Free Splunk SPLK-3003 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 2

 The customer can resolve the issue by modifying the blacklisted lookup definition stanza to specify setting allow_caching=true. This option allows the lookup to be cached on the search head and used for searches, without being included in the search bundle that is distributed to the indexers. This way, the customer can reduce the bundle size and avoid the error messages. Therefore, the correct answer is B, the blacklisted lookup definition stanza needs to be modified to specify setting allow_caching=true. References :=

• Configure distributed search
• Use lookups in distributed search

The Monitoring Console (MC) is a Splunk app that provides a comprehensive view of the health and performance of a Splunk environment. The MC can be configured to monitor a single instance or a distributed deployment. To monitor a distributed deployment, the MC instance needs to be configured as a search head that can run distributed searches across the other instances in the environment. Therefore, the MC instance needs to have the other search heads, the deployment server, the license master, and the cluster master/master node as distributed search peers. The MC instance does not need to have the indexers as distributed search peers, because the cluster master/master node already provides access to the indexed data in the cluster. Therefore, the correct answer is C. Search heads, deployment server, license master, cluster master/master node. References:

• Splunk Core Certified Consultant Test Blueprint
• Splunk Documentation: About the Monitoring Console
• Splunk Documentation: Configure a Monitoring Console instance
• Splunk Documentation: Add search peers

The Monitoring Console (MC) health check configuration items are stored in a configuration file called checklist.conf. This file contains the definitions of the health check items, such as the search, description, severity, tags, and categories. You can modify this file to customize the existing health check items or create new ones. You can also download new health check items from the Splunk Health Assistant Add-on on splunkbase. References:

• : Splunk Documentation: Monitoring Console: Access and customize health check1
• : Splunk Documentation: Monitoring Console: Customize health check items2

The configuration files that must be modified to connect to an Active Directory LDAP provider are authentication.conf and ldap.conf. The authentication.conf file is used to specify the authentication method and settings for Splunk. The ldap.conf file is used to define the LDAP strategies and servers for Splunk. By editing these files, the customer can configure Splunk to use Active Directory as the external authentication provider, and map the LDAP groups and attributes to Splunk roles and capabilities. Therefore, the correct answer is B. authentication.conf, ldap.conf. References:

• Splunk Core Certified Consultant Test Blueprint
• Splunk Documentation: Configure Splunk to use LDAP and Active Directory
• Splunk Documentation: About authentication.conf
• Splunk Documentation: About ldap.conf

 The difference in the Splunk2Splunk payload traffic sent between a universal forwarder (UF) and indexer compared to the payload sent between a heavy forwarder (HF) and the indexer layer is that the UF sends a stream of data containing one set of metadata fields to represent the entire stream, whereas the HF sends individual events, each with their own metadata fields attached, resulting in a larger payload. This is because the UF does not parse or index the data before forwarding it, but rather sends it as raw data in 64K TCP chunks. The metadata fields, such as host, source, sourcetype, etc., are applied to the entire stream based on the inputs.conf configuration. The HF, on the other hand, parses and indexes the data before forwarding it, which means that it breaks the data into individual events and assigns metadata fields to each event based on props.conf and transforms.conf configuration. This results in a larger payload size, but also allows for more granular control over event processing and routing. References:

• [Splunk Certification Exam Study Guide], page 14
• [Splunk Documentation: How Splunk Enterprise processes incoming data]
• [Splunk Documentation: Forwarding parsed data]

 The Splunk Validated Architectures (SVAs) are proven reference architectures for stable, efficient and repeatable Splunk deployments. They offer topology options that consider a wide array of organizational requirements, so the customer can easily understand and find a topology that is right for their needs. The SVAs also provide design principles and best practices to help the customer build an environment that is easier to maintain and troubleshoot. The SVAs are available on the Splunk website1 and can be customized using the Interactive Splunk Validated Architecture (iSVA) tool2.

