SPLK-2002 Exam Dumps

Explanation:
Splunk enforces strict version compatibility rules to ensure the replication, search factor, and distributed search features of the cluster function reliably. Within a single cluster tier (the peer nodes), the versions must be exactly the same for seamless data handling. For communication between tiers (Search Head $\rightarrow$ Peers), the component initiating the search must be at a version level that is equal to or higher than the component executing the search.

Correct Options:

A. All peer nodes must run exactly the same Splunk version.
Consistency Requirement: This is absolutely true and a fundamental requirement for the indexer cluster. All peer nodes must run the exact same version of Splunk Enterprise, down to the maintenance level (e.g., 9.4.1 must match 9.4.1). This is crucial because peer nodes are responsible for data replication, and any version mismatch could cause replication errors, bundle validation failures, or data corruption.

D. The search head must run the same or a later Splunk version than the peer nodes.
Distributed Search Rule: This is true and a general rule for distributed search in Splunk (Search Head $\rightarrow$ Search Peer/Indexer). The search head must be running a Splunk version that is equal to or higher than the version of the indexers (peer nodes) it searches. This ensures the search head can correctly interpret and process search results and search features executed by the older or matching indexer version.

Incorrect Options:

B. The master node must run the same or a later Splunk version than search heads.
Master Node Precedence: The rule is actually the reverse of what is stated here. The Manager Node (Master Node) must run a version that is equal to or later than both the peer nodes and the search heads. The manager is the brain for the cluster and must be the most technologically advanced component to manage all others.

C. The peer nodes must run the same or a later Splunk version than the master node.
Peer Node Subordination: This is incorrect. The Peer Nodes must run a version that is equal to or earlier than the Manager Node. Since the Manager Node is responsible for coordinating the peers, it must be running a version that is high enough to manage all features used by the peers and search heads.

Reference:
Splunk Documentation: System requirements and other deployment considerations for indexer clustersConcept: Indexer Cluster Version Compatibility Rules (Hierarchy of versions: Manager $\ge$ Search Head $\ge$ Peer Node).

Explanation:
A deployment server manages forwarders by having them "phone home" periodically to check for new or updated app configurations. Doubling the number of clients doubles the frequency of these check-in requests. This can strain the deployment server's CPU and network resources, leading to performance degradation. The solution is to reduce the load on the server by adjusting the client behavior.

Correct Option:

C. Increase the current deployment client phone home interval.
This is the most effective action. The phoneHomeIntervalInSecs setting in deploymentclient.conf controls how often a client checks with the deployment server. Increasing this interval (e.g., from 60 seconds to 120 seconds) reduces the number of requests the server must handle per minute, thereby lowering its resource load and minimizing performance issues as the client base grows.

Incorrect Options:

A. Modify deploymentclient.
conf to change from a Pull to Push mechanism. The deployment server architecture is inherently a pull model; clients pull configurations from the server. There is no configuration setting to change this to a server-initiated "push" model. This option describes a non-existent feature.

B. Reduce the number of apps in the Manager Node repository.
While a very large number of apps could have a minor impact, it is not the primary scaling factor. The main performance bottleneck is the frequency of client connections, not the size of the repository itself. Removing necessary apps is not a practical solution.

D. Decrease the current deployment client phone home interval.
This would have the opposite of the desired effect. Decreasing the interval means clients would phone home more frequently, dramatically increasing the load on the deployment server and exacerbating performance issues.

Reference:
Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual: "Scale a deployment server". The documentation explicitly recommends increasing the phoneHomeIntervalInSecs value on deployment clients as the primary method to reduce the load on a deployment server, especially as the number of managed clients grows into the thousands.

Explanation:
Multi-site clustering is designed for geographically distributed Splunk deployments. Its primary purposes are to provide data center-level disaster recovery and to optimize performance and cost by controlling data replication and search traffic across Wide Area Network (WAN) links. It achieves this by grouping indexers into sites and implementing intelligent data management and search routing policies.

Correct Options:

C. Greatly reduce WAN traffic by preferentially searching assigned site (search affinity).
This is a core feature called search affinity. When a user on a search head affiliated with "Site A" runs a search, the cluster captain will attempt to route the search primarily to the peer nodes in Site A. This avoids pulling large amounts of result data across the WAN from other sites, significantly reducing bandwidth usage and improving search speed.

