SPLK-1002 Splunk Core Certified Power User Exam Questions and Answers

Field aliases in Splunk are alternate names assigned to fields. These can be particularly useful for normalizing data from different sources or simply for making field names more intuitive. Once an alias is created for a field, it can be used across various Splunk knowledge objects, enhancing their flexibility and utility.

A. Calculated fields, lookups, event types, and tags: This is the correct answer. Field aliases can indeed be referenced in calculated fields, lookups, event types, and tags within Splunk. When you create an alias for a field, that alias can then be used in these knowledge objects just like any standard field name.

Calculated fields: These are expressions that can create new field values based on existing data. You can use an alias in a calculated field expression to refer to the original field.

Lookups: These are used to enrich your event data by referencing external data sources. If you've created an alias for a field that matches a field in your lookup table, you can use that alias in your lookup configurations.

Event types: These are classifications for events that meet certain search criteria. You can use field aliases in the search criteria for defining an event type.

Tags: These allow you to assign meaningful labels to data, making it easier to search and report on. You can use field aliases in the search criteria that you tag.

The Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) add-on is a collection of pre-built data models and knowledge objects that help you normalize your data from different sources and make it easier to analyze and report on it3. The CIM add-on includes pre-configured data models that cover various domains such as Alerts, Email, Database, Network Traffic, Web and more3. Therefore, option B is correct. The CIM add-on also includes fields and event category tags that define the common attributes and labels for the data models3. Therefore, option C is correct. The CIM add-on does not include custom visualizations or automatic data model acceleration. Therefore, options A and D are incorrect.

The correct answer is D. field2 values are replaced with the value of the field1.

A field alias is a way to associate an additional (new) name with an existing field name. A field alias can be used to normalize fields from different sources that have different names but represent the same data. Field aliases can also be used to rename fields for clarity or convenience1.

When you create a field alias in Splunk Web, you can select the Overwrite Field Values option to change the behavior of the field alias. This option affects how the Splunk software handles situations where the original field has no value or does not exist, as well as situations where the alias field already exists as a field in your events, alongside the original field2.

If you select the Overwrite Field Values option, the following rules apply:

If the original field does not exist or has no value in an event, the alias field is removed from that event.

If the original field and the alias field both exist in an event, the value of the alias field is replaced with the value of the original field.

If you do not select the Overwrite Field Values option, the following rules apply:

If the original field does not exist or has no value in an event, the alias field is unchanged in that event.

If the original field and the alias field both exist in an event, both fields are retained with their respective values.

Therefore, if you create a field alias where field1—field2 and select the Overwrite Field Values option, and an event only contains values for field1, then the value of field2 will be replaced with the value of field1.

The Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) is a collection of data models that apply a common structure and naming convention to data from any source. A data model is a type of knowledge object that defines the structure and relationships of fields in a dataset. A data model can have one or more datasets, which are subsets of the data model that represent different aspects of the data. For example, the Network Traffic data model has datasets such as All Traffic, DNS, HTTP, etc. The CIM contains 28 pre-configured data models that cover various domains such as authentication, network traffic, web, email, etc. The CIM is implemented as an add-on that contains the JSON files for the data models, documentation, and tools that support the consistent, normalized treatment of data for maximum efficiency at search time23

1: Splunk Core Certified Power User Track, page 10. 2: Splunk Documentation, Overview of the Splunk Common Information Model 1. 3: Splunkbase, Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) 2.

 The data model command allows you to run searches on data models that have been accelerated1. The syntax for using the data model command is | datamodel [search ]1. Therefore, option A is the correct way to use the data model command to search fields in the data model within the web dataset. Options B and C are incorrect because they do not follow the syntax for the data model command. Option D is incorrect because it does not use the data model command at all.

A field alias is a way to assign an alternative name to an existing field without changing the original field name or value2. You can use field aliases to make your field names more consistent or descriptive across different sources or sourcetypes2. When you run a search without any transforming commands in Smart Mode, Splunk automatically identifies and displays interesting fields in your results2. Interesting fields are fields that appear in at least 20 percent of events or have high variability among values2. If you have created a field alias based on an original field, both the original field name and the alias name will appear in the Interesting Fields list if they meet these criteria2. However, only one of them will appear in each event depending on which one you have specified in your search string2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect.

