SPLK-1005 Splunk Cloud Certified Admin Questions and Answers

The correct monitor statement that will capture all variations of the syslog file paths across different systems is [monitor:///var/log/network/syslog*/linux_secure/*].

This configuration works because:

syslog* matches directories that start with "syslog" (like syslog01, syslog02, etc.).

The wildcard * after linux_secure/ will capture all files within that directory, including different filenames like syslog.log and syslog.log.2020090801.

This setup will ensure that all the necessary files from the different syslog hosts are monitored.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Monitor files and directories

In Splunk Cloud, only apps that have been certified and vetted by Splunk are supported. This is because Splunk Cloud is a managed service, and Splunk ensures that all apps meet specific security, performance, and compatibility requirements before they can be installed. This certification process guarantees that the apps won’t negatively impact the overall environment, ensuring a stable and secure cloud service.

Self-service installation is available, but it is limited to apps that are certified for Splunk Cloud. Non-certified apps cannot be installed directly; they require a review and approval process by Splunk support.

Splunk Cloud Reference: Refer to Splunk’s documentation on app installation and the list of Cloud-vetted apps available on Splunkbase to understand which apps can be installed in Splunk Cloud.

Source:

Splunk Docs: About apps in Splunk Cloud

Splunkbase: Splunk Cloud Apps

Explanation: In Splunk Cloud, role-based access controls are managed by mapping LDAP groups to Splunk roles. Therefore, any change in roles should be managed by the LDAP administrator, who can adjust Mia’s group to an LDAP group mapped to the power role. [Reference: Splunk Docs on LDAP integration in Splunk Cloud]

A Universal Forwarder (UF) can indeed be configured as an Intermediate Forwarder. This means that the UF can receive data from other forwarders and then forward that data on to indexers or Splunk Cloud, effectively acting as a relay point in the data forwarding chain.

Option A is incorrect because a Universal Forwarder does not need to contact the license master; only indexers and search heads require this.

Option B is incorrect as Universal Forwarders can connect directly to Splunk Cloud or via other forwarders.

Option D is also incorrect because the default output bandwidth limit for a UF is typically much higher than 500KBps (default is 256KBps per pipeline, but can be configured).

Splunk Documentation Reference: Universal Forwarder

By default, the sc_admin role in Splunk Cloud is granted several important capabilities, including:

indexes_edit: The ability to create, edit, and manage indexes.

fsh_manage: Manage full-stack monitoring integrations.

admin_all_objects: Full administrative control over all objects in Splunk.

can_delete: The ability to delete events using the delete command.

Option C correctly lists these default capabilities for the sc_admin role.

Splunk Documentation Reference: User roles and capabilities

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

The recommended approach to collect data from network devices is to use a Syslog server with a Universal Forwarder (UF) installed. The network devices send data to the Syslog server, which then forwards the data to Splunk Cloud using the Universal Forwarder. This method ensures reliable data ingestion and processing while maintaining flexibility in handling different types of network device data.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Best practices for getting data in

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 a forwarder phones home to a Deployment Server, it compares the checksum of its apps with those on the Deployment Server. If the checksums do not match, the app on the forwarder is always deleted and re-downloaded from the Deployment Server. This ensures that the forwarder has the most current and correct version of the app as dictated by the Deployment Server.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Deployment Server Overview

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.

In Splunk, to configure a TCP input on a specific port and restrict traffic from certain IP addresses, you can use the acceptFrom setting. The correct stanza that enables a TCP input on port 1025 and allows traffic from all IP addresses except 10.5.5.1 would look like this:

[tcp://1025]

acceptFrom = !10.5.5.1

Here, !10.5.5.1 denotes that traffic from this IP should be denied, while all other IP addresses are allowed. Therefore, Option B is correct.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Inputs.conf - acceptFrom

When a forwarder is unable to send data to indexers, it queues the data in memory and optionally on disk. The setting used for the disk queue is persistentQueueSize. This configuration defines the size of the disk queue that stores data temporarily on the forwarder when it cannot immediately forward the data to an indexer.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Configure forwarding and receiving in Splunk

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

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 props.conf file is a crucial configuration file in Splunk that is used for both search-time and index-time configurations.

At index-time, props.conf is used to define how data should be parsed and indexed, such as timestamp recognition, line breaking, and data transformations.

At search-time, props.conf is used to configure how data should be searched and interpreted, such as field extractions, lookups, and sourcetypes.

B. props.conf is the correct answer because it is the only file listed that serves both index-time and search-time purposes.

Splunk Documentation References:

props.conf - configuration for search-time and index-time

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

In a managed Splunk Cloud environment, several features are available to ensure that the platform is secure, scalable, and meets enterprise requirements. The key features include:

Availability of premium apps: Splunk Cloud supports the installation and use of premium apps such as Splunk Enterprise Security, IT Service Intelligence, etc.

SSO Integration: Single Sign-On (SSO) integration is supported, allowing organizations to leverage their existing identity providers for authentication.

IP address whitelisting and blacklisting: To enhance security, managed Splunk Cloud environments allow for IP address whitelisting and blacklisting to control access.

Given the options:

Option C correctly lists these features, making it the accurate choice.

Option A incorrectly states "no IP address whitelisting or blacklisting," which is indeed available.

Option B mentions "no SSO integration" and "no availability of premium apps," both of which are inaccurate.

Option D talks about a "maximum concurrent search limit of 20," which does not represent the standard limit settings and may vary based on the subscription level.

Splunk Documentation References:

Splunk Cloud Features and Capabilities

Single Sign-On (SSO) in Splunk Cloud

Security and Access Control in Splunk Cloud

The recommended approach for setting the host values based on their origin when files from multiple systems are stored on a centralized log server is to use the host_segment setting. This setting allows you to dynamically set the host value based on a specific segment of the file path, which can be particularly useful when organizing logs from different servers into directories.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Inputs.conf - host_segment

A private app in Splunk is one that is created and used within a specific organization, and is not publicly available in the Splunkbase app store.

C. An app that is created and used only by a specific organization is the correct answer. This type of app is developed internally and used by a particular organization, often tailored to meet specific internal needs. It is not shared with other organizations and remains private within that organization’s Splunk environment.

Splunk Documentation References:

Private Apps in Splunk

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

Explanation: The ellipsis (...) in [monitor:///var/log/.../*.log] allows Splunk to monitor files ending in .log in all nested directories under /var/log/. [Reference: Splunk Docs on monitor stanza syntax]