SPLK-1001 Basic Searching and Transforming Commands Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. index=web sourcetype=access_combined | stats count by status | sort - count | head 5
What is the purpose of this search?
`index=web | top limit=5 status`
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse `top` with `head` or `sort` commands, assuming it returns the first few events or sorts alphabetically, rather than understanding it performs frequency-based aggregation.
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
✓
To display the 5 most common HTTP status codes in the web index.
The stem does not include the search query, but based on the options, the correct answer is C because it is the only option that describes a valid outcome of a search using the `top` command to find the most common HTTP status codes. Options A, B, and D are incorrect as they describe sorting or filtering behaviors that are not standard for a single search without additional commands.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To list the first 5 status codes in alphabetical order.
Why it's wrong here
Sort is by count, not status code.
- ✗
To filter events with status codes that appear less than 5 times.
Why it's wrong here
No filter on count value.
- ✓
To display the 5 most common HTTP status codes in the web index.
Why this is correct
Counts by status, sorts descending, top 5.
- ✗
To show the 5 most recent events sorted by status code.
Why it's wrong here
head 5 returns first 5 after sort, not most recent.
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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.