SPLK-1003 Practice Test 9 — 10 Questions

Question 1

Which THREE of the following are components of a standard Splunk architecture?

Accepted Answer

Universal Forwarder. In a standard Splunk Enterprise distributed architecture, the three core components are the Universal Forwarder (C), which collects and forwards data from source systems to the indexing tier; the Indexer (D), which receives, parses, indexes, and stores the incoming data and handles search requests against it; and the Search Head (E), which provides the user interface and distributes search requests to the indexers, consolidating and presenting the results. These three roles map directly to Splunk's documented deployment model (forwarder → indexer → search head). A Database Server (A) is not a Splunk architectural component, since Splunk uses its own proprietary index store rather than an external database, and a Web Server (B) is not a separate Splunk component because the web UI is served by the Search Head itself.

Answer

Database Server

Answer

Web Server

Question 2

Which Splunk component is primarily responsible for parsing and indexing incoming data streams?

Accepted Answer

Indexer. The indexer is the Splunk component that receives incoming data streams, parses them (applies line breaking, timestamp recognition, and sourcetype-based field extraction), and writes the resulting events into index buckets. Parsing and indexing are the indexer's core functions — forwarders only collect and forward, while search heads only query indexed data.

Answer

Deployment Server

Answer

Universal Forwarder

Answer

Search Head

Question 3

What is the purpose of the 'whitelist' and 'blacklist' attributes in a serverclass.conf file?

Accepted Answer

To filter which forwarders receive the app.. In serverclass.conf, the whitelist and blacklist attributes filter which forwarders (clients) receive a given app or deployment. The whitelist specifies forwarders that should receive the app, and the blacklist excludes forwarders, based on client name, IP, or DNS pattern. This is a deployment-scoping mechanism, not a security or log-filtering feature.

Answer

To prevent unauthorized users from accessing the UI.

Answer

To filter the types of logs collected.

Answer

To limit the network bandwidth usage.

Question 4

A Splunk administrator needs to identify how much data is being indexed across multiple indexers to ensure they do not exceed their daily license quota. Where should the admin look first?

Accepted Answer

Settings > Licensing. The Licensing page in Splunk (Settings > Licensing) provides a centralized view of license usage across all indexers in a distributed environment. It shows the daily indexing volume, license quota, and warnings when approaching limits. This is the primary location to monitor and manage license consumption.

Answer

Settings > Distributed Search

Answer

Settings > Indexer Clustering

Answer

Settings > Forwarder Management

Question 5

To ensure a Universal Forwarder is using the correct index, where is the 'index' attribute defined?

Accepted Answer

inputs.conf. For a Universal Forwarder, the `index` attribute is set in inputs.conf within the stanza that defines the data input (e.g., `[monitor:///var/log]`). This tells the forwarder which index the data should be routed to when it is sent to the indexer. If not specified, the default index (usually 'main') is used.

Answer

props.conf

Answer

outputs.conf

Answer

server.conf

Question 6

Which TWO of the following are valid stanza types found in indexes.conf?

Accepted Answer

[default]. Option B, [default], is correct because indexes.conf uses a [default] stanza to define global settings that apply to all indexes unless overridden by a specific index stanza. Option E, [index_name], is correct because indexes.conf is organized around per-index stanzas, where each stanza name is the actual name of an index (for example, [main], [summary], or [my_index]) and contains that index's settings. Option A, [tcpout], is not valid in indexes.conf; tcpout stanzas belong in outputs.conf and configure forwarding destinations. Option C, [input], is not a valid indexes.conf stanza type; input stanzas are defined in inputs.conf. Option D, [source::...], is not valid in indexes.conf; source-based stanzas are used in props.conf and transforms.conf for source-type and field processing rules.

Answer

[tcpout]

Answer

[input]

Answer

[source::...]

Question 7

What is the default retention policy for the '_internal' index?

Accepted Answer

30 days. The '_internal' index in Splunk ships with a default retention policy of 30 days, controlled by the frozenTimePeriodInSecs setting in indexes.conf. This default applies unless an administrator explicitly overrides it. Internal logs (splunkd, metrics, audit, etc.) are indexed here and rolled to frozen after 30 days to prevent unbounded growth.

Answer

Unlimited

Answer

90 days

Answer

1 day

Question 8

What is the impact of placing a forwarder in a license pool?

Accepted Answer

Forwarders cannot be part of a license pool.. License pools are a licensing construct that applies only to Splunk indexers (and other license-consuming components that store or index data), not to forwarders. Forwarders are lightweight agents that only collect and transmit data; they do not index or store events, so they have no license consumption to pool. Therefore, a forwarder cannot be assigned to or placed in a license pool.

Answer

It reduces the forwarder's data throughput.

Answer

The forwarder will consume the pool's quota.

Answer

It limits the amount of data the forwarder can send.

Question 9

Which file stores the definitions of roles and their associated capabilities?

Accepted Answer

authorize.conf. authorize.conf is the Splunk configuration file that defines roles and the capabilities assigned to each role. Each role is a stanza in authorize.conf, and within that stanza the 'capabilities' and 'importRoles' keys determine what the role can do. This is the authoritative file for role-based access control definitions on a Splunk instance.

Answer

indexes.conf

Answer

authentication.conf

Answer

limits.conf

Question 10

Which TWO of the following settings are typically found in inputs.conf?

Accepted Answer

[tcp://...]. Option A, [tcp://...], is correct because inputs.conf defines data input stanzas, and a [tcp://] stanza configures the Splunk TCP data input that listens for raw or syslog data on a given port. Option E, [monitor://...], is also correct because a [monitor://] stanza in inputs.conf tells Splunk which files or directories to watch and index, making it one of the most common input types. The unmarked options do not belong: [indexer_cluster] and [search_head] are cluster role settings configured in server.conf, while [index_retention] is not a valid inputs.conf stanza and retention is controlled via indexes.conf settings such as frozenTimePeriodInSecs.

Answer

[indexer_cluster]

Answer

[index_retention]

Answer

[search_head]