none of the other rules apply. In this case, the forwarder provides the time zone information, so the indexer does not use its own time zone1.

The correct answer is C. Distributed search is the feature that allows search heads in a company's European offices to search data in their New York offices. Distributed search also enables restricting access to certain indexers by using the splunk_server field or the server.conf file1.

Distributed search is a way to scale your Splunk deployment by separating the search management and presentation layer from the indexing and search retrieval layer. With distributed search, a Splunk instance called a search head sends search requests to a group of indexers, or search peers, which perform the actual searches on their indexes. The search head then merges the results back to the user2.

Distributed search has several use cases, such as horizontal scaling, access control, and managing geo-dispersed data. For example, users in different offices can search data across the enterprise or only in their local area, depending on their needs and permissions2.

The other options are incorrect because:

A) Indexer clustering is a feature that replicates data across a group of indexers to ensure data availability and recovery. Indexer clustering does not directly affect distributed search, although search heads can be configured to search across an indexer cluster3.

B) LDAP control is a feature that allows Splunk to integrate with an external LDAP directory service for user authentication and role mapping. LDAP control does not affect distributed search, although it can be used to manage user access to data and searches.

D) Search head clustering is a feature that distributes the search workload across a group of search heads that share resources, configurations, and jobs. Search head clustering does not affect distributed search, although the search heads in a cluster can search across the same set of indexers.

The correct answer is C. On Deployment Server, $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/deployment-apps.

A deployment server is a Splunk Enterprise instance that acts as a centralized configuration manager for any number of other instances, called ''deployment clients''. A deployment client can be a universal forwarder, a non-clustered indexer, or a search head1.

A deployment app is a directory that contains any content that you want to download to a set of deployment clients. The content can include a Splunk Enterprise app, a set of Splunk Enterprise configurations, or other content, such as scripts, images, and supporting files2.

You create a deployment app by creating a directory for it on the deployment server. The default location is $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/deployment-apps, but this is configurable through the repositoryLocation attribute in serverclass.conf. Underneath this location, each app must have its own subdirectory. The name of the subdirectory serves as the app name in the forwarder management interface2.

The other options are incorrect because:

A) On Universal Forwarder, $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps. This is the location where the deployment app resides after it is downloaded from the deployment server to the universal forwarder. It is not the location of the app before it is deployed2.

B) On Deployment Server, $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps. This is the location where the apps that are specific to the deployment server itself reside. It is not the location where the deployment apps for the clients are stored2.

D) On Universal Forwarder, $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/deployment-apps. This is not a valid location for any app on a universal forwarder. The universal forwarder does not act as a deployment server and does not store deployment apps3.

The correct answer is C. MonitorNoHandle.

MonitorNoHandle is a type of input stanza that allows a Splunk forwarder to read files on Windows systems as Windows writes to them. It does this by using a kernel-mode filter driver to capture raw data as it gets written to the file1. This input stanza is useful for files that get locked open for writing, such as the Windows DNS server log file2.

The other options are incorrect because:

A) Tail Reader is not a valid input stanza in Splunk. It is a component of the Tailing Processor, which is responsible for monitoring files and directories for new data3.

B) Upload is a type of input stanza that allows Splunk to index a single file from a local or network file system. It is not suitable for files that are constantly being updated, as it only indexes the file once and does not monitor it for changes4.

D) Monitor is a type of input stanza that allows Splunk to monitor files and directories for new data. However, it may not work for files that Windows prevents Splunk from reading while they are open. In such cases, MonitorNoHandle is a better option2.

A Splunk forwarder is a lightweight agent that can forward data to a Splunk deployment. There are two types of forwarders: universal and heavy. A universal forwarder can only forward data, while a heavy forwarder can also perform parsing, filtering, routing, and aggregation on the data before forwarding it5.

An input stanza is a section in the inputs.conf configuration file that defines the settings for a specific type of input, such as files, directories, network ports, scripts, or Windows event logs. An input stanza starts with a square bracket, followed by the input type and the input path or name. For example, [monitor:///var/log] is an input stanza for monitoring the /var/log directory.

1: Monitor files and directories - Splunk Documentation

2: How to configure props.conf for proper line breaking ... - Splunk Community

3: How Splunk Enterprise monitors files and directories - Splunk Documentation

4: Upload a file - Splunk Documentation

5: Use forwarders to get data into Splunk Enterprise - Splunk Documentation

[6]: inputs.conf - Splunk Documentation

The Data Preview feature should be used when validating the parsing of data. The Data Preview feature allows you to preview how Splunk software will index your data before you commit the data to an index. You can use the Data Preview feature to check the following aspects of data parsing1:

Timestamp recognition: You can verify that Splunk software correctly identifies the timestamps of your events and assigns them to the _time field.

Event breaking: You can verify that Splunk software correctly breaks your data stream into individual events based on the line breaker and should linemerge settings.

Source type assignment: You can verify that Splunk software correctly assigns a source type to your data based on the props.conf file settings. You can also manually override the source type if needed.

Field extraction: You can verify that Splunk software correctly extracts fields from your events based on the transforms.conf file settings. You can also use the Interactive Field Extractor (IFX) to create custom field extractions.

The Data Preview feature is available in Splunk Web under Settings > Data inputs > Data preview. You can access the Data Preview feature when you add a new input or edit an existing input1.

The other options are incorrect because:

A) When extracting fields for ingested data. The Data Preview feature can be used to verify the field extraction for data that has not been ingested yet, but not for data that has already been indexed. To extract fields from ingested data, you can use the IFX or the rex command in the Search app2.

B) When previewing the data before searching. The Data Preview feature does not allow you to search the data, but only to view how it will be indexed. To preview the data before searching, you can use the Search app and specify a time range or a sample ratio.

C) When reviewing data on the source host. The Data Preview feature does not access the data on the source host, but only the data that has been uploaded or monitored by Splunk software. To review data on the source host, you can use the Splunk Universal Forwarder or the Splunk Add-on for Unix and Linux.