SPLK-1003 Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Questions and Answers

Per the provided reference URLhttps://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/7.3.1/Admin/User-seedconf

" To set the default username and password, place user-seed.conf in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local. You must restart Splunk to enable configurations. If the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/passwd file is present, the settings in this file (user-seed.conf) are not used. "

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.5/Deploy/Datapipeline

" In the input segment, Splunk software consumes data. It acquires the raw data stream from its source, breaks in into 64K blocks, and annotates each block with some metadata keys. "

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.

< https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.6/Updating/Deploymentserverarchitecture >

https://docs.splunk.com/Splexicon:Serverclass

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.2/Updating/Aboutdeploymentserver

" The deployment server is the tool for distributing configurations, apps, and content updates to groups of Splunk Enterprise instances. "

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Admin/Howtoeditaconfigurationfile#Clear%20a%20setting

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.2/Data/UsetheHTTPEventCollector

" The HTTP Event Collector (HEC) lets you send data and application events to a Splunk deployment over the HTTP and Secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocols. HEC uses a token-based authentication model. You can generate a token and then configure a logging library or HTTP client with the token to send data to HEC in a specific format. This process eliminates the need for a Splunk forwarder when you send application events. "

http://www.splunk.com/view/SP-CAAAGPR

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/7.3.0/Admin/Wheretofindtheconfigurationfiles

" To determine the order of directories for evaluating configuration file precendence, Splunk software considers each file ' s context. Configuration files operate in either a global context or in the context of the current app and user "

The correct answer is B. The network input in Splunk might be found in the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/$appName/local/inputs.conf file.

A network input is a type of input that monitors data from TCP or UDP ports. To configure a network input, you need to specify the port number, the connection host, the source, and the sourcetype in the inputs.conf file. You can also set other optional settings, such as index, queue, and host_regex1.

The inputs.conf file is a configuration file that contains the settings for different types of inputs, such as files, directories, scripts, network ports, and Windows event logs. The inputs.conf file can be located in various directories, depending on the scope and priority of the settings. The most common locations are:

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/default: This directory contains the default settings for all inputs. You should not modify or copy the files in this directory2.

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local: This directory contains the custom settings for all inputs that apply to the entire Splunk instance. The settings in this directory override the default settings2.

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/$appName/default: This directory contains the default settings for all inputs that are specific to an app. You should not modify or copy the files in this directory2.

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/$appName/local: This directory contains the custom settings for all inputs that are specific to an app. The settings in this directory override the default and system settings2.

Therefore, the best practice is to create or edit the inputs.conf file in the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/$appName/local directory, where $appName is the name of the app that you want to configure the network input for. This way, you can avoid modifying the default files and ensure that your settings are applied to the specific app.

The other options are incorrect because:

A. There is no network directory under the apps directory. The network input settings should be in the inputs.conf file, not in a separate directory.

C. There is no udp.conf file in Splunk. The network input settings should be in the inputs.conf file, not in a separate file. The system directory is not the recommended location for custom settings, as it affects the entire Splunk instance.

D. The var/lib/splunk directory is where Splunk stores the indexed data, not the input settings. The homePath setting is used to specify the location of the index data, not the input data. The inputName is not a valid variable for inputs.conf.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.2/Admin/Inputsconf

-Scroll down to source = < string >

*Default: the input file path

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Deploy/Datapipeline " The data pipeline segments in depth. INPUT - In the input segment, Splunk software consumes data. It acquires the raw data stream from its source, breaks it into 64K blocks, and annotates each block with some metadata keys. The keys can also include values that are used internally, such as the character encoding of the data stream, and values that control later processing of the data, such as the index into which the events should be stored. PARSING Annotating individual events with metadata copied from the source-wide keys. Transforming event data and metadata according to regex transform rules. "

Immediately after installation, a universal forwarder will start generating internal Splunk logs that contain information about its own operation, such as configuration changes, data inputs, and forwarding activities1. These logs are stored in the $SPLUNK_HOME/var/log/splunk directory on the universal forwarder machine1. The universal forwarder will not automatically detect any indexers in its subnet and begin routing data, as it needs to be configured with the IP address and port number of the indexer or the deployment server2. The universal forwarder will not begin reading local files on its server, as it needs to beconfigured with the data inputs that specify which files or directories to monitor2. The universal forwarder will not send an email to the operator that the installation process has completed, as this is not a default behavior of the universal forwarder and would require additional configuration3.

