Splunk SPLK-2002 Practice Exams
Last updated on Oct 07,2026- Exam Code: SPLK-2002
- Exam Name: Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Exam
- Certification Provider: Splunk
- Latest update: Oct 07,2026
Question #50
Which props.conf setting has the least impact on indexing performance?
- A . SHOULD_LINEMERGE
- B . TRUNCATE
- C . CHARSET
- D . TIME_PREFIX
Correct Answer: C
C
Explanation:
According to the Splunk documentation1, the CHARSET setting in props.conf specifies the character set encoding of the source data. This setting has the least impact on indexing performance, as it only affects how Splunk interprets the bytes of the data, not how it processes or transforms the data.
The other options are false because:
The SHOULD_LINEMERGE setting in props.conf determines whether Splunk breaks events based on timestamps or newlines. This setting has a significant impact on indexing performance, as it affects how Splunk parses the data and identifies the boundaries of the events2.
The TRUNCATE setting in props.conf specifies the maximum number of characters that Splunk indexes from a single line of a file. This setting has a moderate impact on indexing performance, as it affects how much data Splunk reads and writes to the index3.
The TIME_PREFIX setting in props.conf specifies the prefix that directly precedes the timestamp in the event data. This setting has a moderate impact on indexing performance, as it affects how Splunk extracts the timestamp and assigns it to the event
C
Explanation:
According to the Splunk documentation1, the CHARSET setting in props.conf specifies the character set encoding of the source data. This setting has the least impact on indexing performance, as it only affects how Splunk interprets the bytes of the data, not how it processes or transforms the data.
The other options are false because:
The SHOULD_LINEMERGE setting in props.conf determines whether Splunk breaks events based on timestamps or newlines. This setting has a significant impact on indexing performance, as it affects how Splunk parses the data and identifies the boundaries of the events2.
The TRUNCATE setting in props.conf specifies the maximum number of characters that Splunk indexes from a single line of a file. This setting has a moderate impact on indexing performance, as it affects how much data Splunk reads and writes to the index3.
The TIME_PREFIX setting in props.conf specifies the prefix that directly precedes the timestamp in the event data. This setting has a moderate impact on indexing performance, as it affects how Splunk extracts the timestamp and assigns it to the event
Question #52
What is needed to ensure that high-velocity sources will not have forwarding delays to the indexers?
- A . Increase the default value of sessionTimeout in server, conf.
- B . Increase the default limit for maxKBps in limits.conf.
- C . Decrease the value of forceTimebasedAutoLB in outputs. conf.
- D . Decrease the default value of phoneHomelntervallnSecs in deploymentclient .conf.
Correct Answer: B
B
Explanation:
To ensure that high-velocity sources will not have forwarding delays to the indexers, the default limit for maxKBps in limits.conf should be increased. This parameter controls the maximum bandwidth that a forwarder can use to send data to the indexers. By default, it is set to 256 KBps, which may not be sufficient for high-volume data sources. Increasing this limit can reduce the forwarding latency and improve the performance of the forwarders. However, this should be done with caution, as it may affect the network bandwidth and the indexer load.
Option B is the correct answer.
Option A is incorrect because the sessionTimeout parameter in server.conf controls the duration of a TCP connection between a forwarder and an indexer, not the bandwidth limit.
Option C is incorrect because the forceTimebasedAutoLB parameter in outputs.conf controls the frequency of load balancing among the indexers, not the bandwidth limit.
Option D is incorrect because the phoneHomelntervallnSecs parameter in deploymentclient.conf controls the interval at which a forwarder contacts the deployment server, not the bandwidth limit12
1: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Admin/Limitsconf#limits.conf.spec 2: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Forwarding/Routeandfilterdatad#Set_the_m aximum_bandwidth_usage_for_a_forwarder
B
Explanation:
To ensure that high-velocity sources will not have forwarding delays to the indexers, the default limit for maxKBps in limits.conf should be increased. This parameter controls the maximum bandwidth that a forwarder can use to send data to the indexers. By default, it is set to 256 KBps, which may not be sufficient for high-volume data sources. Increasing this limit can reduce the forwarding latency and improve the performance of the forwarders. However, this should be done with caution, as it may affect the network bandwidth and the indexer load.
Option B is the correct answer.
Option A is incorrect because the sessionTimeout parameter in server.conf controls the duration of a TCP connection between a forwarder and an indexer, not the bandwidth limit.