The fields sidebar is a panel that shows the fields that are present in your search results2. The fields sidebar has two sections: selected fields and interesting fields2. Selected fields are fields that you choose to display in your search results by clicking on them in the fields sidebar or by using the fields command2. Interesting fields are fields that appear in at least 20 percent of events or have high variability among values2. For each field in the fields sidebar, you can select one of the following options: events with this field, rare values, top values by time or top values2. If you select rare values, Splunk will automatically pipe your search results to the rare command, which shows the least common values of a field2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect because they do not pipe your search results to the rare command.

In Splunk, Pivot is a tool that allows you to report on a specific data set without using the Splunk Search Processing Language (SPL™)1. You can use a drag-and-drop interface to design and generate pivots that present different aspects of your data in the form of tables, charts, and other visualizations12.

One of the features of Pivot is that it allows you to save your reports1. This can be useful when you want to reuse a report or share it with others1. Therefore, it’s not true that users cannot share visualizations created with Pivot or that they must use SPL to find events in a Pivot12. It’s also not true that users cannot create visualizations with Pivot, as creating visualizations is one of the main functions of Pivot12.

The correct answer is C. _time.

The timechart command creates a time series chart with corresponding table of statistics, with time used as the X-axis1. You can specify a split-by field, where each distinct value of the split-by field becomes a series in the chart1. In this case, the split-by field is action, which means that the chart will have different lines for different actions, such as accept, reject, or fail2. The count function will calculate the number of events for each action in each time bin1.

For example, the following image shows a timechart of the count by action for a similar search3:

As you can see, the x-axis is populated by the _time field, which represents the time range of the search. The y-axis is populated by the count function, which represents the number of events for each action. The legend shows the different values of the action field, which are used to split the chart into different series.

In Splunk, a workflow action that returns an external IP lookup for a field named domain would typically use the GET method. This HTTP method is used to retrieve data from a specified resource, which is appropriate for looking up information based on the domain field.

transaction groups related events and preserves raw event data.

Extract: “Transactions contain the raw text (_raw) of each member event, earliest time fields, and all other field values.”

Thus, unlike stats, the transaction command retains the original raw data for analysis.

A POST workflow action in Splunk is designed to send data to an external web service by using HTTP POST requests. This type of workflow action can pass a combination of clear text strings and variables derived from the search results or event data. The clear text strings might include static text or predefined values, while the variables are dynamic elements that represent specific fields or values extracted from the Splunk events. This flexibility allows for constructing detailed and context-specific requests to external systems, enabling various integration and automation scenarios. The POST request can include both types of data, making it versatile for different use cases.

The relationship between data models and pivots is that data models provide the datasets for pivots. Data models are collections of datasets that represent your data in a structured and hierarchical way. Data models define how your data is organized into objects and fields. Pivots are user interfaces that allow you to create data visualizations that present different aspects of a data model. Pivots let you select options from menus and forms to create charts, tables, maps, etc., without writing any SPL code. Pivots use datasets from data models as their source of data. Pivots and data models are not the same thing, as pivots are tools for visualizing data models. Pivots do not provide datasets for data models, but rather use them as inputs.

Therefore, only statement A is true about the relationship between data models and pivots.

The eval command ‘if’ function requires the following three arguments (in order): boolean expression, result if true, result if false. The eval command is a search command that allows you to create new fields or modify existing fields by performing calculations or transformations on them. The eval command can use various functions to perform different operations on fields. The ‘if’ function is one of the functions that can be used with the eval command to perform conditional evaluations on fields. The ‘if’ function takes three arguments: a boolean expression that evaluates to true or false, a result that will be returned if the boolean expression is true, and a result that will be returned if the boolean expression is false. The ‘if’ function returns one of the two results based on the evaluation of the boolean expression.

In this search, count will appear on the y-axis2. This search uses the chart command to create a chart of the count of events over host for events that have status not equal to 2002. The chart command creates a table with one column for each value of the field after the over clause and one row for each value of the field after the by clause (if any)2. The values in the table are calculated by applying the function before the over clause to the events in each group2. In this case, the chart command creates a table with one column for each host and one row for the count of events for each host. The y-axis of the chart shows the values of the count function applied to each host. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A and B are incorrect because they appear on the x-axis or as labels of the chart.