When Splunk is integrated with LDAP, most of the user attributes are managed by the LDAP server and cannot be changed in the Splunk UI. However, one exception is the default app attribute, which specifies which app a user sees when they log in to Splunk. This attribute can be changed in the Splunk UI by editing the user settings. Therefore, option A is the correct answer. References: Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin | Splunk, [Configure Splunk to use LDAP and map groups - Splunk Documentation]

To verify the integrity of a local bucket. The command ./splunk check-integrity -bucketPath [bucket path] [-verbose]  is used to verify the integrity of a local bucket by comparing the hashes stored in the l1Hashes and l2Hash files with the actual data in the bucket1. This command can help detect any tampering or corruption of the data.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.5/Data/Usingforwardingagents

Scroll down to the section Titled, How to configure forwarder inputs, and subsection Here are the main ways that you can configure data inputs on a forwarder Install the app or add-on that contains the inputs you wants

The correct props.conf setting is:

[source::.../vendor_sales.log]

SEDCMD-acct = s/AcctID=\d{5}(\d{5})/AcctID=xxxxx\1/g

SEDCMD is the correct props.conf attribute for performing sed-style substitutions against raw event data during indexing. The regular expression matches AcctID= followed by the first five digits, captures the last five digits, and replaces the first five digits with xxxxx.

Example:

AcctID=4902636940

becomes:

AcctID=xxxxx36940

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. TRANSFORMS-acct is used to call a transform stanza from transforms.conf, not to directly run a sed substitution.

B. REPLACE-acct is not the valid props.conf setting for this task.

D. SED-acct is not the valid Splunk setting; the correct setting name is SEDCMD- < class > .

Splunk REST API is a valid method to create a Splunk user. The Splunk REST API allows administrators to create, edit, and delete users programmatically using HTTP requests. The other options are not valid methods to create a Splunk user. Creating a support ticket does not create a user, but requests assistance from Splunk support. Creating a user on the host operating system does not create a Splunk user, but a system user. Adding the username to users.conf does not create a user, but modifies the configuration file that stores user information. References = Configure users with the CLI, Configure users and roles

URLhttps://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.2/DistSearch/Configuredistributedsearch

" To activate distributed search, you add search peers, or indexers, to a Splunk Enterprise instance that you desingate as a search head. You do this by specifying each search peer manually. "

The correct answer is C. /var/log/host_460352847/bar/file/foo.txt.

The monitor stanza in inputs.conf is used to configure Splunk to monitor files and directories for new data. The monitor stanza has the following syntax1:

[monitor:// < input path > ]

The input path can be a file or a directory, and it can include wildcards (*) and regular expressions. The wildcards match any number of characters, including none, while the regular expressions match patterns of characters. The input path is case-sensitive and must be enclosed in double quotes if it contains spaces1.

In this case, the input path is /var/log//bar/.txt, which means Splunk will monitor any file with the .txt extension that is located in a subdirectory named bar under the /var/log directory. The subdirectory bar can be at any level under the /var/log directory, and the * wildcard will match any characters before or after the bar and .txt parts1.

Therefore, the file /var/log/host_460352847/bar/file/foo.txt will be matched by the monitor stanza, as it meets the criteria. The other files will not be matched, because:

A. /var/log/host_460352847/temp/bar/file/csv/foo.txt has a .csv extension, not a .txt extension.

B. /var/log/host_460352847/bar/foo.txt is not located in a subdirectory under the bar directory, but directly in the bar directory.

D. /var/log/host_460352847/temp/bar/file/foo.txt is located in a subdirectory named file under the bar directory, not directly in the bar directory.

The coldPath parameter defines the path for the cold buckets, which are the oldest and least frequently accessed data in an index1. By setting the coldPath to point to the NAS mount point, the Splunk administrator can achieve the retention strategy of having older data on slower NAS storage.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.3/Data/Monitornetworkports

A Splunk Deployment Server is used to centrally manage and distribute apps, configurations, and updates to deployment clients. On the deployment server, the default location for deployment apps is:

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/deployment-apps/

Apps placed in this directory can be assigned to server classes and deployed to deployment clients.

Important distinction:

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/deployment-apps/

is used on the deployment server.

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/

is where apps are normally installed on a Splunk instance, including deployment clients after apps are received.

manager-apps and peer-apps are not the default Deployment Server app staging directory.