D. Seamlessly route searches to a redundant site in case of a site failure.
This is the core high-availability benefit. If an entire site (e.g., Site A) becomes unavailable, the multi-site cluster manager can automatically re-route search requests to the remaining healthy sites (e.g., Site B and Site C). This provides seamless business continuity without manual intervention.

Incorrect Options:

A. Use blockchain technology to audit search activity from geographically dispersed data centers.
Multi-site clustering has no relation to blockchain technology. Search auditing is handled by Splunk's internal logging, primarily in the _audit index, regardless of whether the deployment is single-site or multi-site.

B. Enable a forwarder to send data to multiple indexers.
This is a function of load balancing, which is a standard feature of any Splunk forwarding configuration, whether using a single-site cluster, multi-site cluster, or a set of standalone indexers. It is not a capability unique to or "made possible by" multi-site clustering.

Reference:
Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual: "About multi-site indexer clustering". The documentation explicitly lists the benefits, including controlling WAN traffic for searches (search affinity) and providing site-based failover for disaster recovery. It distinguishes these capabilities from the basic functions of a single-site cluster.

Explanation:
Splunk recommends running the Deployment Server (DS) on a dedicated Splunk Enterprise instance when the number of managed instances, or Deployment Clients, exceeds 50. The DS experiences high CPU and memory usage when clients "phone home" for updates and, especially, during the large file transfers of configuration bundles (deployment apps). Co-locating the DS on a machine also running as a heavy Indexer or Search Head can cause resource contention, impacting core search and indexing performance. The 50-client limit is the standard threshold used to mandate separation and dedicate the machine to configuration management.

Correct Option:

C. When there are more than 50 deployment clients.
Official Recommendation: Splunk documentation states that if a Deployment Server will be deploying to more than 50 clients, it must run on a dedicated Splunk Enterprise instance.

Reasoning: Above this threshold, the concurrent handshakes and data transfer processes generate enough load to negatively impact other core Splunk functions (like indexing or searching) if those roles are co-located on the same instance.

Clients: Deployment Clients include Universal Forwarders, Heavy Forwarders, Indexers, or Search Heads.

Incorrect Options:

A. When there are more than 50 search peers.
Search peers are Indexers participating in a distributed search. While the total number of clients may include indexers, the decision to dedicate the DS is based on the total count of clients (forwarders, search heads, etc.), not just indexers.

B. When there are more than 50 apps to deploy to deployment clients.
The total size of the apps and the frequency of changes is a better performance indicator than just the count. A deployment of 51 tiny apps may be less stressful than a deployment of 10 large apps, but the client count is the primary, documented threshold for dedication.

D. When there are more than 50 server classes.
Server classes are logical groupings for deployment clients and do not inherently increase the load on the DS. They are a configuration mechanism. While a large number of server classes can make configuration complex, the load on the DS is dictated by client check-in frequency and app size, not the number of groups.

Reference:
Splunk Documentation: Plan a deployment and Estimate deployment server performanceConcept: Deployment Server Scalability and Co-location Guidelines (The $50$ client threshold).

Explanation:
To prevent re-indexing the same data after a log file is rotated or renamed, Splunk Enterprise uses a method called "crC_Ingest" to create a unique fingerprint for each file it monitors. This fingerprint is based on a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) calculated from a sample of bytes taken from the beginning and the end of the file. This allows Splunk to recognize a file even if its name changes, as long as its core content remains the same.

Correct Option:

C. 256:
This is the correct default value. Splunk samples 256 bytes from the very beginning of the file and 256 bytes from the very end of the file. It then uses these 512 total bytes (256 + 256) to compute the CRC checksum. This checksum is stored and used to identify the file in the future, preventing duplicate indexing.

Incorrect Options:

A. 128:
This value is half the correct default sample size from each end of the file. Using only 128 bytes would be less unique and could increase the risk of false positives, where two different files are mistakenly identified as the same.

B. 512:
This number is the total number of bytes sampled (256 from the start + 256 from the end). However, the question asks for the number of bytes sampled from the first and last parts, implying the value for each individual sample, which is 256.

D. 64:
This value is too small and is not the default. A sample of only 64 bytes would provide a much less reliable fingerprint, making it easier for different files to generate the same CRC, leading to data being incorrectly skipped.

