SPLK-1002 Advanced Visualization and Lookups Practice Question
An analyst uses the following search: `index=web status=500 | timechart count by method`. What does the timechart command do?
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
✓
Splits the count by the 'method' field into separate series.
The `timechart` command with a `by` clause splits the count into separate series for each distinct value of the 'method' field, creating one line per method on the chart. Option A is incorrect because the time range is determined by the search, not necessarily per day. Option B is incorrect because the default span depends on the time range (e.g., less than 24 hours uses 1-minute bins, etc.). Option C is incorrect because `timechart` does not limit to top 10 by default.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Calculates the total count per day for each method.
Why it's wrong here
The time range is determined by the search, not automatically per day.
- ✗
Bins events into 1-hour intervals by default.
Why it's wrong here
Default span is not fixed; it adapts to the time range (e.g., 1 hour for last 24h, but could be 1 day for longer ranges).
- ✗
Shows only the top 10 methods.
Why it's wrong here
No limit is applied; all methods are displayed.
- ✓
Splits the count by the 'method' field into separate series.
Why this is correct
The 'by' clause creates a separate time series for each unique value of method.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SPLK-1002
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A security analyst wants to visualize the count of login failures per hour, grouped by source IP. Which SPL command should they use?
easy- ✓ A.timechart count by src_ip
- B.stats count by _time, src_ip
- C.chart count by src_ip over _time
- D.eventstats count by src_ip
Why A: Timechart automatically creates a time-based chart and can split by a field using 'by src_ip'. Option B is incorrect because stats produces a table, not a time-based chart, and does not automatically bin by time. Option C is incorrect because chart requires an explicit 'span' to create time-based bins, unlike timechart. Option D is incorrect because eventstats adds a new field but does not produce a visualization.
Variation 2. An analyst uses the following search: `... | timechart span=1h count by status`. What is the purpose of the span argument?
medium- A.It limits the number of status values displayed.
- B.It groups events into 1-minute intervals.
- C.It sets the time range of the chart.
- ✓ D.It defines the time interval for each data point (1 hour).
Why D: The span argument in the timechart command specifies the time interval for each data point or bucket. Here, span=1h means each bucket represents one hour. Option A is incorrect because span does not limit the number of status values; that's controlled by other means. Option B is incorrect because span=1h groups events into 1-hour, not 1-minute, intervals. Option C is incorrect because the time range of the chart is set by the search time picker, not the span argument.
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.