The next step to enable the communication between the forwarder and the deployment server after installing a new forwarder with a manually created deploymentclient.conf is to restart Splunk on the deployment client. The deploymentclient.conf file contains the settings for the deployment client, which is a Splunk instance that receives updates from the deployment server. The file must include the targetUri attribute, which specifies the hostname and management port of the deployment server. To apply the changes in the deploymentclient.conf file, Splunk must be restarted on the deployment client. Therefore, option C is the correct answer. References: Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin | Splunk, [Configure deployment clients - Splunk Documentation]

Splunk uses alayered configuration modelwhere settings are loaded in a specific order. This order determines which configuration takes precedence when multiple settings conflict. Atindex time(the point when data is parsed and indexed), the configuration precedence is clearly defined in the official documentation.

FromSplunk Docs(props.conf precedence):

Configuration file resolution order (highest to lowest precedence):

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/users/ < username > / < appname > /local

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/ < appname > /local

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/ < appname > /default

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local

$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/default

However, forindex-time configurations, a slight difference applies:

system/local and users/local areoften treated specially, butin practice and according to Splunk Docs, thesystem/localconfigs override apps/default, and so on.

InOption C, the correct precedence fromhighest to lowestis:

/etc/users/local (Highest)

/etc/system/default

/etc/apps/aaa/local

/etc/apps/zzz/default

/etc/system/local (Lowest of these listed)

Though system/local typically has high precedence,when users/local is involved, that is the ultimate override. Splunk Docs confirms this in:

Configuration file precedence

Configuration layering reference

Therefore, Option C reflects the correct Splunk configuration file precedence order at index time.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.4/Data/Whitelistorblacklistspecificincomingdata

" It is not necessary to define both an allow list and a deny list in a configuration stanza. The settings are independent. If you do define both filters and a file matches them both, Splunk Enterprise does not index that file, as the blacklist filter overrides the whitelist filter. " Source:https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.1.0/Data/Whitelistorblacklistspecificincomingdata

Hot/warm/cold/thawed bucket types are searchable. Frozen isn ' t searchable because its either deleted at that state or archived.

REGEX = < regular expression >

* Enter a regular expression to operate on your data.

FORMAT = < string >

* NOTE: This option is valid for both index-time and search-time field extraction. Index-time field extraction configuration require the FORMAT settings. The FORMAT settings is optional for search-time field extraction configurations.

* This setting specifies the format of the event, including any field names or values you want to add.

DEST_KEY = < key >

* NOTE: This setting is only valid for index-time field extractions.

* Specifies where SPLUNK software stores the expanded FORMAT results in accordance with the REGEX match.

According to the Splunk documentation1, event processing occurs at the parsing phase of the data pipeline. The parsing phase is where Splunk software processes incoming data into individual events, extracts timestamp information, assigns source types, and performs other tasks to make the data searchable1. The parsing phase can also apply field extractions, event type matching, and other transformations to the events2.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.6/Security/ManageSplunkuserroleswithLDAP

Splunk Enterprise supports multifactor authentication integrations with MFA providers such as Duo Security and RSA Security. These are commonly referenced options for MFA with Splunk Enterprise authentication.

Option A is incorrect because Google Authenticator and Okta Verify are not the listed Splunk Enterprise MFA options in this administration context.

Option B is incorrect because LastPass and Microsoft Entra ID are not the expected answer pair for Splunk Enterprise MFA in this question.

Option C is incorrect because Ping Identity is an identity provider and CrowdStrike Falcon is an endpoint security platform, not the expected Splunk Enterprise MFA answer pair.

Option D is correct because Duo Security and RSA Security are the MFA options associated with Splunk Enterprise administration documentation.

The correct answer is D. Place both props . conf and transforms . conf on the Heavy Forwarder for source A, and place both props . conf and transforms . conf on the indexer for source B.

According to the Splunk documentation1, to mask sensitive data from raw events, you need to use the SEDCMD attribute in the props.conf file and the REGEX attribute in the transforms.conf file. The SEDCMD attribute applies a sed expression to the raw data before indexing, while the REGEX attribute defines a regular expression to match the data to bemasked.You need to place these files on the Splunk instance that parses the data, which isusually the indexer or the heavy forwarder2. The universal forwarder does not parse the data, so it does not need these files.

For source A, the data is routed through a heavy forwarder, which can parse the data before sending it to the indexer. Therefore, you need to place both props.conf and transforms.conf on the heavy forwarder for source A, so that the masking takes place before indexing.