When you define a calculated field, you can specify the name of the field that the eval expression will create or modify. If the name of the calculated field matches the name of an existing extracted field, the calculated field will override the extracted field and replace its value with the result of the eval expression. This means that the original value of the extracted field will not be available for searching or analysis. To avoid this, you should use a unique name for your calculated field or use a different name for your extracted field2

1: Splunk Core Certified Power User Track, page 9. 2: Splunk Documentation, Configure calculated fields with props.conf.

A calculated field in Splunk is designed to automatically add fields at search time using an eval expression. This feature allows users to define new fields based on existing data without needing to manually include an eval command in every search. Calculated fields simplify repeated search tasks by embedding the eval logic directly into the field configuration.

An event type is a classification of events based on a search query, which allows for a static set of search criteria. In this case, option A (index=server_48 sourcetype=BETA_881 code=220) represents a simple search without transforming commands (e.g., stats, inputlookup). Event types cannot include transforming commands such as stats or lookup.References:Splunk Documentation - Event Types

Macros in Splunk are defined with the number of arguments inside parentheses after the macro name. For two arguments, the syntax is samplemacro(2). This defines a macro accepting two arguments.

Event types in Splunk are saved as static search strings. The example index=server_485 sourcetype=BETA_726 code=917 is a simple search that can be saved as an event type, as it does not contain dynamic processing commands like stats or inputlookup, which are not valid for event types.

A delimiter field extraction is a method of extracting fields from data that uses a character or a string to separate fields in each event. A delimiter field extraction can be performed by using the Field Extractor (FX) tool or by editing the props.conf file. A delimiter field extraction can be applied to any file format that uses a delimiter to separate fields, such as CSV, TSV, PSV, etc. A CSV file is a comma-separated values file that uses commas as delimiters. Therefore, a CSV file can be extracted using a delimiter field extraction.

The transaction command groups events that share a common value in a specified field, such as JSESSIONID, and that occur within a specified time range. The search command filters the results to show only the events that match the given value of JSESSIONID. This search groups the events by JSESSIONID and then shows only the events that have the value SD462K101C2F267 for JSESSIONID2

1: Splunk Core Certified Power User Track, page 9. 2: Splunk Documentation, transaction command.

The fillnull command can be used to replace null values in specific fields. The correct equivalent expression for the given eval statement would involve using fillnull twice, once for field1 to replace null values with 0, and once for field2 to replace null values with "NO-VALUE".

If a search returns statistics, it can be viewed as a chart2. Statistics are tabular data that show the relationship between two or more fields2. You can create statistics by using commands such as stats, chart or timechart2. You can view statistics as a chart by selecting the Visualization tab in the Search app and choosing a chart type such as column, line or pie2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect because they are not types of data that can be viewed as a chart.

Highlighted search terms indicate matching search results in Splunk, which means that they show which parts of your events match your search string2. For example, if you search for error OR fail, Splunk will highlight error or fail in your events to show which events match your search string2. Therefore, option D is correct, while options A, B and C are incorrect because they are not indicated by highlighted search terms.

Tags can be searched with tag= and Boolean operators.

Extract: “Use tag= to search for events with that tag. Use Boolean operators such as NOT to exclude tags.”

Therefore, tag=Marketing NOT (tag=San_Francisco) correctly filters Marketing-tagged employees excluding those tagged San_Francisco.

The fillnull command replaces null or missing values in specified fields with a given replacement value. In this example, the command sets the src field to "Unknown" wherever it is null. It does not affect other fields or convert values from "Unknown" back to null.

Arguments are defined within the macro search string by using dollar signs on either side of the argument name, such as arg1 or fragment.

References

Search macro examples

Define search macros in Settings

Use search macros in searches

The descriptions of the data models that come with the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) Add-on are documented in the CIM Add-on manual (Option B). This manual provides detailed information about the data models, including their structure, the types of data they are designed to normalize, and how they can be used to facilitate cross-sourcing reporting and analysis.

To create a macro that accepts arguments, you must include the number of arguments in parentheses at the end of the macro name1. For example, my_macro(3) is a macro that accepts three arguments. The number of arguments in the macro name must match the number of arguments in the definition1. Therefore, option A is correct, while options B, C and D are incorrect.

This search string is not valid: index=web status=50* | chart count over host,status2. This search string uses an invalid syntax for the chart command. The chart command requires one field after the over clause and optionally one field after the by clause. However, this search string has two fields after the over clause separated by a comma. This will cause a syntax error and prevent the search from running. Therefore, option A is correct, while options B and C are incorrect because they are valid search strings that use the chart command correctly.