Reference:
Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual: "How the Splunk platform reads file inputs". The documentation confirms that by default, the platform uses crc_ingest and reads the first and last 256 bytes of a file to compute a checksum for the purpose of preventing duplicate data ingestion. This setting can be modified in inputs.conf using the crcSalt or initCrcLength parameters.

Explanation:
At the forwarding tier, Splunk can optimize the ingestion of data before it is sent to indexers. The limits.conf file allows administrators to tune performance-related attributes. Increasing the parallelIngestionPipelines attribute can improve throughput by allowing multiple ingestion pipelines to process incoming data concurrently, which is particularly beneficial for high-volume forwarders. Other options relate to indexing or search, not the forwarding tier, and thus do not directly enhance forwarder performance.

Correct Option:

C. Increase the parallelIngestionPipelines attribute
Allows multiple ingestion pipelines to run concurrently at the forwarder.

Enhances data throughput for high-volume log ingestion.

Helps optimize CPU usage on forwarders by parallelizing processing tasks.

Incorrect Options:

A. Enable the indexed_realtime_use_by_default attribute
Affects real-time search behavior at the indexer, not the forwarder, and does not improve forwarding performance.

B. Increase the maxKBps attribute
Controls network throttling for forwarders. Increasing it may increase network usage but does not optimize the forwarder’s ingestion pipeline itself.

D. Increase the max_searches_per_cpu attribute
Relevant for search head or indexer performance tuning, not forwarding tier. Forwarders do not execute searches.

Reference:
Splunk Documentation: limits.conf

Explanation:
In an indexer cluster, the replication factor (RF) and search factor (SF) are critical settings that define data resilience and availability. The replication factor determines the total number of copies of each data bucket maintained across peer nodes. The search factor specifies how many of those copies are immediately searchable. These settings work together to ensure data is both protected against node failure and readily available for user queries.

Correct Option:

D. The cluster will ensure there are at least three copies of each bucket, and at least two copies of searchable metadata.
This is the correct interpretation. A replication factor of 3 means the cluster manager ensures three total copies of every data bucket exist. A search factor of 2 means that out of those three copies, at least two are maintained in a "searchable" state, allowing searches to be executed against them. The third copy may be a primary or non-searchable copy.

Incorrect Options:

A. The cluster will ensure there are at least two copies of each bucket, and at least three copies of searchable metadata.
This is incorrect because it reverses the factors. The first number (3) is the replication factor (total copies), and the second number (2) is the search factor (searchable copies).

B. The cluster will ensure there are at most three copies of each bucket, and at most two copies of searchable metadata.
The terms "at most" are incorrect. The cluster manager's job is to ensure there are at least the specified number of copies. It will actively work to maintain these minimums, not enforce them as maximums.

C. The cluster will ensure only two search heads are allowed to access the bucket at the same time.
The search factor has no relation to limiting the number of search heads that can connect to the cluster. A search head cluster of any size can search the data. The search factor governs the number of searchable bucket copies, not the number of search heads.

Reference:
Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual: "About the replication factor and search factor". The documentation explicitly defines the replication factor as the total number of copies of all data and the search factor as the number of searchable copies. It states that the cluster actively maintains these minimums for data safety and availability.

Explanation:
A Search Head Cluster (SHC) requires a Deployer to manage and distribute configuration changes, apps, and knowledge objects uniformly across all members of the cluster. Without a Deployer, there is no centralized, standardized method to ensure that all search heads maintain an identical configuration, which is crucial for consistent search results and cluster stability. While the Captain is elected and the RAFT algorithm is used for consensus, the Deployer is the dedicated, mandatory component external to the cluster for configuration management.

Correct Option:

B. Deployer
Function: The Deployer is a standalone Splunk instance that is explicitly designated to manage the SHC.

Mandatory Role: It holds the master copies of all configuration files and apps for the SHC. It uses a bundle-push mechanism to distribute updates (known as configuration bundles) to all search head members, ensuring configuration consistency and stability across the entire cluster.

Configuration: Every Search Head Cluster deployment requires a Deployer configured and running, as noted in the official Splunk documentation for SHC setup.

Incorrect Options:

A. Captain Server
Role: The Captain is a role assumed by one of the existing Search Head Cluster members through an election process (using the RAFT algorithm). It is not a separate, mandatory component installed outside the cluster. It manages the cluster's state and job scheduling.

