Free Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect SPLK-2002 Exam Questions

A multisite indexer cluster is a type of indexer cluster that spans multiple geographic locations or sites. A multisite indexer cluster requires only one cluster manager, also known as the master node, for the entire cluster. The cluster manager is responsible for coordinating the replication and search activities among the peer nodes across all sites. The cluster manager can reside in any site, but it must be accessible by all peer nodes and search heads in the cluster. Option C is the correct answer. Option A is incorrect because having two cluster managers for the entire cluster would introduce redundancy and complexity. Option B is incorrect because having one cluster manager for each site would create separate clusters, not a multisite cluster.Option D is incorrect because having two cluster managers for each site would be unnecessary and inefficient12

1: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Indexer/Multisiteoverview2: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Indexer/Clustermanageroverview

As per Splunk Enterprise Search Performance documentation, the most significant factor affecting search performance when querying across a large number of buckets is disk I/O throughput. A search that spans ''All Time'' forces Splunk to inspect all historical buckets (hot, warm, cold, and potentially frozen if thawed), even if only a few events match the query. This dramatically increases the amount of data read from disk, making the search bound by I/O performance rather than CPU or memory.

Increasing the number of indexing pipelines (Option B) only benefits data ingestion, not search performance. Changing to a real-time search (Option D) does not help because real-time searches are optimized for streaming new data, not historical queries. The indexed_realtime_use_by_default setting (Option C) applies only to streaming indexed real-time searches, not historical ''All Time'' searches.

To improve performance for such searches, Splunk documentation recommends enhancing disk I/O capability --- typically through SSD storage, increased disk bandwidth, or optimized storage tiers. Additionally, creating summary indexes or accelerated data models may help for repeated ''All Time'' queries, but the most direct improvement comes from faster disk performance since Splunk must scan large numbers of buckets for even small result sets.

Reference (Splunk Enterprise Documentation):

* Search Performance Tuning and Optimization

* Understanding Bucket Search Mechanics and Disk I/O Impact

* limits.conf Parameters for Search Performance

* Storage and Hardware Sizing Guidelines for Indexers and Search Heads

Splunk configuration files are files that contain settings that control various aspects of Splunk behavior, such as data inputs, outputs, indexing, searching, clustering, and so on1. Troubleshooting Splunk configuration files involves identifying and resolving issues that affect the functionality or performance of Splunk due to incorrect or conflicting configuration settings. Some of the tools and methods that can help with troubleshooting Splunk configuration files are:

search.log: This is a file that contains detailed information about the execution of a search, such as the search pipeline, the search commands, the search results, the search errors, and the search performance2.This file can help troubleshoot issues related to search configuration, such as props.conf, transforms.conf, macros.conf, and so on3.

btool output: This is a command-line tool that displays the effective configuration settings for a given Splunk component, such as inputs, outputs, indexes, props, and so on4.This tool can help troubleshoot issues related to configuration precedence, inheritance, and merging, as well as identify the source of a configuration setting5.

diagnostic logs: These are files that contain information about the Splunk system, such as the Splunk version, the operating system, the hardware, the license, the indexes, the apps, the users, the roles, the permissions, the configuration files, the log files, and the metrics6.These files can help troubleshoot issues related to Splunk installation, deployment, performance, and health7.

Option A is the correct answer because crash logs are the least helpful in troubleshooting Splunk configuration files.Crash logs are files that contain information about the Splunk process when it crashes, such as the stack trace, the memory dump, and the environment variables8.These files can help troubleshoot issues related to Splunk stability, reliability, and security, but not necessarily related to Splunk configuration9.

1:About configuration files - Splunk Documentation2:Use the search.log file - Splunk Documentation3:Troubleshoot search-time field extraction - Splunk Documentation4:Use btool to troubleshoot configurations - Splunk Documentation5:Troubleshoot configuration issues - Splunk Documentation6:About the diagnostic utility - Splunk Documentation7:Use the diagnostic utility - Splunk Documentation8:About crash logs - Splunk Documentation9: [Troubleshoot Splunk Enterprise crashes - Splunk Documentation]

Thedeployeris a Splunk Enterprise instance that distributes apps and other configurations to the members of asearch head cluster1.

