Explanation

Splunk provides specific guidance for sizing syslog data because syslog is highly compressible and has predictable patterns. When estimating storage requirements, Splunk advises that syslog data will consume about 50% of the original data size once indexed. This reduced footprint is divided between the rawdata files and the tsidx files inside the index buckets. The correct division is rawdata ~15% and tsidx ~35%, which corresponds to option B.

Why Option B is Correct

Rawdata (~15%): Rawdata files store the actual event text. Syslog messages are repetitive and compress well, so the rawdata portion is relatively small compared to other data types.

Tsidx (~35%): Tsidx files store the time-series index metadata that Splunk uses to accelerate searches. For syslog, tsidx files take up a larger portion of the index footprint because Splunk must maintain efficient search structures for large volumes of small, repetitive events.

Together, rawdata and tsidx account for ~50% of the original syslog data size, which is Splunk’s documented guidance.

Why the Other Options Are Not Correct

A. rawdata 10%, tsidx 40% → Incorrect
This option exaggerates tsidx size and underestimates rawdata. While syslog does compress well, Splunk guidance specifies 15% rawdata and 35% tsidx, not 10/40. The 10% rawdata assumption is too low and does not reflect actual compression ratios observed in syslog indexing.

C. rawdata 35%, tsidx 15% → Incorrect
This ratio is closer to Splunk’s general guidance for mixed event data, not syslog. For most data types, rawdata consumes more space than tsidx. However, syslog is unique because of its compressibility, which flips the ratio. Thus, 35/15 applies to general event data, not syslog.

D. rawdata 40%, tsidx 10% → Incorrect
This option significantly overstates rawdata size and understates tsidx usage. It might look plausible for unstructured or less compressible data, but syslog’s repetitive nature means rawdata is much smaller. Tsidx must be larger to support efficient searches across millions of small syslog events.

References
Splunk Docs – Estimate your storage requirements

Explanation:

Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) is an advanced app that provides service-level monitoring, correlation searches, and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) tracking. Because ITSI relies heavily on scheduled searches, correlation searches, and KPI evaluations, it can place significant load on the Splunk environment.

Why D is correct
The infrastructure impact of ITSI depends on the number and complexity of KPIs being tracked. Each KPI is powered by scheduled searches, and as the number of KPIs grows, so does the search load. This can require additional indexers, search heads, or hardware resources to maintain performance. Splunk explicitly advises administrators to plan for extra infrastructure when deploying ITSI in environments with large or complex KPI sets.

Why the other options are not correct

A. ITSI requires a dedicated deployment server → Incorrect
ITSI does not require a separate deployment server. The deployer is used for distributing apps in a search head cluster, but ITSI itself does not mandate a dedicated deployment server.

B. The amount of users using ITSI will not impact performance →
Incorrect User activity does impact performance. More users running ITSI dashboards and services increase search load. This statement is misleading because ITSI performance is directly tied to both user activity and KPI complexity.

C. ITSI in a Splunk deployment does not require additional hardware resources → Incorrect
ITSI often requires additional hardware resources depending on KPI volume and correlation searches. Claiming no additional resources are needed ignores Splunk’s guidance on capacity planning for ITSI.

References
Splunk Docs – ITSI overview

Explanation:

In Splunk indexer clustering, two critical parameters define data availability and searchability:

Replication Factor (RF)
→ Determines how many copies of each bucket are maintained across indexers. Increasing RF ensures high availability of data. If one indexer fails, other copies remain available, guaranteeing that data is not lost and stays searchable.

Search Factor (SF)
→ Determines how many of those replicated copies are searchable. While SF impacts search performance, RF is the key to availability.

Because stakeholders have identified high availability for searchable data as the top priority, the best solution is to increase the replication factor. This ensures multiple copies of data exist across the cluster, protecting against hardware or node failures.

Why the other options are not correct

A. Increasing the search factor in the cluster
→ IncorrectSearch factor controls how many replicated copies are searchable. While important for performance, it does not guarantee availability. If replication factor is low, data loss can still occur even if search factor is high.