In Splunk, when using the chart command, the useother parameter can be set to false (f) to remove the 'OTHER' category, which is a bucket that Splunk uses to aggregate low-cardinality groups into a single group to simplify visualization. Here's how the options break down:

A. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action useother=fThis command correctly sets the useother parameter to false, which would prevent the 'OTHER' category from being displayed in the resulting visualization.

B. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action usenull=f useother=tThis command has useother set to true (t), which means the 'OTHER' category would still be included, so this is not a correct option.

C. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action limit=10 useother=fSimilar to option A, this command also sets useother to false, additionally imposing a limit to the top 10 results, which is a way to control the granularity of the chart but also to remove the 'OTHER' category.

D. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action limit-10This command has a syntax error (limit-10 should be limit=10) and does not include the useother=f clause. Therefore, it would not remove the 'OTHER' category, making it incorrect.

The correct answers to rewrite the syntax to remove the 'OTHER' category are options A and C, which explicitly set useother=f.

The command sourcetype=access_combined | transaction JSESSIONID does three things:

It filters the events by the sourcetype access_combined, which is a predefined sourcetype for Apache web server logs.

It groups the events by the field JSESSIONID, which is a unique identifier for each user session.

It creates a single event from each group of events that share the same JSESSIONID value. This single event will have some additional fields created by the transaction command, such as duration, eventcount, and startime.

Therefore, the statements B, C, and D are true.

Data models and pivot are both knowledge objects in Splunk that allow you to analyze and visualize your data in different ways. Data models are collections of datasets that represent your data in a structured and hierarchical way. Data models define how your data is organized into objects and fields. Pivot is a user interface that allows you to create data visualizations that present different aspects of a data model. Pivot does not require users to input SPL searches on data models, but rather lets them select options from menus and forms. Data models are not created out of datasets called pivots, but rather pivots are created from datasets in data models.

The maxspan function of the transaction command allows you to set the maximum total time between the earliest and latest events returned. The maxspan function is an argument that can be used with the transaction command to specify the start and end constraints for the transactions. The maxspan function takes a time modifier as its value, such as 30s, 5m, 1h, etc. The maxspan function sets the maximum time span between the first and last events in a transaction. If the time span between the first and last events exceeds the maxspan value, the transaction will be split into multiple transactions.

This is because event types are added to events as a field named eventtype, and you can use this field as a search term to find events that match a specific event type. For example, eventtype=successful_purchases returns all events that have been categorized as successful purchases by the event type definition. The other options are incorrect because they either use a different field name (tag), a different syntax (Event Type:: or event type—), or have a typo (success ful_purchases). You can learn more about how to use event types in searches from the Splunk documentation1.

The following statements about tags are true: tags are based on field/value pairs and tags categorize events based on a search. Tags are custom labels that can be applied to fields or field values to provide additional context or meaning for your data. Tags can be used to filter or analyze your data based on common concepts or themes. Tags can be created by using various methods, such as search commands, configuration files, user interfaces, etc. Some of the characteristics of tags are:

Tags are based on field/value pairs: This means that tags are associated with a specific field name and a specific field value. For example, you can create a tag called “alert” for the field name “status” and the field value “critical”. This means that only events that have status=critical will have the “alert” tag applied to them.

Tags categorize events based on a search: This means that tags are defined by a search string that matches the events that you want to tag. For example, you can create a tag called “web” for the search string sourcetype=access_combined. This means that only events that match the search string sourcetype=access_combined will have the “web” tag applied to them.

The following statements about tags are false: tags are case-insensitive and tags are designed to make data more understandable. Tags are case-sensitive and tags are designed to make data more searchable. Tags are case-sensitive: This means that tags must match the exact case of the field name and field value that they are associated with. For example, if you create a tag called “alert” for the field name “status” and the field value “critical”, it will not apply to events that have status=CRITICAL or Status=critical. Tags are designed to make data more searchable: This means that tags can help you find relevant events or patterns in your data by using common concepts or themes. For example, if you create a tag called “web” for the search string sourcetype=access_combined, you can use tag=web to find all events related to web activity.

The correct answer is B. Transforming.

The explanation is as follows:

The timechart command is a Splunk command that creates a time series chart with corresponding table of statistics12.