The deployercannotshare functionality with any other Splunk Enterprise instance, including thelicense master, themaster node, or themonitoring console2.

However, thesearch head cluster memberscan share functionality with themaster nodeand themonitoring console, as long as they are not designated as thecaptainof the cluster3.

Therefore, the correct answer is B. License master, as it is the only instance that cannot share functionality with the deployer under any circumstances.

The tailing_processor.log file would be the best place to search if you suspect there is a problem interpreting a regular expression in a monitor stanza. This log file contains information about how Splunk monitors files and directories, including any errors or warnings related to parsing the monitor stanza. The splunkd.log file contains general information about the Splunk daemon, but it may not have the specific details about the monitor stanza. The btool.log file contains information about the configuration files, but it does not log the runtime behavior of the monitor stanza. The metrics.log file contains information about the performance metrics of Splunk, but it does not log the event breaking issues. For more information, seeAbout Splunk Enterprise loggingin the Splunk documentation.

The splunk_instrumentation.log file is the least helpful in troubleshooting a crash, because it contains information about the Splunk Instrumentation feature, which collects and sends usage data to Splunk Inc. for product improvement purposes. This file does not contain any information about the Splunk processes, errors, or crashes.The other options are more helpful in troubleshooting a crash, because they contain relevant information about the Splunk daemon, the standard error output, and the crash report12

1: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Troubleshooting/WhatSplunklogsaboutitself#splunk_instrumentation.log2: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Troubleshooting/WhatSplunklogsaboutitself#splunkd_stderr.log

A search head cluster is a group of Splunk Enterprise search heads that share configurations, job scheduling, and search artifacts1.The deployer is a Splunk Enterprise instance that distributes apps and other configurations to the cluster members1.The local folder of each Splunk app contains the custom configurations that override the default settings2.The default folder of each Splunk app contains the default configurations that are provided by the app2.

By default, when the deployer pushes an app to the search head cluster, it merges the local folder of the app into the default folder and deploys the merged folder to the search heads3. This means that the custom configurations in the local folder will take precedence over the default settings in the default folder.However, this also means that the local folder of the app on the search heads will be empty, unless the app is modified through the search head UI3.

Option B is the correct answer because it reflects the default behavior of the deployer when pushing apps to the search head cluster. Option A is incorrect because the local folder is not copied to the local folder on the search heads, but merged into the default folder. Option C is incorrect because all the .conf files in the local folder are deployed to the search heads, not only certain ones. Option D is incorrect because the local folder is not ignored, but merged into the default folder.

1:Search head clustering architecture - Splunk Documentation2:About configuration files - Splunk Documentation3:Use the deployer to distribute apps and configuration updates - Splunk Documentation

The correct configuration attribute to set in server.conf on the cluster manager in a single-site indexer cluster ismaster_uri.This attribute specifies the URI of the cluster manager, which is required for the peer nodes and search heads to communicate with it1. The other attributes are not required for a single-site indexer cluster, but they are used for a multisite indexer cluster.The site attribute defines the site name for each node in a multisite indexer cluster2.The replication_factor attribute defines the number of copies of each bucket to maintain across the entire multisite indexer cluster3.The site_replication_factor attribute defines the number of copies of each bucket to maintain across each site in a multisite indexer cluster4. Therefore, option A is the correct answer, and options B, C, and D are incorrect.