C. Cluster Manager
Role: Cluster Manager (formerly Master Node) is the term used for the central management component of an Indexer Cluster, not a Search Head Cluster. It handles data replication and indexer configuration.

D. RAFT Server
Role: RAFT is the name of the consensus algorithm (a protocol) used internally by the Search Head Cluster members to elect a Captain and maintain agreement on the cluster state. It is a feature/protocol, not a separate server component that you must install.

Reference:
Splunk Documentation: Search head cluster components and roles Concept: Search Head Cluster Architecture (The Deployer is the dedicated component for configuration consistency).

Explanation:
Troubleshooting configuration files, such as determining which setting is winning the precedence battle or why a configuration isn't applied, requires tools that reveal the merged or loaded configuration.

btool is specifically designed to show the merged content and precedence of configuration files.

search.log and diagnostic logs (splunkd.log, metrics.log, etc., often indexed in _internal) contain runtime errors, warnings, and messages that frequently call out specific configuration issues, such as syntax errors or failure to load a file.

Crash logs, however, are primarily focused on the state of the memory and operating system at the moment the splunkd process abnormally terminates (a segmentation fault or an assertion failure). They contain stack traces and process information, which is useful for debugging code-level bugs or resource exhaustion but provides minimal direct information about the contents of the configuration files themselves.

Correct Option:

A. crash logs
Focus: A crash log's primary content is a stack trace and other low-level system information at the moment of failure. Its purpose is to diagnose the immediate cause of the process termination (e.g., a memory leak, a bad pointer, or hitting an OS resource limit).

Relevance to Config Contents: Crash logs typically do not detail the effective merged settings or explicitly list which configuration file caused a non-fatal logic error. While a crash can be caused by a bad config (like an incorrect setting leading to memory exhaustion), the crash log itself is the least efficient way to read the configuration's content.

Incorrect Options:

B. search.log
Relevance: search.log (part of the larger set of _internal logs) often contains messages related to search-time configuration errors, such as issues with event types, tags, field extractions, lookups, or macros. It can show warnings and errors indicating that a certain configuration object failed to load or apply correctly, which directly points to a problem in the config files (props.conf, transforms.conf, etc.).

C. btool output
Relevance: The splunk btool command is the most helpful tool for configuration troubleshooting. It simulates the Splunk configuration file merge process and outputs the final, effective settings for any .conf file, showing which file and directory provided the winning value (the precedence). This is the direct answer to "What is the content of the configuration?"

D. diagnostic logs
Relevance: This term broadly includes key logs like splunkd.log and the _internal index. splunkd.log is the main log that records the Splunk server's startup process and runtime behavior. It commonly logs syntax errors in .conf files, failure to load certain stanzas, or configuration validation failures, making it highly valuable for troubleshooting configuration contents.

Reference:
Splunk Documentation: Use btool to troubleshoot configurations and What Splunk software logs about itself Concept: Configuration File Precedence (best checked with btool) and Splunk Internal Log Types.

Explanation:
Splunk's ingest-based licensing, such as the Enterprise license, charges based on the daily volume of data indexed. However, not all data counts toward this license quota. Data indexed into internal indexes that are essential for Splunk's own monitoring and management is typically license-free, meaning it does not consume the licensed daily volume. The key is to distinguish between indexes for user data and internal Splunk operational data.

Correct Option:

B. main:
This is the default index for user data and application data. Any data sent to the main index, unless it is from a specifically license-exempt source, will count in full against the daily license volume. It is the primary index for customer-generated logs and metrics.

Incorrect Options:

A. summary:
Data in the summary index is generated by report acceleration and data model acceleration. This data is created from already-licensed data and, as per Splunk's policy, does not count a second time against the license, making it license-free.

C. _metrics:
This is an internal index used by the Splunk platform for its own internal metrics collection. Data placed in the _metrics index is designated as license-free and does not count toward the daily license quota.

D. _introspection:
This is an internal index containing performance diagnostic data about the Splunk instance itself. Like _metrics, data in the _introspection index is considered license-free and does not consume the license volume.

Reference:
Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual: "How the volume license works". The documentation specifies that data indexed into certain internal indexes (including _internal, _audit, _introspection, and _metrics) is not counted against the license. Data in default indexes like main and any custom indexes created by users counts fully toward the license.