SPLK-1004 Online Practice Questions and Answers

Correct Answer: A

The values function in the stats command in Splunk is used to return a sorted list of unique field values (Option A). This function is particularly useful for summarizing data by listing all unique values of a specified field across the events returned by the search, which can provide insights into the diversity and distribution of the data associated with that field.

Correct Answer: C

The transaction command can be slow in large Splunk deployments because it requires all event data relevant to the transaction to be returned to the search head (Option C). This process can be resource-intensive, especially for transactions that span a large volume of data or time, as it involves aggregating and sorting events across potentially many indexers before the transaction logic can be applied.

Correct Answer: B

For an event annotation in Splunk, the required field is time (Option B). The time field specifies the point or range in time that the annotation should be applied to in timeline visualizations, making it essential for correlating the annotation with the correct temporal context within the data.

Correct Answer: A

A report qualifies for acceleration in Splunk if it involves fewer than 100,000 events in the search results and uses transforming commands in the search string (Option A). Transforming commands aggregate data, making it more suitable for acceleration by reducing the dataset's complexity and size, which in turn improves the speed and efficiency of report generation.

Correct Answer: B

The result of the xyseries command in Splunk is to transform a stats-like output into chart- like output (Option B). The xyseries command restructures the search results so that each row represents a unique combination of x and y values, suitable for plotting in a chart, making it easier to visualize complex relationships between multiple data points.

Correct Answer: A

When Splunk's lookup feature finds fewer than the minimum matches specified for each lookup value, it returns the default value NULL for those unmatched entries until the minimum match threshold is reached (Option A). This behavior ensures that lookups return consistent and expected results, even when the available data does not meet the specified criteria for a minimum number of matches.

Correct Answer: B

Using the tstats command with summariesonly=false instructs Splunk to return results from both summarized (accelerated) data and non-summarized (raw) data. This can be useful when you need a comprehensive view of the data that includes both the high-performance summaries provided by data model acceleration and the detailed granularity of raw data.

Correct Answer: D

Contextual drilldown (Option D) is the type of drilldown that allows passing a value from a user click (e.g., from a table row or chart element) into another dashboard or an external page. This feature enables the creation of interactive dashboards where clicking on a specific element dynamically updates another part of the dashboard or navigates to a different page with relevant information, using the clicked value as a context for the subsequent view.

Correct Answer: C

Search debug messages in Splunk appear in the Search Job Inspector while the search is running (Option C). The Search Job Inspector provides detailed information about a search job, including performance statistics, search job properties, and any messages or warnings generated during the search execution. This tool is invaluable for troubleshooting and optimizing searches, as it offers real-time insights into the search process and potential issues.

Correct Answer: A

When using a nested search macro in Splunk, an argument value can be passed to the inner macro by specifying the argument in the outer macro's invocation (Option A). This allows the outer macro to accept arguments from the user or another search command and then pass those arguments into the inner macro, enabling dynamic and flexible macro compositions that can adapt based on input parameters.