1: Configure the cluster manager2: Configure the site attribute3: Configure the replication factor4: Configure the site replication factor

A lookup table is a file that contains a list of values that can be used to enrich or modify the data during search time1.Lookup tables can be stored in CSV files or in the KV Store1. Troubleshooting lookup tables involves identifying and resolving issues that prevent the lookup tables from being accessed, updated, or applied correctly by the Splunk searches. Some of the tools and methods that can help with troubleshooting lookup tables are:

web_access.log: This is a file that contains information about the HTTP requests and responses that occur between the Splunk web server and the clients2.This file can help troubleshoot issues related to lookup table permissions, availability, and errors, such as 404 Not Found, 403 Forbidden, or 500 Internal Server Error34.

btool output: This is a command-line tool that displays the effective configuration settings for a given Splunk component, such as inputs, outputs, indexes, props, and so on5.This tool can help troubleshoot issues related to lookup table definitions, locations, and precedence, as well as identify the source of a configuration setting6.

search.log: This is a file that contains detailed information about the execution of a search, such as the search pipeline, the search commands, the search results, the search errors, and the search performance. This file can help troubleshoot issues related to lookup table commands, arguments, fields, and outputs, such as lookup, inputlookup, outputlookup, lookup_editor, and so on .

Option B is the correct answer because web_access.log is the best place to start troubleshooting lookup table issues, as it can provide the most relevant and immediate information about the lookup table access and status. Option A is incorrect because btool output is not a log file, but a command-line tool. Option C is incorrect because health.log is a file that contains information about the health of the Splunk components, such as the indexer cluster, the search head cluster, the license master, and the deployment server. This file can help troubleshoot issues related to Splunk deployment health, but not necessarily related to lookup tables. Option D is incorrect because configuration_change.log is a file that contains information about the changes made to the Splunk configuration files, such as the user, the time, the file, and the action. This file can help troubleshoot issues related to Splunk configuration changes, but not necessarily related to lookup tables.

1:About lookups - Splunk Documentation2:web_access.log - Splunk Documentation3:Troubleshoot lookups to the Splunk Enterprise KV Store4:Troubleshoot lookups in Splunk Enterprise Security - Splunk Documentation5:Use btool to troubleshoot configurations - Splunk Documentation6:Troubleshoot configuration issues - Splunk Documentation:Use the search.log file - Splunk Documentation:Troubleshoot search-time field extraction - Splunk Documentation: [Troubleshoot lookups - Splunk Documentation] : [health.log - Splunk Documentation] : [configuration_change.log - Splunk Documentation]

The algorithm used to determine captaincy in a Splunk search head cluster is Raft distributed consensus. Raft is a consensus algorithm that is used to elect a leader among a group of nodes in a distributed system. In a Splunk search head cluster, Raft is used to elect a captain among the cluster members. The captain is the cluster member that is responsible for coordinating the search activities, replicating the configurations and apps, and pushing the knowledge bundles to the search peers. The captain is dynamically elected based on various criteria, such as CPU load, network latency, and search load. The captain can change over time, depending on the availability and performance of the cluster members.Rapt, Rift, and Round-robin are not valid algorithms for determining captaincy in a Splunk search head cluster

In Splunk Enterprise, manually editing the serverclass.conf file on a Deployment Server can lead to the loss of UI edit functionality for server classes in Splunk Web.

The Deployment Server manages app distribution to Universal Forwarders and other deployment clients through server classes, which are defined in serverclass.conf. This file maps deployment clients to specific app configurations and defines filtering rules, restart behaviors, and inclusion/exclusion criteria.

When this configuration file is modified manually (outside of Splunk Web), the syntax, formatting, or logical relationships between entries may not match what Splunk Web expects. As a result, Splunk Web may no longer be able to parse or display those server classes correctly. Once this happens, administrators cannot modify deployment settings through the GUI until the configuration file is corrected or reverted to a valid state.

Other files such as deploymentclient.conf, inputs.conf, and deploymentserver.conf control client settings, data inputs, and core server parameters but do not affect the UI-driven deployment management functionality.

Therefore, Splunk explicitly warns administrators in its Deployment Server documentation to use Splunk Web or the CLI when modifying serverclass.conf, and to avoid manual editing unless fully confident in its syntax.

