SPLK-1002 Advanced Searching and Statistics Practice Question
An analyst wants to create a running total of sales per day over a week. The data has fields: date, sales. Which search would produce a cumulative sum for each day?
⚠ Common exam trap
Splunk often tests the distinction between `streamstats` (sequential, cumulative) and `eventstats` (non-sequential, global aggregate), and candidates mistakenly choose `eventstats` thinking it computes a running total because it adds a field to each event.
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
✓
... | sort date | streamstats sum(sales) as running_total
It first sorts the events by date to ensure chronological order, then uses `streamstats` to compute a running (cumulative) sum of sales across each event in that order. `streamstats` processes events sequentially and adds the current value to the accumulated total, producing a cumulative sum per day.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
... | eval running_total = running_sum(sales)
Why it's wrong here
There is no running_sum eval function in Splunk.
- ✓
... | sort date | streamstats sum(sales) as running_total
Why this is correct
streamstats with sum calculates cumulative sum over sorted events.
- ✗
... | eventstats sum(sales) as running_total
Why it's wrong here
eventstats adds the total sum to each event, not cumulative.
- ✗
... | stats sum(sales) by date
Why it's wrong here
This gives daily sums, not a running total.
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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.