SPLK-1001 Using Fields and Lookups Practice Question
A security analyst wants to count the number of unique users who have logged in over the past week. Which field-based command should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse `stats count by user` (which groups by user) with counting unique users, or they incorrectly use `sum` on non-numeric fields, leading them to choose options that do not produce a single unique count.
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 sourcetype=login | dedup user | stats count
It first uses `dedup user` to remove duplicate user values, leaving only unique users, and then `stats count` to count the remaining events, which effectively counts the number of unique users who logged in over the past week. This approach ensures each user is counted only once, meeting the requirement for a unique count.
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 sourcetype=login | stats sum(user)
Why it's wrong here
Sum is not valid for string fields; it's for numeric fields.
- ✓
index=main sourcetype=login | dedup user | stats count
Why this is correct
Dedup removes duplicate users, then stats count gives the number of unique users.
- ✗
index=main sourcetype=login | stats count by user
Why it's wrong here
Stats count by user gives event counts per user, not a single unique user count.
- ✗
index=main sourcetype=login | top user
Why it's wrong here
Top shows top values with counts, not a single count of unique users.
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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.