Option C is incorrect because the forceTimebasedAutoLB parameter in outputs.conf controls the frequency of load balancing among the indexers, not the bandwidth limit.
Option D is incorrect because the phoneHomelntervallnSecs parameter in deploymentclient.conf controls the interval at which a forwarder contacts the deployment server, not the bandwidth limit12
1: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Admin/Limitsconf#limits.conf.spec 2: https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.2/Forwarding/Routeandfilterdatad#Set_the_m aximum_bandwidth_usage_for_a_forwarder
Question #53
To reduce the captain’s work load in a search head cluster, what setting will prevent scheduled searches from running on the captain?
- A . adhoc_searchhead = true (on all members)
- B . adhoc_searchhead = true (on the current captain)
- C . captain_is_adhoc_searchhead = true (on all members)
- D . captain_is_adhoc_searchhead = true (on the current captain)
Correct Answer: D
D
Explanation:
To reduce the captain’s work load in a search head cluster, the setting that will prevent scheduled searches from running on the captain is captain_is_adhoc_searchhead = true (on the current captain). This setting will designate the current captain as an ad hoc search head, which means that it
will not run any scheduled searches, but only ad hoc searches initiated by users. This will reduce the captain’s work load and improve the search head cluster performance. The adhoc_searchhead = true (on all members) setting will designate all search head cluster members as ad hoc search heads, which means that none of them will run any scheduled searches, which is not desirable. The adhoc_searchhead = true (on the current captain) setting will have no effect, as this setting is ignored by the captain. The captain_is_adhoc_searchhead = true (on all members) setting will have no effect, as this setting is only applied to the current captain. For more information, see Configure the captain as an ad hoc search head in the Splunk documentation.
D
Explanation:
To reduce the captain’s work load in a search head cluster, the setting that will prevent scheduled searches from running on the captain is captain_is_adhoc_searchhead = true (on the current captain). This setting will designate the current captain as an ad hoc search head, which means that it
will not run any scheduled searches, but only ad hoc searches initiated by users. This will reduce the captain’s work load and improve the search head cluster performance. The adhoc_searchhead = true (on all members) setting will designate all search head cluster members as ad hoc search heads, which means that none of them will run any scheduled searches, which is not desirable. The adhoc_searchhead = true (on the current captain) setting will have no effect, as this setting is ignored by the captain. The captain_is_adhoc_searchhead = true (on all members) setting will have no effect, as this setting is only applied to the current captain. For more information, see Configure the captain as an ad hoc search head in the Splunk documentation.
Question #54
What is the logical first step when starting a deployment plan?
- A . Inventory the currently deployed logging infrastructure.
- B . Determine what apps and use cases will be implemented.
- C . Gather statistics on the expected adoption of Splunk for sizing.
- D . Collect the initial requirements for the deployment from all stakeholders.
Correct Answer: D
D
Explanation:
The logical first step when starting a deployment plan is to collect the initial requirements for the deployment from all stakeholders. This includes identifying the business objectives, the data sources, the use cases, the security and compliance needs, the scalability and availability expectations, and the budget and timeline constraints. Collecting the initial requirements helps to define the scope and the goals of the deployment, and to align the expectations of all the parties involved.
Inventorying the currently deployed logging infrastructure, determining what apps and use cases will be implemented, and gathering statistics on the expected adoption of Splunk for sizing are all important steps in the deployment planning process, but they are not the logical first step. These steps can be done after collecting the initial requirements, as they depend on the information gathered from the stakeholders.
D
Explanation:
The logical first step when starting a deployment plan is to collect the initial requirements for the deployment from all stakeholders. This includes identifying the business objectives, the data sources, the use cases, the security and compliance needs, the scalability and availability expectations, and the budget and timeline constraints. Collecting the initial requirements helps to define the scope and the goals of the deployment, and to align the expectations of all the parties involved.
Inventorying the currently deployed logging infrastructure, determining what apps and use cases will be implemented, and gathering statistics on the expected adoption of Splunk for sizing are all important steps in the deployment planning process, but they are not the logical first step. These steps can be done after collecting the initial requirements, as they depend on the information gathered from the stakeholders.
Question #55
Which of the following can a Splunk diag contain?
