According to the Splunk blog1, the Universal Forwarder is ideal for collecting data from high-velocity data sources, such as a syslog server, due to its smaller footprint and faster performance. The Universal Forwarder performs minimal processing and sends raw or unparsed data to the indexers, reducing the network traffic and the load on the forwarders. The other options are false because:
When most of the data requires masking, a Heavy Forwarder is needed, as it can perform advanced filtering and data transformation before forwarding the data2.
When data comes directly from a database server, a Heavy Forwarder is needed, as it can run modular inputs such as DB Connect to collect data from various databases2.
When a modular input is needed, a Heavy Forwarder is needed, as the Universal Forwarder does not include a bundled version of Python, which is required for most modular inputs2.
Question # 5
Which command will permanently decommission a peer node operating in an indexer cluster?
The splunk offline --enforce-counts command will permanently decommission a peer node operating in an indexer cluster. This command will remove the peer node from the cluster and delete its data. This command should be used when the peer node is no longer needed or is being replaced by another node. The splunk stop -f command will stop the Splunk service on the peer node, but it will not decommission it from the cluster. The splunk offline -f command will take the peer node offline, but it will not delete its data or enforce the replication and search factors. The splunk decommission --enforce-counts command is not a valid Splunk command. For more information, see Remove a peer node from an indexer cluster in the Splunk documentation.
Question # 6
Which part of the deployment plan is vital prior to installing Splunk indexer clusters and search head clusters?
According to the Splunk documentation1, the Splunk deployment topology is the part of the deployment plan that is vital prior to installing Splunk indexer clusters and search head clusters. The deployment topology defines the number and type of Splunk components, such as forwarders, indexers, search heads, and deployers, that you need to install and configure for your distributed deployment. The deployment topology also determines the network and hardware requirements, the data flow and replication, the high availability and disaster recovery options, and the security and performance considerations for your deployment2. The other options are false because:
Data source inventory is not the part of the deployment plan that is vital prior to installing Splunk indexer clusters and search head clusters, as it is a preliminary step that helps you identify the types, formats, locations, and volumes of data that you want to collect and analyze with Splunk. Data source inventory is important for planning your data ingestion and retention strategies, but it does not directly affect the installation and configuration of Splunk components3.
Data policy definitions are not the part of the deployment plan that is vital prior to installing Splunk indexer clusters and search head clusters, as they are the rules and guidelines that govern how you handle, store, and protect your data. Data policy definitions are important for ensuring data quality, security, and compliance, but they do not directly affect the installation and configuration of Splunk components4.
Education and training plans are not the part of the deployment plan that is vital prior to installing Splunk indexer clusters and search head clusters, as they are the learning resources and programs that help you and your team acquire the skills and knowledge to use Splunk effectively. Education and training plans are important for enhancing your Splunk proficiency and productivity, but they do not directly affect the installation and configuration of Splunk components5.
Question # 7
Which props.conf setting has the least impact on indexing performance?
According to the Splunk documentation1, the CHARSET setting in props.conf specifies the character set encoding of the source data. This setting has the least impact on indexing performance, as it only affects how Splunk interprets the bytes of the data, not how it processes or transforms the data. The other options are false because:
The SHOULD_LINEMERGE setting in props.conf determines whether Splunk breaks events based on timestamps or newlines. This setting has a significant impact on indexing performance, as it affects how Splunk parses the data and identifies the boundaries of the events2.
The TRUNCATE setting in props.conf specifies the maximum number of characters that Splunk indexes from a single line of a file. This setting has a moderate impact on indexing performance, as it affects how much data Splunk reads and writes to the index3.
The TIME_PREFIX setting in props.conf specifies the prefix that directly precedes the timestamp in the event data. This setting has a moderate impact on indexing performance, as it affects how Splunk extracts the timestamp and assigns it to the event
Question # 8
As a best practice, where should the internal licensing logs be stored?
As a best practice, the internal licensing logs should be stored on the license server. The license server is a Splunk instance that manages the distribution and enforcement of licenses in a Splunk deployment. The license server generates internal licensing logs that contain information about the license usage, violations, warnings, and pools. The internal licensing logs should be stored on the license server itself, because they are relevant to the license server’s role and function. Storing the internal licensing logs on the license server also simplifies the license monitoring and troubleshooting process. The internal licensing logs should not be stored on the indexing layer, the deployment layer, or the search head layer, because they are not related to the roles and functions of these layers. Storing the internal licensing logs on these layers would also increase the network traffic and disk space consumption