SPLK-1002 Advanced Searching and Statistics Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are valid Splunk search commands for determining the number of distinct values of a field?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse `count(field)` with `dc(field)`, not realizing that `count` tallies events while `dc` tallies unique values, and that `distinct_count` is not a valid Splunk command.
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
✓
| stats dc(field)
`| stats dc(field)` uses the `dc` (distinct count) function to return the exact number of unique values for the specified field. This is the direct and most efficient command for counting distinct values in Splunk.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
| stats count(field)
Why it's wrong here
count(field) counts non-null values, not distinct.
- ✓
| stats dc(field)
Why this is correct
dc() is a stats function that returns distinct count.
- ✗
| stats distinct_count(field)
Why it's wrong here
distinct_count is not a valid function; dc() is used.
- ✓
| stats values(field)
Why this is correct
values() returns a multivalue field of distinct values.
- ✓
| dedup field | stats count
Why this is correct
dedup removes duplicates, then count gives number of distinct values.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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