SPLK-1001 Basic Searching and Transforming Commands Practice Question
A security analyst needs to identify the top 5 source IP addresses generating the most web traffic. Which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse `top` with `stats count` followed by `sort` and `head`, not realizing that `top` already includes sorting and limiting, and that `sort - count` alone without a preceding stats command will fail.
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
✓
| top limit=5 src_ip
The `top` command is specifically designed to return the most common values of a field, and `limit=5` restricts the output to the top 5 source IP addresses by count. This command automatically sorts the results in descending order, making it the most efficient and direct way to identify the top 5 source IPs generating web traffic.
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 by src_ip | sort - count
Why it's wrong here
This returns all IPs, not just top 5.
- ✓
| top limit=5 src_ip
Why this is correct
The top command with limit=5 returns the top 5 values.
- ✗
| sort - count | head 5
Why it's wrong here
This requires a prior stats count command.
- ✗
| table src_ip | head 5
Why it's wrong here
This just displays the first 5 events, not top IPs.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SPLK-1001 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-1001 exam.