- A . Search history, Splunk users and their roles, running processes, indexed data
- B . Server specs, current open connections, internal Splunk log files, index listings
- C . KV store listings, internal Splunk log files, search peer bundles listings, indexed data
- D . Splunk platform configuration details, Splunk users and their roles, current open connections, index listings
Correct Answer: B
B
Explanation:
The following artifacts are included in a Splunk diag file:
Server specs. These are the specifications of the server that Splunk runs on, such as the CPU model, the memory size, the disk space, and the network interface. These specs can help understand the Splunk hardware requirements and performance.
Current open connections. These are the connections that Splunk has established with other Splunk instances or external sources, such as forwarders, indexers, search heads, license masters, deployment servers, and data inputs. These connections can help understand the Splunk network topology and communication.
Internal Splunk log files. These are the log files that Splunk generates to record its own activities, such as splunkd.log, metrics.log, audit.log, and others. These logs can help troubleshoot Splunk issues and monitor Splunk performance.
Index listings. These are the listings of the indexes that Splunk has created and configured, such as the index name, the index location, the index size, and the index attributes. These listings can help understand the Splunk data management and retention. The following artifacts are not included in a Splunk diag file:
Search history. This is the history of the searches that Splunk has executed, such as the search query,
the search time, the search results, and the search user. This history is not part of the Splunk diag file, but it can be accessed from the Splunk Web interface or the audit.log file.
Splunk users and their roles. These are the users that Splunk has created and assigned roles to, such as the user name, the user password, the user role, and the user capabilities. These users and roles are not part of the Splunk diag file, but they can be accessed from the Splunk Web interface or the authentication.conf and authorize.conf files.
KV store listings. These are the listings of the KV store collections and documents that Splunk has created and stored, such as the collection name, the collection schema, the document ID, and the document fields. These listings are not part of the Splunk diag file, but they can be accessed from the Splunk Web interface or the mongod.log file.
Indexed data. These are the data that Splunk indexes and makes searchable, such as the rawdata and the tsidx files. These data are not part of the Splunk diag file, as they may contain sensitive or confidential information. For more information, see Generate a diagnostic snapshot of your Splunk Enterprise deployment in the Splunk documentation.
B
Explanation:
The following artifacts are included in a Splunk diag file:
Server specs. These are the specifications of the server that Splunk runs on, such as the CPU model, the memory size, the disk space, and the network interface. These specs can help understand the Splunk hardware requirements and performance.
Current open connections. These are the connections that Splunk has established with other Splunk instances or external sources, such as forwarders, indexers, search heads, license masters, deployment servers, and data inputs. These connections can help understand the Splunk network topology and communication.
Internal Splunk log files. These are the log files that Splunk generates to record its own activities, such as splunkd.log, metrics.log, audit.log, and others. These logs can help troubleshoot Splunk issues and monitor Splunk performance.
Index listings. These are the listings of the indexes that Splunk has created and configured, such as the index name, the index location, the index size, and the index attributes. These listings can help understand the Splunk data management and retention. The following artifacts are not included in a Splunk diag file:
Search history. This is the history of the searches that Splunk has executed, such as the search query,
the search time, the search results, and the search user. This history is not part of the Splunk diag file, but it can be accessed from the Splunk Web interface or the audit.log file.
Splunk users and their roles. These are the users that Splunk has created and assigned roles to, such as the user name, the user password, the user role, and the user capabilities. These users and roles are not part of the Splunk diag file, but they can be accessed from the Splunk Web interface or the authentication.conf and authorize.conf files.
KV store listings. These are the listings of the KV store collections and documents that Splunk has created and stored, such as the collection name, the collection schema, the document ID, and the document fields. These listings are not part of the Splunk diag file, but they can be accessed from the Splunk Web interface or the mongod.log file.
Indexed data. These are the data that Splunk indexes and makes searchable, such as the rawdata and the tsidx files. These data are not part of the Splunk diag file, as they may contain sensitive or confidential information. For more information, see Generate a diagnostic snapshot of your Splunk Enterprise deployment in the Splunk documentation.
Question #56
How does the average run time of all searches relate to the available CPU cores on the indexers?
- A . Average run time is independent of the number of CPU cores on the indexers.
- B . Average run time decreases as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases.
- C . Average run time increases as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases.
- D . Average run time increases as the number of CPU cores on the indexers increases.