A timechart is a statistical aggregation applied to a field to produce a chart, with time used as the X-axis1. You can specify a split-by field, where each distinct value of the split-by field becomes a series in the chart1.

Transforming commands are commands that change the format of the search results into a data structure that can be easily visualized3. Transforming commands often use stats functions to aggregate and summarize data3.

Therefore, the timechart command is an example of a transforming command, as it transforms the search results into a chart and a table using stats functions123.

The correct answer is A. When a log file has values that are separated by the same character, for example, commas.

The Field Extractor (FX) is a utility in Splunk Web that allows you to create new fields from your events by using either regular expressions or delimiters. The FX provides a graphical interface that guides you through the steps of defining and testing your field extractions1.

The FX supports two field extraction methods: regular expression and delimited. The regular expression method works best with unstructured event data, such as logs or messages, that do not have a consistent format or structure. You select a sample event and highlight one or more fields to extract from that event, and the FX generates a regular expression that matches similar events in your data set and extracts the fields from them1.

The delimited method is designed for structured event data: data from files with headers, where all of the fields in the events are separated by a common delimiter, such as a comma, a tab, or a space. You select a sample event, identify the delimiter, and then rename the fields that the FX finds1.

Therefore, you would select the delimited field extraction method when you have a log file that has values that are separated by the same character, for example, commas. This method will allow you to easily extract the fields based on the delimiter without writing complex regular expressions.

The other options are not correct because they are not suitable for the delimited field extraction method. These options are:

B. When a log file contains empty lines or comments: This option does not indicate that the log file has a structured format or a common delimiter. The delimited method might not work well with this type of data, as it might miss some fields or include some unwanted values.

C. With structured files such as JSON or XML: This option does not require the delimited method, as Splunk can automatically extract fields from JSON or XML files by using indexed extractions or search-time extractions2. The delimited method might not work well with this type of data, as it might not recognize the nested structure or the special characters.

D. When the file has a header that might provide information about its structure or format: This option does not indicate that the file has a common delimiter between the fields. The delimited method might not work well with this type of data, as it might not be able to identify the fields based on the header information.

The CIM Add-on provides prebuilt data models that standardize and normalize data across different sourcetypes.

Extract: “The Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) Add-on includes a collection of preconfigured data models used to normalize data from various sources.”

The fillnull command replaces null values with 0 by default, if the value argument is not specified. You can use the value argument to specify a different value to replace null values with, such as N/A or NULL.

The correct answer is A. chart, timechart, stats, eventstats.

Transforming commands are commands that change the format of the search results into a table or a chart. They can be used to perform statistical calculations, create visualizations, or manipulate data in various ways1.

Transactions are groups of events that share some common values and are related in some way. Transactions can be defined by using the transaction command or by creating a transaction type in the transactiontypes.conf file2.

Some transforming commands can be used with transactions to create tables or charts based on the transaction fields. These commands include:

chart: This command creates a table or a chart that shows the relationship between two or more fields. It can be used to aggregate values, count occurrences, or calculate statistics3.

timechart: This command creates a table or a chart that shows how a field changes over time. It can be used to plot trends, patterns, or outliers4.

stats: This command calculates summary statistics on the fields in the search results, such as count, sum, average, etc. It can be used to group and aggregate data by one or more fields5.

eventstats: This command calculates summary statistics on the fields in the search results, similar to stats, but it also adds the results to each event as new fields. It can be used to compare events with the overall statistics.

These commands can be applied to transactions by using the transaction fields as arguments. For example, if you have a transaction type named “login” that groups events based on the user field and has fields such as duration and eventcount, you can use the following commands with transactions:

| chart count by user : This command creates a table or a chart that shows how many transactions each user has.

| timechart span=1h avg(duration) by user : This command creates a table or a chart that shows the average duration of transactions for each user per hour.

| stats sum(eventcount) as total_events by user : This command creates a table that shows the total number of events for each user across all transactions.

| eventstats avg(duration) as avg_duration : This command adds a new field named avg_duration to each transaction that shows the average duration of all transactions.

The other options are not valid because they include commands that are not transforming commands or cannot be used with transactions. These commands are:

diff: This command compares two search results and shows the differences between them. It is not a transforming command and it does not work with transactions.

datamodel: This command retrieves data from a data model, which is a way to organize and categorize data in Splunk. It is not a transforming command and it does not work with transactions.

pivot: This command creates a pivot report, which is a way to analyze data from a data model using a graphical interface. It is not a transforming command and it does not work with transactions.

