SPLK-1005 Splunk Cloud Certified Admin Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Explanation: Placing configuration overrides in the local folder within a custom app allows for easy maintenance and ensures that these overrides are preserved during upgrades, as files in default are overwritten. [Reference: Splunk Docs on configuration file precedence]

The recommended method to test the onboarding of a new data source before putting it into production is to send test data to a test index. This approach allows you to validate data parsing, field extractions, and indexing behavior without affecting the production environment or data.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Onboarding New Data Sources

The correct monitor statement to retrieve only files that start with "access" in the directory /opt/log/www2/ is [monitor:///opt/log/www2/access*]. This configuration specifically targets files that begin with the name "access" and will match any such files within that directory, such as "access.log".

Splunk Documentation Reference: Monitor files and directories

Explanation: In Splunk Cloud, expired events can be archived to customer-managed storage solutions, such as on-premises storage. This allows organizations to retain data beyond the standard retention period if needed. [Reference: Splunk Docs on data archiving in Splunk Cloud]

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.

Explanation: The default port for HTTP Event Collector (HEC) in Splunk Cloud is 8088, which is used for data ingestion via HEC. [Reference: Splunk Docs on HTTP Event Collector settings]

In Splunk Cloud, when an app on Splunkbase indicates "Request Install," it means that the app is not available for direct self-service installation and requires intervention from Splunk Support. This could be because the app needs to undergo an additional review for compatibility with the managed cloud environment or because it requires special installation procedures.

In these cases, customers need to contact Splunk Support to request the installation of the app. Support will ensure that the app is properly vetted and compatible with Splunk Cloud before proceeding with the installation.

Splunk Cloud Reference: For further details, consult Splunk’s guidelines on requesting app installations in Splunk Cloud and the processes involved in reviewing and approving apps for use in the cloud environment.

Source:

Splunk Docs: Install apps in Splunk Cloud Platform

Splunkbase: App request procedures for Splunk Cloud

In Splunk Cloud, data is deleted from an index when the buckets roll to the frozen stage and no archive is defined. When data in a bucket reaches the frozen stage, it is deleted unless a frozen-to-archival script is configured to move the data elsewhere. This process is part of the index lifecycle management in Splunk.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Managing Indexes

To view the runtime configuration instructions for a monitored file in inputs.conf on the forwarder, the correct command to use involves accessing the internal REST API that provides details on data inputs.

C. ./splunk _internal rest /services/data/inputs/monitor is the correct answer. This command uses Splunk's internal REST endpoint to retrieve information about monitored files, including their runtime configurations as defined in inputs.conf.

Splunk Documentation References:

Splunk REST API - Data Inputs

Explanation: A heavy forwarder is appropriate in this scenario because it can perform additional data parsing, filtering, and routing before forwarding data to Splunk Cloud. This is particularly useful for data that requires preprocessing or cannot be sent directly due to security policies. [Reference: Splunk Docs on forwarder types and capabilities]

The statement about monitor inputs that is true is that the ignoreOlderThan option allows files to be ignored based on their file modification time. This setting helps prevent Splunk from indexing older data that is not relevant or needed.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Monitor files and directories

In Splunk Cloud, when there is a need for a change request that might involve modifying settings, upgrading, or other actions requiring Splunk Support, the process typically requires submitting a support case.

D. Any person with the appropriate entitlement: This is the correct answer. Any individual who has the necessary permissions or entitlements within the Splunk environment can submit a support case. This includes administrators or users who have been granted the ability to engage with Splunk Support. The request does not necessarily have to come from a Certified Splunk Cloud Administrator or the infrastructure owner; rather, it can be submitted by anyone with the correct level of access.

Splunk Documentation References:

Submitting a Splunk Support Case

Managing User Roles and Entitlements

The best approach to meet the requirements of the marketing department is to create a new role that inherits the user role but with restricted access to only the marketing_data index. This setup allows users to perform searches and view dashboards while ensuring they cannot access other indexes such as those containing security or operations data.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Splunk Role-based Access Control

Option B is the correct approach because it properly uses a TRANSFORMS stanza in props.conf to reference the transforms.conf for removing sensitive data. The transforms stanza in transforms.conf uses a regular expression (REGEX) to locate the sensitive data (in this case, the SuperSecretNumber) and replaces it with a masked version using the FORMAT directive.

In detail:

props.conf refers to the transforms.conf stanza remove_sensitive_data by setting TRANSFORMS-cleanup = remove_sensitive_data.

transforms.conf defines the regular expression that matches the sensitive data and specifies how the sensitive data should be replaced in the FORMAT directive.

This approach ensures that sensitive information is masked before indexing without altering the structure of the log files.

Splunk Cloud Reference: For further reference, you can look at Splunk's documentation regarding data masking and transformation through props.conf and transforms.conf.

Source:

Splunk Docs: Anonymize data

Splunk Docs: Props.conf and Transforms.conf

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

In props.conf, valid stanzas can include source types, hosts, and source specifications. The correct syntax uses colons for specific types, such as source types and hosts, but follows a particular format:

A. [sourcetype::linux_secure] is the correct answer. This is a valid stanza format for a source type in props.conf. It indicates that the following configurations apply specifically to the linux_secure source type.

B. [host=nyc25]: Incorrect, the correct format for a host-based stanza uses double colons, not an equal sign.

C. [host::nyc]:* Incorrect, wildcards are not used in this manner within props.conf.

D. [host

]:* Incorrect, the correct format requires double colons for host stanzas.

Splunk Documentation References:

props.conf Specification

Universal Forwarders can connect directly to Splunk Cloud, and there is no limit on the number of Universal Forwarders that may connect directly to it. This capability allows organizations to scale their data ingestion easily by deploying as many Universal Forwarders as needed without the requirement for intermediate forwarders unless additional data processing, filtering, or load balancing is required.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Forwarding Data to Splunk Cloud

In Splunk Cloud, configuring indexes is one of the primary responsibilities of a Splunk Cloud administrator. This task includes setting up new indexes, managing retention policies, and configuring index settings as required by the organization's data retention and compliance policies. Other tasks like configuring deployer, cluster master, or indexers are typically handled by Splunk Enterprise administrators, not Splunk Cloud administrators.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Splunk Cloud Administrator Guide

During the input phase in Splunk, the system processes incoming data by first setting the character encoding of the data. This step ensures that the data is correctly interpreted by Splunk, allowing it to be parsed and processed properly later in the pipeline. Other options describe actions that occur during later phases, such as parsing and indexing.

Splunk Documentation Reference: How data moves through the data pipeline