SPLK-1002 Advanced Searching and Statistics Practice Question
A user wants to create a chart showing the count of errors per hour for the last 24 hours, with time bucketed hourly. Which search is correct?
⚠ Common exam trap
Splunk often tests the distinction between `timechart` and `chart` with `_time`, where candidates mistakenly think `chart count by _time span=1h` works like `timechart`, but `chart` does not support the `span` argument and treats `_time` as a categorical field.
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
✓
index=main error | timechart count span=1h
The `timechart` command automatically creates a time-based chart with a default count aggregation. The `span=1h` argument explicitly sets the bucket size to one hour, which groups events into hourly intervals over the last 24 hours. This produces the exact output the user needs: a count of errors per hour.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
index=main error | timechart count span=1h
Why this is correct
Correctly uses timechart with span.
- ✗
index=main error | bucket _time span=1h | stats count by _time
Why it's wrong here
This produces a table, not a chart.
- ✗
index=main error | chart count by _time span=1h
Why it's wrong here
The 'chart' command does not handle time-based series like timechart.
- ✗
index=main error | timechart count by _time span=1h
Why it's wrong here
The 'by _time' clause is unnecessary and may cause 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.