One of the valid options to speed up reports is to edit acceleration, which means that you can enable summary indexing or data model acceleration for your reports to improve their performance2. Summary indexing allows you to create reports that run over large amounts of data by storing the results of scheduled searches in a summary index and using that index for faster reporting2. Data model acceleration allows you to create reports that use data models by creating and storing summaries of the data model datasets and using them for faster reporting2. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A, B and D are incorrect because they are not options to speed up reports.

The correct answer is D. eval.

A calculated field is a field that is added to events at search time by using an eval expression. A calculated field can use the values of two or more fields that are already present in the events to perform calculations. A calculated field can be defined with Splunk Web or in the props.conf file. They can be used in searches, reports, dashboards, and data models like any other extracted field1.

A calculated field is a shortcut for performing repetitive, long, or complex transformations using the eval command. The eval command is used to create or modify fields by using expressions. The eval command can perform mathematical, string, date and time, comparison, logical, and other operations on fields or values2.

For example, if you want to create a new field named total that is the sum of two fields named price and tax, you can use the eval command as follows:

| eval total=price+tax

However, if you want to use this new field in multiple searches, reports, or dashboards, you can create a calculated field instead of writing the eval command every time. To create a calculated field with Splunk Web, you need to go to Settings > Fields > Calculated Fields and enter the name of the new field (total), the name of the sourcetype (sales), and the eval expression (price+tax). This will create a calculated field named total that will be added to all events with the sourcetype sales at search time. You can then use the total field like any other extracted field without writing the eval expression1.

The other options are not correct because they are not related to calculated fields. These options are:

A. transaction: This command is used to group events that share some common values into a single record, called a transaction. A transaction can span multiple events and multiple sources, and can be useful for correlating events that are related but not contiguous3.

B. lookup: This command is used to enrich events with additional fields from an external source, such as a CSV file or a database. A lookup can add fields to events based on the values of existing fields, such as host, source, sourcetype, or any other extracted field.

C. stats: This command is used to calculate summary statistics on the fields in the search results, such as count, sum, average, etc. It can be used to group and aggregate data by one or more fields.

The eval command is used to create new fields or modify existing fields based on an expression2. The sort command is used to sort the results by one or more fields in ascending or descending order2. If you want to convert numeric field values to strings and also sort on those values, you should use the sort command first, then use the eval command to convert the values to strings2. This way, the sort command will use the original numeric values for sorting, rather than the converted string values which may not sort correctly. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A, B and D are incorrect.

Selected fields are fields that you choose to display in your search results by clicking on them in the Fields sidebar or by using the fields command2. Selected fields are displayed below each event in the search results, along with their values2. Therefore, option A is correct, while options B, C and D are incorrect because they are not places where selected fields are displayed.

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The correct answer is D. Event types do not include a time range.

The explanation is as follows:

Event types are a categorization system that help you make sense of your data by matching events with the same search string1. Event types are applied to events at search time and can be used as search terms or filters12.

Saved reports are results saved from a search action that can show statistics and visualizations of events3. Saved reports can be run anytime, and they fetch fresh results each time they are run34. Saved reports can be shared with other users and added to dashboards4.

The main difference between event types and saved reports is that event types do not include a time range, while saved reports do14. This means that event types can match events from any time period, while saved reports are limited by the time range specified when they are created or run14.

Data model datasets have a hierarchical relationship with each other, meaning they have parent-child relationships. Data models can contain multiple dataset hierarchies. There are three types of dataset hierarchies: event, search, and transaction.

https://docs.splunk.com/Splexicon:Datamodeldataset

Data model acceleration is a feature that speeds up searches on data models by creating and storing summaries of the data model datasets1. To enable data model acceleration, you must have administrative permissions or the accelerate_datamodel capability1. Therefore, option D is correct. Accelerated data models cannot be edited unless you disable the acceleration first1. Therefore, option B is correct. Private data models cannot be accelerated because they are not visible to other users1. Therefore, option C is correct. Root events can be accelerated as long as they are not based on a search string1. Therefore, option A is incorrect.

The correct answer is D. Search.

A workflow action is a knowledge object that enables a variety of interactions between fields in events and other web resources. Workflow actions can create HTML links, generate HTTP POST requests, or launch secondary searches based on field values1.