Correct Answer: C
C
Explanation:
The average run time of all searches increases as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases. The CPU cores are the processing units that execute the instructions and calculations for the data. The number of CPU cores on the indexers affects the search performance, because the indexers are responsible for retrieving and filtering the data from the indexes. The more CPU cores the indexers have, the faster they can process the data and return the results. The less CPU cores the indexers have, the slower they can process the data and return the results. Therefore, the average run time of all searches is inversely proportional to the number of CPU cores on the indexers. The average run time of all searches is not independent of the number of CPU cores on the indexers, because the CPU cores are an important factor for the search performance. The average run time of all searches does not decrease as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases, because this would imply that the search performance improves with less CPU cores, which is not true. The average run time of all searches does not increase as the number of CPU cores on the indexers increases, because this would imply that the search performance worsens with more CPU cores, which is not true
C
Explanation:
The average run time of all searches increases as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases. The CPU cores are the processing units that execute the instructions and calculations for the data. The number of CPU cores on the indexers affects the search performance, because the indexers are responsible for retrieving and filtering the data from the indexes. The more CPU cores the indexers have, the faster they can process the data and return the results. The less CPU cores the indexers have, the slower they can process the data and return the results. Therefore, the average run time of all searches is inversely proportional to the number of CPU cores on the indexers. The average run time of all searches is not independent of the number of CPU cores on the indexers, because the CPU cores are an important factor for the search performance. The average run time of all searches does not decrease as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases, because this would imply that the search performance improves with less CPU cores, which is not true. The average run time of all searches does not increase as the number of CPU cores on the indexers increases, because this would imply that the search performance worsens with more CPU cores, which is not true
Question #57
Which of the following is a problem that could be investigated using the Search Job Inspector?
- A . Error messages are appearing underneath the search bar in Splunk Web.
- B . Dashboard panels are showing "Waiting for queued job to start" on page load.
- C . Different users are seeing different extracted fields from the same search.
- D . Events are not being sorted in reverse chronological order.
Correct Answer: A
A
Explanation:
According to the Splunk documentation1, the Search Job Inspector is a tool that you can use to troubleshoot search performance and understand the behavior of knowledge objects, such as event types, tags, lookups, and so on, within the search. You can inspect search jobs that are currently running or that have finished recently. The Search Job Inspector can help you investigate error messages that appear underneath the search bar in Splunk Web, as it can show you the details of the search job, such as the search string, the search mode, the search timeline, the search log, the search profile, and the search properties. You can use this information to identify the cause of the error and fix it2. The other options are false because:
Dashboard panels showing “Waiting for queued job to start” on page load is not a problem that can be investigated using the Search Job Inspector, as it indicates that the search job has not started yet. This could be due to the search scheduler being busy or the search priority being low. You can use the Jobs page or the Monitoring Console to monitor the status of the search jobs and adjust the priority or concurrency settings if needed3.
Different users seeing different extracted fields from the same search is not a problem that can be investigated using the Search Job Inspector, as it is related to the user permissions and the knowledge object sharing settings. You can use the Access Controls page or the Knowledge Manager
to manage the user roles and the knowledge object visibility4.
Events not being sorted in reverse chronological order is not a problem that can be investigated using the Search Job Inspector, as it is related to the search syntax and the sort command. You can use the Search Manual or the Search Reference to learn how to use the sort command and its options to sort the events by any field or criteria.
A
Explanation:
According to the Splunk documentation1, the Search Job Inspector is a tool that you can use to troubleshoot search performance and understand the behavior of knowledge objects, such as event types, tags, lookups, and so on, within the search. You can inspect search jobs that are currently running or that have finished recently. The Search Job Inspector can help you investigate error messages that appear underneath the search bar in Splunk Web, as it can show you the details of the search job, such as the search string, the search mode, the search timeline, the search log, the search profile, and the search properties. You can use this information to identify the cause of the error and fix it2. The other options are false because:
Dashboard panels showing “Waiting for queued job to start” on page load is not a problem that can be investigated using the Search Job Inspector, as it indicates that the search job has not started yet. This could be due to the search scheduler being busy or the search priority being low. You can use the Jobs page or the Monitoring Console to monitor the status of the search jobs and adjust the priority or concurrency settings if needed3.
Different users seeing different extracted fields from the same search is not a problem that can be investigated using the Search Job Inspector, as it is related to the user permissions and the knowledge object sharing settings. You can use the Access Controls page or the Knowledge Manager
to manage the user roles and the knowledge object visibility4.
Events not being sorted in reverse chronological order is not a problem that can be investigated using the Search Job Inspector, as it is related to the search syntax and the sort command. You can use the Search Manual or the Search Reference to learn how to use the sort command and its options to sort the events by any field or criteria.
