SPLK-1001 Practice Question: Creating Reports, Dashboards and Visualizations
Exhibit
<dashboard>
<label>Network Dashboard</label>
<row>
<panel>
<title>Traffic by Protocol</title>
<chart>
<search>
<query>index=network sourcetype=traffic | stats sum(bytes) by protocol</query>
<earliest>-24h@h</earliest>
<latest>now</latest>
</search>
<option name="charting.chart">column</option>
</chart>
</panel>
</row>
</dashboard>Refer to the exhibit. The dashboard panel shows a column chart of bytes by protocol for the last 24 hours. However, the chart shows only one column. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Splunk often tests the misconception that a single column indicates a data extraction problem (like field not extracted) or a visualization limitation, when the real issue is that the search result set contains only one distinct value for the grouping field.
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
✓
The search returns only one result row
A column chart in Splunk displays one column per distinct value of the x-axis field. If the search returns only one result row (e.g., a single protocol value such as 'HTTP' with a total byte count), the chart will render a single column. This typically occurs when the search uses a stats or timechart command that groups by a field with only one unique value, or when a filter like `protocol=*` inadvertently matches only one protocol.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The search returns only one result row
Why this is correct
A single result row means one unique protocol, hence one column.
- ✗
The chart type cannot display multiple columns
Why it's wrong here
Column charts can display multiple columns; the issue is data, not chart type.
- ✗
The protocol field is not extracted
Why it's wrong here
If the field were missing, the search would return no results, not a single column.
- ✗
The time range is not wide enough
Why it's wrong here
Time range affects how much data is searched, but if multiple protocols exist in the data, they would appear regardless of time range.
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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.