There are three types of workflow actions that can be set up using Splunk Web: GET, POST, and Search2.

GET workflow actions create typical HTML links to do things like perform Google searches on specific values or run domain name queries against external WHOIS databases2.

POST workflow actions generate an HTTP POST request to a specified URI. This action type enables you to do things like creating entries in external issue management systems using a set of relevant field values2.

Search workflow actions launch secondary searches that use specific field values from an event, such as a search that looks for the occurrence of specific combinations of ipaddress and http_status field values in your index over a specific time range2.

Therefore, the workflow action type that performs a secondary search is Search.

To filter for only IP addresses that appear more than five times in the search results for index=games, you can use a combination of the stats and where commands. The stats command counts the occurrences of each IP address and assigns the count to IP_count. The where command then filters the results to include only those IP addresses with a count greater than five.

Here is how the complete search would look:

index=games | stats count as IP_count by IP | where IP_count > 5

An existing accelerated data model can be edited, but the data model must be de-accelerated before any structural edits can be made (Option C). This is because the acceleration process involves pre-computing and storing data, and changes to the data model's structure could invalidate or conflict with the pre-computed data. Once the data model is de-accelerated and edits are completed, it can be re-accelerated to optimize performance.

The eval command is used to create new fields or modify existing fields based on an expression2. The eval command can perform various actions such as calculations, conversions, string manipulations and more2. One of the actions that the eval command can perform is to create or replace an existing field with a new value based on an expression2. For example, | eval status=if(status="200","OK","ERROR") will create or replace the status field with either OK or ERROR depending on the original value of status2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect because they are not actions that the eval command can perform.

Stacked charts represent a series in a single bar with multiple sections. A chart is a graphical representation of data that shows trends, patterns, or comparisons. A chart can have different types, such as column, bar, line, area, pie, etc. A chart can also have different modes, such as split-series, multi-series, stacked, etc. A stacked chart is a type of chart that shows multiple series in a single bar or area with different sections for each series

An event type in Splunk is defined by a search string that returns a specific set of events. The search string index=games sourcetype=score player=* score>9999 is valid because it filters events based on specific criteria directly within the main search command. This search will find all events in the games index with a sourcetype of score, where the player field exists, and the score is greater than 9999. This specificity and direct filtering make it suitable for defining an event type.

The correct answer is B. Event category tags. This is because the CIM add-on contains a collection of preconfigured data models that you can apply to your data at search time. Each data model in the CIM consists of a set of field names and tags that define the least common denominator of a domain of interest. Event category tags are used to classify events into high-level categories, such as authentication, network traffic, or web activity. You can use these tags to filter and analyze events based on their category. You can learn more about event category tags from the Splunk documentation12. The other options are incorrect because they are not included with the CIM add-on. Search macros are reusable pieces of search syntax that you can invoke from other searches. They are not specific to the CIM add-on, although some Splunk apps may provide their own search macros. Workflow actions are custom links or scripts that you can run on specific fields or events. They are also not specific to the CIM add-on, although some Splunk apps may provide their own workflow actions. tsidx files are index files that store the terms and pointers to the raw data in Splunk buckets. They are part of the Splunk indexing process and have nothing to do with the CIM add-on.

The transaction command is used to group events into transactions based on some common characteristics, such as fields, time, or both. The transaction command can also specify start and end constraints for the transactions, such as a field value that indicates the beginning or the end of a transaction. The stats command is used to calculate summary statistics on the events, such as count, sum, average, etc. The stats command cannot group events based on start and end constraints, but only on fields or time buckets. Therefore, the transaction command should be used instead of the stats command when you need to group events based on start and end constraints.

The timechart command is used to create a time-series chart of statistical values based on your search results2. You can use the timechart command with a by clause to split the results by one or more fields and create multiple series in the chart2. However, you can only list one field after the by clause when using the timechart command because _time is already implied as the x-axis of the chart2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect.

The explanation is as follows:

The transaction command is used to find transactions based on events that meet various constraints12.

Transactions are made up of the raw text (the _raw field) of each member, the time and date fields of the earliest member, as well as the union of all other fields of each member1.

The startswith option is used to define the first event in a transaction by specifying a search term or an expression that matches the event13.

For example, | transaction clientip JSESSIONID startswith="view" will create transactions based on the clientip and JSESSIONID fields, and the first event in each transaction will contain the term “view” in the _raw field2.