C. Increasing the number of search heads in the cluster
→ Incorrect Adding search heads improves query distribution and user concurrency but does not increase data availability. Search heads do not store data; indexers do.

D. Increasing the number of CPUs on the indexers in the cluster
→ Incorrect More CPUs improve indexing and search performance but do not address availability. If an indexer fails, CPU count is irrelevant to data redundancy.

References
Splunk Docs – High availability with indexer clustering

Explanation:

When considering a vendor-built Technical Add-On (TA) for Splunk (especially for firewall data where Splunk does not provide an official TA), administrators must carefully evaluate its impact on the environment before installation.

A. Identify number of scheduled or real-time searches
→ Correct Vendor-built TAs may include preconfigured searches, alerts, or dashboards. These can introduce significant load on search heads and indexers if not properly tuned. Evaluating the number and frequency of scheduled or real-time searches is critical to avoid performance degradation.

C. Identify the maximum number of forwarders Technical Add-On can support
→ Correct Scalability is a key concern. Some vendor-built TAs may not be optimized for large environments with hundreds or thousands of forwarders. Understanding the TA’s tested limits ensures it can handle the expected ingestion volume without breaking or causing instability.

Why the other options are not correct

B. Validate if this Technical Add-On enables event data for a data model
→ Incorrect While useful for Splunk apps like Enterprise Security (ES), this is not a mandatory evaluation step for a vendor TA. The core concern is operational impact (search load and scalability), not whether it maps to a data model.

D. Verify if Technical Add-On needs to be installed onto both a search head or indexer
→ Incorrect By Splunk best practice, TAs are typically installed on indexers and forwarders (for parsing and data input) and sometimes on search heads if they provide knowledge objects. This is standard procedure, not a special evaluation item. The exam expects you to focus on performance and scalability checks, not installation location.

References:

Splunk Docs – About Splunk Add-ons

Explanation:

Splunk maintains several internal indexes that store operational, audit, and performance data. Understanding which index contains license-related events is critical for troubleshooting and exam readiness. License usage, warnings, and violations are logged into the _internal index. This is the correct answer because _internal is Splunk’s central repository for system-level logs, including licensing information.

Why _internal is Correct
The _internal index contains Splunk’s own operational data. This includes:

License usage events: Splunk tracks how much data is ingested daily and compares it against the license quota.

License violation warnings: If ingestion exceeds the licensed daily volume, violation events are recorded here.

System activity logs: General Splunk process activity, indexing statistics, and performance metrics are also stored in _internal.

Administrators use searches against _internal to monitor license compliance, identify violations, and troubleshoot ingestion issues.

For example:
Code
index=_internal sourcetype=splunkd component=LicenseManager
This search shows license usage and violation details.


Why the Other Options Are Not Correct

A. _audit → Incorrect
The _audit index stores audit trail information such as user logins, role changes, and search activity. It is used for compliance and security monitoring of user actions. It does not contain license usage or violation events.

B. _license → Incorrect
There is no _license index in Splunk. This option is a distractor. License information is tracked within _internal. Many candidates mistakenly assume there is a dedicated _license index, but Splunk documentation confirms otherwise.

D. _introspection → Incorrect
The _introspection index contains platform instrumentation data such as CPU, memory, and disk usage. It is used for performance monitoring and capacity planning. It does not store license-related events.

References
Splunk Docs – About Splunk internal indexes
Splunk Docs – License usage reporting
Splunk Docs – Troubleshoot license violations

Explanation:

In Splunk’s license management architecture, you can configure one Splunk instance as a license master and others as license slaves. The license master centrally manages license usage, while license slaves report their usage back to the master.

To convert a Splunk instance into a license slave, the correct CLI command is:
splunk edit licenser-localslave
This command configures the local Splunk instance to connect to a license master by specifying the master’s URI and authentication details. Once configured, the instance becomes a license slave and reports its license usage to the master.

Why the other options are not correct

A. splunk add licenses → Incorrect This command is used to add license files to a Splunk instance. It does not convert an instance into a license slave.

B. splunk list licenser-slaves → Incorrect This command lists all license slaves known to the license master. It is a reporting command, not a configuration command.

