SPLK-1003 Splunk Admin Basics Practice Question
You are configuring a Universal Forwarder to send logs to an Indexer Cluster. Where should you define the outputs.conf file to ensure the forwarder correctly balances traffic across all indexers?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/
The outputs.conf file on the Universal Forwarder should contain the indexer cluster master's discovery URI to obtain the indexer list.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/default/
Why it's wrong here
You should never edit files in the default directory as they are overwritten by updates.
- ✗
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/manager/local/
Why it's wrong here
There is no such directory path in a standard Splunk installation.
- ✓
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/
Why this is correct
This is the correct location for global configuration overrides on a forwarder.
- ✗
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/search/local/
Why it's wrong here
This app is specific to the search head and is not appropriate for forwarder configuration.
About these practice questions
One of 202 original SPLK-1003 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Splunk exam blueprint
This SPLK-1003 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Splunk certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SPLK-1003 exam.