When performing an outer join in Splunk using the | join employeeNumber type=outer command, it combines the rows from both tables based on the employeeNumber field. An outer join returns all rows from both tables, with matching rows from both sides where available. If there is no match, the result is NULL on the side of the join where there is no match.

In the provided tables, there are five rows in the first table and three in the second. Since it’s an outer join, all rows from both tables will be returned. This means the new table will have a total of eight rows, combining the matched rows and the unmatched rows from both tables.

A macro is a way to save a segment of a search string as a variable and reuse it in other searches2. A macro can be followed by a pipe, which is a symbol that separates commands in a search pipeline2. A pipe may always follow a macro, regardless of who owns the macro, where the macro is defined or how the macro is shared2. For example, if you have a macro called us_sales that returns events from the US region, you can use it in a search like this: us_sales | stats sum(price) by product2. This search will use the macro to filter the events and then calculate the total price for each product2. Therefore, option A is correct, while options B, C and D are incorrect because they are not conditions that affect whether a pipe can follow a macro.

POST workflow actions are custom actions that send a POST request to a web server when you click on a field value in your search results. POST workflow actions can be configured with various options, such as label name, base URL, URI parameters, post arguments, app context, etc. One of the options that are required to create a POST workflow action is post arguments. Post arguments are key-value pairs that are sent in the body of the POST request to provide additional information to the web server. Post arguments can include field values from your data by using dollar signs around the field names.

The transaction command is a Splunk command that finds transactions based on events that meet various constraints1.

Transactions are made up of the raw text (the _raw field) of each member, the time and date fields of the earliest member, as well as the union of all other fields of each member1.

The transaction command adds some fields to the raw events that are part of the transaction12. These fields are:

duration: The difference, in seconds, between the timestamps for the first and last events in the transaction12.

eventcount: The number of events in the transaction12.

closed_txn: A Boolean field that indicates whether the transaction is closed or evicted2. A transaction is closed if it meets one of the following conditions: maxevents, maxpause, maxspan, or startswith2. A transaction is evicted if it does not meet any of these conditions and exceeds the memory limit specified by maxopentxn or maxopenevents23.

Therefore, evicted transactions can be distinguished from non-evicted transactions by checking the value of the closed_txn field. The closed_txn field is set to 0, or false, for evicted transactions and 1, or true for non-evicted, or closed, transactions23.

The correct answer is C. A macro is a portion of a search that can be reused in multiple places.

A macro is a way to reuse a piece of SPL code in different searches. A macro can be any part of a search, such as an eval statement or a search term, and does not need to be a complete command. A macro can also take arguments, which are variables that can be replaced by different values when the macro is called. A macro can also contain another macro within it, which is called a nested macro1.

To create a macro, you need to define its name, definition, arguments, and description in the Settings > Advanced Search > Search Macros page in Splunk Web or in the macros.conf file. To use a macro in a search, you need to enclose the macro name in backtick characters (`) and provide values for the arguments if any1.

For example, if you have a macro named my_macro that takes one argument named object and has the following definition:

search sourcetype= object

You can use it in a search by writing:

my_macro(web)

This will expand the macro and run the following SPL code:

search sourcetype=web

The benefits of using macros are that they can simplify complex searches, reduce errors, improve readability, and promote consistency1.

The other options are not correct because they describe other types of knowledge objects in Splunk, not macros. These objects are:

A. An event type is a method of categorizing events based on a search. An event type assigns a label to events that match a specific search criteria. Event types can be used to filter and group events, create alerts, or generate reports2.

B. A field alias is a way to associate an additional (new) name with an existing field name. A field alias can be used to normalize fields from different sources that have different names but represent the same data. Field aliases can also be used to rename fields for clarity or convenience3.

D. An alert is a knowledge object that enables you to schedule searches for specific events and trigger actions when certain conditions are met. An alert can be used to monitor your data for anomalies, errors, or other patterns of interest and notify you or others when they occur4.

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.1.2/SearchReference/Chart

In Splunk, macros that accept arguments are defined with placeholders for those arguments in the format example(var1, var2). In the search example(100,200), "100" and "200" are the values passed for var1 and var2 respectively.

Search macros with arguments must include the number of arguments in parentheses.

Extract: “If your macro includes arguments, append the number of arguments to the macro name. For example, mymacro(2).”

Thus, samplemacro(2) is correct.