Splunk SPLK-3003 - Splunk Core Certified Consultant

Search Job Inspector provides statistics to show how much time and the number of events each indexer has processed. This can help validate and understand the customer’s concerns about the search performance and identify any bottlenecks or issues with the indexer cluster configuration. For example, the Search Job Inspector can show if some indexers are overloaded or underutilized, if there are network latency or bandwidth problems, or if there are errors or warnings during the search execution. The Search Job Inspector can also show how much time each search command takes and how many events are processed by each command. References:

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/Search/ViewsearchjobpropertieswiththeJobInspector 4

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/Search/Troubleshootingsearchperformance

 Network latency is the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another, and storage IOPS is the number of input/output operations per second. These factors can affect the performance of the migration and should be taken into account when planning and executing the migration.

The CLI commands that you have shown in the image are used to adjust the maximum load that a peer node can handle during bucket replication and rebuilding. These settings can affect the performance and efficiency of an index cluster migration to new hardware. Therefore, some of the factors that you should consider when running these commands are:

Data ingestion rate: The higher the data ingestion rate, the more buckets will be created and need to be replicated or rebuilt across the cluster. This will increase the load on the peer nodes and the network bandwidth. You might want to lower the max_peer_build_load and max_peer_rep_load settings to avoid overloading the cluster during migration.

Network latency and storage IOPS: The network latency and storage IOPS are measures of how fast the data can be transferred and stored between the peer nodes. The lower these values are, the longer it will take for the cluster to replicate or rebuild buckets. You might want to increase the max_peer_build_load and max_peer_rep_load settings to speed up the migration process, but not too high that it causes errors or timeouts.

Distance and location: The distance and location of the peer nodes can also affect the network latency and bandwidth. If the peer nodes are located in different geographic regions or data centers, the data transfer might be slower and more expensive than if they are in the same location. You might want to consider using site replication factor and site search factor settings to optimize the cluster for multisite deployment.

SSL data encryption: If you enable SSL data encryption for your cluster, it will add an extra layer of security for your data, but it will also consume more CPU resources and network bandwidth. This might slow down the data transfer and increase the load on the peer nodes. You might want to balance the trade-off between security and performance when using SSL data encryption.

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 directory where base config app(s) should be placed to initialize an indexer is $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/slave-apps. Base config app(s) are a set of configuration files that provide consistent, repeatable, and supportable configurations for Splunk deployments. Base config app(s) can be used to initialize an indexer by placing them in the slave-apps directory, which is a special directory that the cluster master uses to distribute apps to the indexer cluster peers. The cluster master pushes the base config app(s) to the slave-apps directory on each peer node, and the peer node applies the configurations from the app(s). Therefore, the correct answer is D. $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/slave-apps. References:

Splunk Core Certified Consultant Test Blueprint

Splunk Documentation: About base configurations

Splunk Documentation: Use base configurations

Splunk Documentation: Deploy apps to an indexer cluster

The parsing pipeline contains the regex replacement processor that would be called upon to run event masking routines on events as they are ingested. Event masking is a process of replacing sensitive data in events with a placeholder value, such as “XXXXX”. This is done by using the SEDCMD attribute in props.conf, which specifies a regular expression to apply to the raw data of an event. The regex replacement processor is responsible for executing the SEDCMD attribute on the events before they are indexed. References:

[Splunk Certification Exam Study Guide], page 17

[Splunk Documentation: Configure event processing]

[Splunk Documentation: Anonymize data]

The next step after the customer provides the name of the license master is to update the Splunk PS base config license app and copy it to each indexer. The Splunk PS base config license app is a Splunk app that contains the configuration files for licensing, such as server.conf and licenses.conf. The app needs to be updated with the name of the license master in the server.conf file under the [license] stanza. Then, the app needs to be copied to each indexer in the cluster under $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps directory. This will enable the indexers to communicate with the license master and join the license pool. Therefore, the correct answer is C, update the Splunk PS base config license app and copy it to each indexer. References :=

Configure a license manager

Configure a license slave

 In a large cloud customer environment with many (>100) dynamically created endpoint systems, each with a UF already deployed, the best approach for associating these systems with an appropriate serverclass on the deployment server is to work with the cloud orchestration team to dynamically insert an appropriate clientName setting into each endpoint’s local/deploymentclient.conf which can be matched by whitelist in serverclass.conf. This approach allows the deployment server to easily identify and group the endpoints based on their clientName values, which can be customized according to the customer’s needs. For example, the clientName can be set to include information such as the endpoint’s role, function, location, or owner. The whitelist attribute in serverclass.conf can then use a simple pattern or regular expression to match the clientName values and assign the endpoints to the corresponding serverclass. References:

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/Admin/Serverclassconf 7

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/Admin/Deploymentclientconf

The most appropriate method to deploy the LDAP configuration to the search head cluster is to configure the integration in a base configuration app located in shcluster-apps directory on the search head deployer, then deploy the configuration to the search heads using the splunk apply shcluster-bundle command. This method ensures that the LDAP settings are distributed to all cluster members in a consistent and efficient way, and that the configuration bundle is validated before deployment. The base configuration app is a special app that contains settings that apply to all cluster members, such as authentication.conf and authorize.conf. The search head deployer is a Splunk Enterprise instance that manages the configuration bundle for the search head cluster and pushes it to the cluster members. References:

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/DistSearch/PropagateSHCconfigurationchanges

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/DistSearch/SHCconfigurationoverview

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/DistSearch/SHCconfigurationapp

 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

In a single indexer cluster, the best practice is to install the Monitoring Console (MC) on the cluster master node. This is because the cluster master node has access to all the information about the cluster state, such as the bucket status, the peer status, the search head status, and the replication and search factors. The MC can use this information to monitor the health and performance of the cluster and alert on any issues or anomalies. The MC can also run distributed searches across all the peer nodes and collect metrics and logs from them.

The other options are incorrect because they are not recommended locations for installing the MC in a single indexer cluster. Option A is incorrect because the deployer should not share with the master cluster, as this can cause conflicts and errors in applying configuration bundles to the cluster. Option B is incorrect because the license master is not a good candidate for hosting the MC, as it does not have direct access to the cluster information and it might have a high load from managing license usage for many clients. Option D is incorrect because the production search head is not a good candidate for hosting the MC, as it might have a high load from serving user searches and dashboards, and it might not be able to run distributed searches across all the peer nodes if it is not part of the cluster. 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

About indexer clusters and index replication1

Monitoring Console: Where to install2

 The SHC will function as expected as the minimum required number of nodes for a SHC is 3. This is because the SHC uses a quorum-based algorithm to determine the cluster state and elect the captain. A quorum is a majority of cluster members that can communicate with each other. As long as a quorum exists, the cluster can continue to operate normally and serve search requests. If a network outage occurs between the two data centers, each data center will have three SHC members, but only one of them will have a quorum. The data center with the quorum will elect a new captain if the previous one was in the other data center, and the other data center will lose its cluster status and stop serving searches until the network communication is restored.

The other options are incorrect because they do not reflect what happens when a network outage occurs between two data centers with a SHC. Option A is incorrect because the SHC deployer will not become the new captain, as it is not part of the SHC and does not participate in cluster activities. Option B is incorrect because the SHC will not stop all scheduled search activity, as it will still run scheduled searches on the data center with the quorum. Option D is incorrect because the SHC captain will not fall back to previous active captain in the remaining site, as it will be elected by the quorum based on several factors, such as load, availability, and priority. 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

Search head clustering architecture1

Search head cluster captain election