Free Splunk SPLK-1005 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 2

The correct attribute/value pair to successfully extract the timestamp from the provided events is TIME_FORMAT = %b %d %H:%M:%S. This format corresponds to the structure of the timestamps in the provided data:

%b represents the abbreviated month name (e.g., Sep).

%d represents the day of the month.

%H:%M:%S represents the time in hours, minutes, and seconds.

This format will correctly extract timestamps like "Sep 12 06:11:58".

Splunk Documentation Reference: Configure Timestamp Recognition

In the context of Splunk, when configuring data inputs to monitor specific directories, the correct syntax must match the directory paths accurately and adhere to the format recognized by Splunk.

Option A: [monitor:///apache/*/logs] - This syntax would attempt to monitor all directories under /apache/ that contain the word logs, which is not what the question is asking. It is incorrect for the paths given in the question.

Option B: [monitor:///apache/foo/logs, /apache/bar/logs, /apache/bar/1/logs] - This syntax correctly lists the specific paths /apache/foo/logs, /apache/bar/logs, and /apache/bar/1/logs separately. This is the correct answer as it precisely matches the paths given in the question.

Option C: [monitor:///apache/.../logs] - The triple dots syntax (...) is used to match any subdirectories under /apache/. This would monitor all logs directories within any subdirectory structure under /apache/, which again, does not specifically match the paths given in the question.

Option D: [monitor:///apache/foo/logs, /apache/bar/logs, and /apache/bar/1/logs] - This syntax includes the word "and", which is not valid in the Splunk monitor stanza. The syntax should list the paths separated by commas, without additional words.

Thus, Option B is the correct syntax to monitor the specified paths in Splunk.

For additional reference, you can check the official Splunk documentation on monitoring inputs which provides guidelines on how to configure monitoring of files and directories.

Configuring a Universal Forwarder (UF) as an Intermediate Forwarder involves making changes to its configuration to allow it to receive data from other forwarders before sending it to indexers.

D. It is only possible to make this change directly in configuration files or via a deployment app: This is the correct answer. Configuring a Universal Forwarder as an Intermediate Forwarder is done by editing the configuration files directly (like outputs.conf), or by deploying a pre-configured app via a deployment server. The Splunk Web UI (Management Console) does not provide an interface for configuring a Universal Forwarder as an Intermediate Forwarder.

A. This can only be turned on using the Settings > Forwarding and Receiving menu in Splunk Web/UI: Incorrect, as this applies to Heavy Forwarders, not Universal Forwarders.

B. The configuration changes can be made using Splunk Web, CLI, directly in configuration files, or via a deployment app: Incorrect, the Splunk Web UI is not used for configuring Universal Forwarders.

C. The configuration changes can be made using CLI, directly in configuration files, or via a deployment app: While CLI could be used for certain configurations, the specific Intermediate Forwarder setup is typically done via configuration files or deployment apps.

Splunk Documentation References:

Universal Forwarder Configuration

Intermediate Forwarder Configuration

To mask unstructured data before sending it to Splunk Cloud, the SEDCMD should be configured in the props.conf file on a Heavy Forwarder. The Heavy Forwarder is responsible for data parsing and transformation before forwarding the data to Splunk Cloud. This ensures that sensitive data is masked before it reaches the indexing stage.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Using SEDCMD to Mask Data

When integrating LDAP authentication with Splunk, new user data is cached the first time a user logs in. This means that Splunk does not store LDAP usernames and passwords; instead, it relies on the LDAP server for authentication. The mapping of LDAP groups to Splunk roles must be configured manually; it does not happen automatically. Additionally, Splunk Cloud supports various LDAP servers, not just Active Directory.

Splunk Documentation Reference: LDAP Authentication

When dealing with a directory containing a mix of file types, it's essential to fine-tune the sourcetypes for different files to ensure accurate data parsing and indexing.