C. splunk edit licenser-localslave → Correct This is the command that converts a Splunk instance into a license slave by pointing it to the license master.

D. splunk list licenser-localslave → Incorrect This command lists the current local slave configuration. It does not perform the conversion.

References
Splunk Docs – Configure a license slave

Explanation:

Correct Answer: C. splunk offline --enforce-counts
The command splunk offline --enforce-counts is the correct and only supported method to permanently decommission a peer node in an indexer cluster. In Splunk clustering, a peer node stores and manages replicated buckets. When it must be removed permanently—such as during hardware refresh, migration, or capacity reduction—the node must be taken offline in a way that preserves the replication factor (RF) and search factor (SF).

❌ Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

Below are short and clear reasons why the remaining choices do not perform a permanent and safe decommissioning.

A. splunk stop -f
This command forces Splunk to stop immediately by ignoring shutdown warnings and bypassing graceful termination. Why incorrect:
It only stops the Splunk service; it does not communicate with the cluster master.
It does not cleanly offboard the peer.
It leaves the cluster in an incomplete RF/SF state.
It may trigger bucket fix-up activity and generate cluster warnings.
This is simply a process stop, not a cluster-aware decommission action.

B. splunk offline -f
The -f flag means force, which bypasses data integrity checks and does not preserve RF/SF. Why incorrect:
It forces the node offline without completing bucket replication.
It can cause RF/SF non-compliance.
It is intended for emergency shutdown, not for permanent removal.
It does not instruct the CM that the node is permanently gone.
Splunk explicitly warns against using -f for decommissioning.

D. splunk decommission --enforce counts
This is not a valid Splunk command.
There is no existing Splunk CLI command named splunk decommission.
Using invalid commands provides no cluster-aware functionality and is not recognized by Splunk Enterprise.

Why incorrect:
Command does not exist in Splunk CLI.
Not supported by Splunk in any version.
Cannot perform bucket replication or notify the cluster master.

Reference:
Splunk Docs – Indexer Clustering: Remove a peer

Explanation:

For a Search Head Cluster (SHC) to function correctly, all indexers it searches must be part of an indexer cluster; standalone indexers are not supported. This is a strict architectural requirement.
The SHC's core purpose is to provide a unified, consistent search experience. Any user must get identical results from any search head in the cluster. This is only possible if all search heads query an identical set of data. An indexer cluster guarantees this data consistency by replicating data buckets across all its peer nodes. Connecting a SHC to a standalone indexer would break this model, as that indexer would hold unique data, leading to inconsistent and unpredictable search results.
Furthermore, the indexer cluster provides the necessary high availability. If a peer node fails, searches can continue against the replicated data copies on other peers, ensuring the SHC remains operational.

Explanations for Incorrect Options

A. All search heads must use the same operating system.
This is false. Splunk's clustering technology is cross-platform. A Search Head Cluster can consist of members running different operating systems (e.g., Linux and Windows). While homogeneity can simplify management, it is not a technical requirement.

B. All search heads must be members of the cluster (no standalone search heads).
This is incorrect. A deployment can include standalone search heads alongside a SHC. These standalone search heads can connect to the same underlying indexer cluster and are often used for dedicated tasks like development, administration, or running heavy, scheduled reports to avoid impacting the performance of the main SHC.

C. The search head captain must be assigned to the largest search head in the cluster.
This is false. The search head captain is elected automatically by the cluster members using a consensus algorithm. An administrator cannot manually assign the captain role based on hardware size like RAM or CPU. Any member node in a healthy state is eligible to become the captain.

Reference:
Splunk's official documentation on Search Head Cluster prerequisites explicitly states, "The search head cluster must connect to an indexer cluster. It cannot connect to standalone indexers."

Explanation:

The configuration snippet shows:
Code
[clustering]
mode = master
replication_factor = 2
pass4SymmKey = password123
This defines the Splunk instance as a cluster master (manager node) with a replication factor of 2. Let’s break down each option:

A. This is a multi-site cluster → Incorrect
Nothing in the configuration indicates multi-site clustering. Multi-site requires additional attributes such as site_replication_factor and site_search_factor. Since those are absent, this is a single-site cluster.