Question #58
Which command should be run to re-sync a stale KV Store member in a search head cluster?
- A . splunk clean kvstore -local
- B . splunk resync kvstore -remote
- C . splunk resync kvstore -local
- D . splunk clean eventdata -local
Correct Answer: A
A
Explanation:
To resync a stale KV Store member in a search head cluster, you need to stop the search head that has the stale KV Store member, run the command splunk clean kvstore –local, and then restart the search head. This triggers the initial synchronization from other KV Store members12.
The command splunk resync kvstore [-source sourceId] is used to resync the entire KV Store cluster from one of the members, not a single member. This command can only be invoked from the node that is operating as search head cluster captain2.
The command splunk clean eventdata -local is used to delete all indexed data from a standalone indexer or a cluster peer node, not to resync the KV Store3.
Reference: 1: How to resolve error on a search head member in the search head cluster …
2: Resync the KV store – Splunk Documentation
3: Delete indexed data – Splunk Documentation
A
Explanation:
To resync a stale KV Store member in a search head cluster, you need to stop the search head that has the stale KV Store member, run the command splunk clean kvstore –local, and then restart the search head. This triggers the initial synchronization from other KV Store members12.
The command splunk resync kvstore [-source sourceId] is used to resync the entire KV Store cluster from one of the members, not a single member. This command can only be invoked from the node that is operating as search head cluster captain2.
The command splunk clean eventdata -local is used to delete all indexed data from a standalone indexer or a cluster peer node, not to resync the KV Store3.
Reference: 1: How to resolve error on a search head member in the search head cluster …
2: Resync the KV store – Splunk Documentation
3: Delete indexed data – Splunk Documentation
Question #59
A Splunk instance has the following settings in SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/server.conf:
[clustering]
mode = master
replication_factor = 2
pass4SymmKey = password123
Which of the following statements describe this Splunk instance? (Select all that apply.)
- A . This is a multi-site cluster.
- B . This cluster’s search factor is 2.
- C . This Splunk instance needs to be restarted.
- D . This instance is missing the master_uri attribute.
Correct Answer: C, D
C, D
Explanation:
The Splunk instance with the given settings in SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/server.conf is missing the master_uri attribute and needs to be restarted. The master_uri attribute is required for the master node to communicate with the peer nodes and the search head cluster. The master_uri attribute specifies the host name and port number of the master node. Without this attribute, the master node cannot function properly. The Splunk instance also needs to be restarted for the changes in the server.conf file to take effect. The replication_factor setting determines how many copies of each bucket are maintained across the peer nodes. The search factor is a separate setting that determines how many searchable copies of each bucket are maintained across the peer nodes. The search factor is not specified in the given settings, so it defaults to the same value as the replication factor, which is 2. This is not a multi-site cluster, because the site attribute is not specified in the clustering stanza. A multi-site cluster is a cluster that spans multiple geographic locations, or sites, and has different replication and search factors for each site.
C, D
Explanation:
The Splunk instance with the given settings in SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/server.conf is missing the master_uri attribute and needs to be restarted. The master_uri attribute is required for the master node to communicate with the peer nodes and the search head cluster. The master_uri attribute specifies the host name and port number of the master node. Without this attribute, the master node cannot function properly. The Splunk instance also needs to be restarted for the changes in the server.conf file to take effect. The replication_factor setting determines how many copies of each bucket are maintained across the peer nodes. The search factor is a separate setting that determines how many searchable copies of each bucket are maintained across the peer nodes. The search factor is not specified in the given settings, so it defaults to the same value as the replication factor, which is 2. This is not a multi-site cluster, because the site attribute is not specified in the clustering stanza. A multi-site cluster is a cluster that spans multiple geographic locations, or sites, and has different replication and search factors for each site.
Question #60
Before users can use a KV store, an admin must create a collection. Where is a collection is defined?
- A . kvstore.conf
- B . collection.conf
- C . collections.conf
- D . kvcollections.conf
Correct Answer: C
C
Explanation:
A collection is defined in the collections.conf file, which specifies the name, schema, and permissions of the collection. The kvstore.conf file is used to configure the KV store settings, such as the port, SSL, and replication factor. The other two files do not exist1
C
Explanation:
A collection is defined in the collections.conf file, which specifies the name, schema, and permissions of the collection. The kvstore.conf file is used to configure the KV store settings, such as the port, SSL, and replication factor. The other two files do not exist1