SPLK-1002 Macros, Saved Searches and CIM Practice Question
A Splunk administrator notices that a scheduled saved search `Daily Summary` fails every day at 2:00 AM with the error "Search job expired due to inactivity." The search runs against a large index and takes about 30 minutes to complete. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the 'inactivity' error with user permissions or license issues, but it specifically refers to the search job's runtime exceeding the configured time limit in the saved search's dispatch settings.
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
✓
The scheduled search is configured with a time limit shorter than 30 minutes.
The error 'Search job expired due to inactivity' indicates that the scheduled search was terminated before it could complete. In Splunk, saved searches have a configurable time limit (default 10 minutes) that specifies the maximum runtime before the search is killed. Since the search takes 30 minutes, the time limit must be set to less than 30 minutes, causing the premature termination.
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 user who owns the saved search does not have permissions to run it at that time.
Why it's wrong here
Permissions do not cause job expiration.
- ✗
The indexer has reached its license quota and stops processing.
Why it's wrong here
License quota does not cause job expiration.
- ✓
The scheduled search is configured with a time limit shorter than 30 minutes.
Why this is correct
Search job expiration occurs when the time limit is exceeded.
- ✗
The search is consuming too much disk space.
Why it's wrong here
Disk space issues cause different errors.
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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.