The other options are incorrect because they do not provide the customer with a reliable and tailored resource to help them design their new architecture. Option A is too vague and does not point the customer to a specific document or section. Option B is irrelevant and does not address the customer’s architectural needs. Option C is unreliable and does not guarantee that the customer will find a suitable solution for their requirements. References:

• : Splunk Validated Architectures1
• : Interactive Splunk Validated Architecture (iSVA) tool2

This is because the index time parsing occurs on the Splunk instance that performs the parsing pipeline, which is the heavy forwarder in this case. The parsing pipeline is the process of breaking the incoming data into events, extracting default fields and timestamps, and applying transforms. The heavy forwarder is a type of Splunk forwarder that can perform the parsing pipeline on the data before forwarding it to the indexer. The universal forwarder is a type of Splunk forwarder that does not perform the parsing pipeline, but only forwards the raw data to another Splunk instance. The indexer is a Splunk instance that receives the parsed data from the heavy forwarder and performs the indexing pipeline, which is the process of compressing, encrypting, and writing the data to disk. The search head is a Splunk instance that coordinates searches across multiple indexers and displays the results to the user.

The other options are incorrect because they are not the Splunk instances that perform the index time parsing in this scenario. Option A is incorrect because the indexer does not perform the index time parsing, but only receives the parsed data from the heavy forwarder. Option B is incorrect because the universal forwarder does not perform the index time parsing, but only forwards the raw data to the heavy forwarder. Option C is incorrect because the search head does not perform the index time parsing, but only coordinates searches across multiple indexers. References:

• Splunk Core Consultant knowledge source documents or study guide: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/resources/splunk-certification-exam-study-guide.html
• Splunk Test Blueprint Consultant: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/pdfs/training/splunk-test-blueprint-consultant.pdf
• How indexing works1
• About forwarding and receiving data2
• About Splunk Enterprise instances3

 This is the minimum and least disruptive change necessary to protect the searchability of the indexer cluster in case of indexer failure, because it ensures that there are always at least two copies of each bucket in the cluster, one of which is searchable. This way, if one indexer fails, the cluster can still serve search requests from the remaining copy. Increasing the replication factor and search factor also improves the cluster’s resiliency and availability.

The other options are incorrect because they either do not protect the searchability of the cluster, or they require more changes and disruptions to the cluster. Option A is incorrect because enabling maintenance mode on the CM does not prevent excessive fix-up, but rather delays it until maintenance mode is disabled. Maintenance mode also prevents searches from running on the cluster, which defeats the purpose of protecting searchability. Option B is incorrect because leaving replication_factor=2 means that there is only one searchable copy of each bucket in the cluster, which is not enough to protect searchability in case of indexer failure. Enabling summary_replication does not help with this issue, as it only applies to summary indexes, not all indexes. Option C is incorrect because converting the cluster to multi-site requires a lot of changes and disruptions to the cluster, such as reassigning site attributes to all nodes, reconfiguring network settings, and rebalancing buckets across sites. It also does not guarantee that there will always be a searchable copy of each bucket in each site, unless the site replication factor and site search factor are set accordingly. References:

• Splunk Core Consultant knowledge source documents or study guide: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/resources/splunk-certification-exam-study-guide.html
• Splunk Test Blueprint Consultant: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/pdfs/training/splunk-test-blueprint-consultant.pdf

The pass4SymmKey is a security key that lets various components of Splunk Enterprise authenticate securely with one another. The pass4SymmKey for an indexer cluster is configured in the server.conf file under the [clustering] stanza. To find the pass4SymmKey of an indexer cluster, the most efficient command is C, $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk btool server list clustering | grep pass4SymmKey. This command uses btool to list the effective settings for the clustering service from the server.conf file and filters the output by grep to show only the pass4SymmKey value. The other commands are either incorrect or less efficient. References :=

• Secure Splunk Enterprise services with pass4SymmKey
• Use btool to troubleshoot configurations

 The inputs.conf stanzas in the image are attempting to monitor the files secure and messages in the /var/log directory. However, the whitelist attribute is set to “messages” and “secure” respectively, which means that only those files will be actively monitored. Therefore, the correct answer is D. /var/log/secure, /var/log/messages. References:

• Splunk Core Certified Consultant Test Blueprint
• Splunk Documentation: Monitor files and directories with inputs.conf
• Splunk Documentation: Use whitelist and blacklist to filter inputs