Reference (Splunk Enterprise Documentation):

* Deployment Server Overview -- Managing Server Classes and App Deployment

* serverclass.conf Reference and Configuration Best Practices

* Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual -- GUI Limitations After Manual Edits

* Troubleshooting Deployment Server and Serverclass Configuration Issues

The index=_internal component=DC* host=<uf> search will show all deployment client messages from the universal forwarder. The component field indicates the type of Splunk component that generated the message, and the host field indicates the host name of the machine that sent the message. The index=_audit component=DC* host=<uf> search will not return any results, because the deployment client messages are not stored in the _audit index. The index=_internal component=DS* host=<ds> search will show the deployment server messages from the deployment server, not the client.The index=_audit component=DS* host=<ds> search will also not return any results, for the same reason as above

Splunk Deployment Server documentation clearly states that server class scalability is a primary factor in managing large numbers of forwarders. Each server class contains one or more apps and targets a set of deployment clients. Splunk recommends limiting the number of deployment clients per server class to maintain responsiveness and avoid configuration bottlenecks.

For large environments with tens of thousands of forwarders, Splunk explicitly advises splitting deployment clients across multiple server classes, typically in blocks of several thousand clients per class. This ensures that the Deployment Server can efficiently process configuration bundles, client check-ins, and app updates without delays or timeouts.

Increasing the phone-home interval (option A) may reduce check-in frequency but does not address server class scalability. Workload management (option B) is unrelated to Deployment Server operations. Reducing polling intervals (option C) actually increases load and is discouraged at scale.

Therefore, ensuring that server classes do not exceed approximately 5,000 deployment clients is the correct and recommended approach.

Splunk Deployment Server Manual; Forwarder Management at Scale; Deployment Server Performance Best Practices.

Splunk Enterprise licensing is based on the amount of data that is ingested and indexed by the Splunk platform per day1.The data that counts against the license is the data that is stored in the indexes that are visible to the users and searchable by the Splunk software2.The indexes that are visible and searchable by default are the main index and any custom indexes that are created by the users or the apps3.The main index is the default index where Splunk Enterprise stores all data, unless otherwise specified4.

Option B is the correct answer because the data for the main index will count against the ingest-based license, as it is a visible and searchable index by default. Option A is incorrect because the summary index is a special type of index that stores the results of scheduled reports or accelerated data models, which do not count against the license. Option C is incorrect because the _metrics index is an internal index that stores metrics data about the Splunk platform performance, which does not count against the license. Option D is incorrect because the _introspection index is another internal index that stores data about the impact of the Splunk software on the host system, such as CPU, memory, disk, and network usage, which does not count against the license.

1:How Splunk Enterprise licensing works - Splunk Documentation2:What data counts against my license? - Splunk Documentation3: [About indexes and indexers - Splunk Documentation]4: [The main index - Splunk Documentation] : [Summary indexing - Splunk Documentation] : [About metrics indexes - Splunk Documentation] : [About the Monitoring Console - Splunk Documentation]

The following may explain the problem of why a colleague cannot see the src_ip field in their search results: The field was extracted as a private knowledge object, and the colleague did not explicitly use the field in the search and the search was set to Fast Mode. A knowledge object is a Splunk entity that applies some knowledge or intelligence to the data, such as a field extraction, a lookup, or a macro. A knowledge object can have different permissions, such as private, app, or global. A private knowledge object is only visible to the user who created it, and it cannot be shared with other users. A field extraction is a type of knowledge object that extracts fields from the raw data at index time or search time. If a field extraction is created as a private knowledge object, then only the user who created it can see the extracted field in their search results. A search mode is a setting that determines how Splunk processes and displays the search results, such as Fast, Smart, or Verbose. Fast mode is the fastest and most efficient search mode, but it also limits the number of fields and events that are displayed. Fast mode only shows the default fields, such as _time, host, source, sourcetype, and _raw, and any fields that are explicitly used in the search. If a field is not used in the search and it is not a default field, then it will not be shown in Fast mode. The events are tagged as communicate, but are missing the network tag, and the Typing Queue, which does regular expression replacements, is blocked, are not valid explanations for the problem. Tags are labels that can be applied to fields or field values to make them easier to search. Tags do not affect the visibility of fields, unless they are used as filters in the search. The Typing Queue is a component of the Splunk data pipeline that performs regular expression replacements on the data, such as replacing IP addresses with host names.The Typing Queue does not affect the field extraction process, unless it is configured to do so