For source B, the data is routed directly to the indexer, which parses and indexes the data. Therefore, you need to place both props.conf and transforms.conf on the indexer for source B, so that the masking takes place before indexing.

--reset Reset the fishbucket for the given key or file in the btree. Resetting the checkpoint for an active monitor input reindexes data, resulting in increased license use.https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.1.1/Troubleshooting/CommandlinetoolsforusewithSupport

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/7.3.1/DistSearch/SHCarchitecture

Scroll down to section titled, How the cluster handles concurrent search quotas, " Overall search quota. This quota determines the maximum number of historical searches (combined scheduled and ad hoc) that the cluster can run concurrently. This quota is configured with max_Searches_per_cpu and related settings in limits.conf. "

When there are conflicting settings within two or more configuration files, the setting with the highest precedence is used. The precedence of configuration files is determined by a combination of the file type, the directory location, and the alphabetical order of the file names.

" When ingesting event data, the measured data volume is based on the new raw data that is placed into the indexing pipeline. Because the data is measured at the indexing pipeline, data that is filetered and dropped prior to indexing does not count against the license volume qota. "

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.6/Admin/HowSplunklicensingworks

After an app is downloaded, it resides under $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps on the deployment clients. But it resided in the $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/deployment-apps location in the deployment server.

The app local directories move to second in the priority list. This is explained in the Splunk documentation, which states:

In a clustered environment, the precedence of configuration files changes slightly from that of a standalone deployment. The app local directories move to second in the priority list, after the peer-apps local directory. This means that any configuration files in the app local directories on the individual peers are overridden by configuration files of the same name and type in the peer-apps local directory on the master node.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/6.2.0/Data/Configuretimestamprecognition

" Specify how far (how many characters) into an event Splunk software should look for a timestamp. " since TIME_PREFIX = ^ and timestamp is from 0-29 position, so D=30 will pick up the WHOLE timestamp correctly.

In Splunk Enterprise , when integrating with an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) directory for authentication, user access is governed by the mapping between LDAP groups and Splunk roles . A user authenticated via LDAP must belong to at least one LDAP group that is mapped to a Splunk role. Without this mapping, the user can authenticate successfully against LDAP but will not be granted any role privileges inside Splunk, and therefore cannot log in to the Splunk web interface.

Splunk documentation explicitly states:

“When you integrate Splunk Enterprise with LDAP, a user must be assigned at least one Splunk role through an LDAP group mapping. If the user does not belong to a mapped group, they cannot log into Splunk.”

This ensures that user permissions are inherited from LDAP-to-role mappings and provides centralized management of authentication and authorization.

Reference (Splunk Documentation):

Splunk® Enterprise Admin Manual → Securing Splunk Enterprise → Authenticate users with LDAP

authentication.conf.spec and example → LDAP configuration and role mapping

Splunk Docs: “Configure LDAP authentication”

The serverclass.conf file controls how deployment apps and configurations are distributed from the Deployment Server to its Deployment Clients . Within this configuration, attribute values can be defined at multiple levels, and Splunk applies them based on a defined order of precedence — from general to most specific.

The correct order of evaluation (lowest to highest precedence) is:

[global] — applies to all server classes and clients unless overridden.

[serverClass: < name > ] — applies to all clients in that specific server class.

[serverClass: < name > :app: < appname > ] — applies only to a specific app within that server class and overrides previous settings.

This means that values set in the [serverClass: < name > :app: < appname > ] stanza take priority over those in [serverClass: < name > ], which in turn override values in [global].

Example (from serverclass.conf):

[global]

whitelist.0 = *

[serverClass:web_servers]

whitelist.0 = web01*

blacklist.0 = test*

[serverClass:web_servers:app:web_monitoring]

restartSplunkWeb = true

Here, restartSplunkWeb = true in the app stanza overrides any inherited setting from the global or class level.

Reference (Splunk Documentation):

Splunk® Enterprise Admin Manual → Deploy configurations using deployment server

serverclass.conf.spec and example → “Precedence of attributes: global < serverClass: < name > < serverClass: < name > :app: < appname > ”

Splunk Docs: “How the deployment server works”

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.1.1/Updating/Definedeploymentclasses#Ways_to_define_server_classes " When you use forwarder management to create a new server class, it saves the server class definition in a copy of serverclass.conf under $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local. If, instead of using forwarder management, you decide to directly edit serverclass.conf, it is recommended that you create the serverclass.conf file in that same directory, $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local. "