SPLK-1002 Transactions and Event Correlation Practice Question
A Splunk administrator is correlating events from two sourcetypes using transaction with startswith and endswith. The transaction rarely matches events even though they exist. What is the most likely cause?
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
✓
Events from the two sourcetypes are not in chronological order.
The most likely cause is that events from the two sourcetypes are not in chronological order. The transaction command, by default, requires events to be processed in time order, and if events from different sourcetypes are interleaved or out of sequence, the transaction may fail to match a complete sequence. Option A is incorrect because a high maxpause would make the transaction more likely to match, not less. Option C is incorrect because the fields option is not required for the transaction to work; it is used to identify the transaction. Option D is incorrect because overly broad patterns would cause too many matches, not too few.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The maxpause value is too high.
Why it's wrong here
A high maxpause would allow more events to be grouped, not prevent matches.
- ✓
Events from the two sourcetypes are not in chronological order.
Why this is correct
Events must be sorted by time; if sourcetypes have different timestamps, transaction may fail to correlate.
- ✗
The fields option is missing.
Why it's wrong here
The fields option is optional and only limits output fields.
- ✗
The startswith and endswith patterns are too broad.
Why it's wrong here
Broad patterns would match more events, increasing matches.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SPLK-1002 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-1002 exam.