B. On the forwarder collecting the data, leave sourcetype as automatic for the directory monitor. Then create a props.conf that assigns a specific sourcetype by source stanza: This is the correct answer. In this approach, the Universal Forwarder is set up with a directory monitor where the sourcetype is initially left as automatic. Then, a props.conf file is configured to specify different sourcetypes based on the source (filename or path). This ensures that as the data is collected, it is appropriately categorized by sourcetype according to the file type.

Splunk Documentation References:

Configuring Inputs and Sourcetypes

Fine-tuning sourcetypes

In Splunk, SEDCMD (Stream Editing Commands) is applied during the Typing Pipeline of the data indexing process. The Typing Pipeline is responsible for various tasks, such as applying regular expressions for field extractions, replacements, and data transformation operations that occur after the initial parsing and aggregation steps.

Here’s how the indexing process works in more detail:

Parsing Pipeline: In this stage, Splunk breaks incoming data into events, identifies timestamps, and assigns metadata.

Merging Pipeline: This stage is responsible for merging events and handling time-based operations.

Typing Pipeline: The Typing Pipeline is where SEDCMD operations occur. It applies regular expressions and replacements, which is essential for modifying raw data before indexing. This pipeline is also responsible for field extraction and other similar operations.

Index Pipeline: Finally, the processed data is indexed and stored, where it becomes available for searching.

Splunk Cloud Reference: To verify this information, you can refer to the official Splunk documentation on the data pipeline and indexing process, specifically focusing on the stages of the indexing pipeline and the roles they play. Splunk Docs often discuss the exact sequence of operations within the pipeline, highlighting when and where commands like SEDCMD are applied during data processing.

Source:

Splunk Docs: Managing Indexers and Clusters of Indexers

Splunk Answers: Community discussions and expert responses frequently clarify where specific operations occur within the pipeline.

The followTail attribute in inputs.conf controls how Splunk processes existing content in a monitored file.

D. Prevents pre-existing content in a file from being ingested: This is the correct answer. When followTail = true is set, Splunk will ignore any pre-existing content in a file and only start monitoring from the end of the file, capturing new data as it is added. This is useful when you want to start monitoring a log file but do not want to index the historical data that might be present in the file.

A. Pauses a file monitor if the queue is full: Incorrect, this is not related to the followTail attribute.

B. Only creates a tail checkpoint of the monitored file: Incorrect, while a tailing checkpoint is created for state tracking, followTail specifically refers to skipping the existing content.

C. Ingests a file starting with new content and then reading older events: Incorrect, followTail does not read older events; it skips them.

Splunk Documentation References:

followTail Attribute Documentation

Monitoring Files

These answers align with Splunk's best practices and available documentation on managing and configuring Splunk environments.

The SHOULD_LINEMERGE setting is used in Splunk to control whether or not multiple lines of an event should be combined into a single event. This setting is configured in the props.conf file, where Splunk handles data parsing and field extraction. Setting SHOULD_LINEMERGE = true merges lines together based on specific rules.

Splunk Documentation Reference: props.conf - SHOULD_LINEMERGE

When there are conflicting configurations in Splunk, the platform resolves them based on the configuration file precedence rules. These rules dictate which settings are applied based on the hierarchy of the configuration files.

In the provided configurations:

The first configuration in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/unix/local/inputs.conf sets the sourcetype to access_combined.

The second configuration in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/search/local/inputs.conf sets the sourcetype to linux_secure.

Configuration File Precedence:

In Splunk, configurations in local directories take precedence over those in default.

If two configurations are in local directories of different apps, the alphabetical order of the app names determines the precedence.

Since "search" comes after "unix" alphabetically, the configuration in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/search/local/inputs.conf will take precedence.

Therefore, the value of the sourcetype property for this stanza is linux_secure.

Splunk Documentation References:

Configuration File Precedence

Resolving Conflicts in Splunk Configurations

This confirms that the correct answer is C. linux_secure.