B. This cluster's search factor is 2 → Incorrect
The configuration only specifies replication_factor = 2. There is no search_factor defined here. By default, search factor is not automatically set to replication factor. Without explicit configuration, we cannot assume SF = 2.

C. This Splunk instance needs to be restarted → Correct
Any changes to server.conf require a Splunk restart to take effect. Since clustering settings were modified, the instance must be restarted for the configuration to apply.

D. This instance is missing the master_uri attribute → Correct
For peer nodes, master_uri is required to point to the cluster master. While this instance is configured as a master, the absence of master_uri means peers cannot connect properly. This is a missing attribute in the broader cluster configuration.

References
Splunk Docs – Indexer cluster configuration
Splunk Docs – Replication and search factors

Summary
Not multi-site → A is wrong.
Search factor not defined → B is wrong.
Restart required after config change → C is correct.
Missing master_uri attribute for proper cluster setup → D is correct.
Thus, the correct answers are C and D.

Explanation:

✅Correct Answer:B
To calculate daily disk consumption per indexer in a cluster, you need the total daily indexing volume, the number of peer nodes, the replication factor, and the search factor.

The total raw data volume must be multiplied by the replication factor to account for total copies stored across the cluster. Dividing this by the number of peer nodes gives an estimate per node. The search factor is also needed because it determines how many copies are searchable, which affects the indexed files portion of disk usage. The existing information about bucket size and rawdata/index file ratios provides the compression baseline, but clustering adds the replication overhead.

❌Incorrect Answers:

A: Accelerated searches affect disk space through summary files, but they're not the primary factor for calculating baseline daily storage needs from raw data and its replication in a cluster. The search factor is more critical than acceleration counts for this calculation. Splunk Docs on capacity planning.

C: The number of search heads doesn't directly impact the storage consumption on indexers. Search heads are consumers of data, not storage locations for the indexed data itself. The key missing element is the number of peer nodes to distribute the load. Splunk Docs on cluster components.

D: Total disk size is what you're trying to calculate, not an input for the calculation. Using it would be circular logic. The calculation requires the incoming data volume and replication parameters to determine required disk size. Splunk Docs on storage capacity planning.

Reference:
Splunk documentation on "Calculate the storage capacity you need for an indexer cluster" specifically lists these factors for capacity planning.

Explanation:

When migrating from single-site to multisite index replication in Splunk, there are specific behaviors and requirements to understand:

✅ Correct Answer:

B. Multisite policies apply to new data only → Correct
When you enable multisite replication, the new site replication and search factors apply only to newly created buckets. Existing single-site buckets do not retroactively adopt multisite policies. This is a key exam nuance: migration does not rewrite or redistribute old buckets.

D. Multisite total values should not exceed any single-site factors → Correct
The site_replication_factor and site_search_factor must be consistent with the overall replication and search factors defined for the cluster. In other words, the sum of site-specific values cannot exceed the single-site replication/search factors. This ensures cluster consistency and prevents misconfiguration.

Why the other options are not correct

A. A master node is required at each site → Incorrect
Splunk requires only one cluster master (manager node) for the entire multisite cluster. You do not deploy a master node at each site. Sites contain peer nodes (indexers), but the master node centrally manages replication policies across all sites.

C. Single-site buckets instantly receive the multisite policies → Incorrect
Existing buckets created under single-site replication remain unchanged. They do not instantly adopt multisite policies. Only new buckets created after migration follow the multisite replication rules.

References:
Splunk Docs – About multisite indexer clusters
Splunk Docs – Migrate from single-site to multisite

Explanation:

Transferring captaincy in a Search Head Cluster (SHC) is an administrative function that controls which member acts as the cluster’s coordinator. Captaincy determines who manages scheduling, configuration replication, knowledge object distribution, and internal cluster orchestration. Splunk provides two supported methods to change captaincy: using Splunk Web or using the CLI on the target member. Both are safe and fully supported as long as the cluster is healthy.

✅ Explanation for Correct Options

B. Use the Search Head Clustering settings menu from Splunk Web on any member.
Splunk Web provides a built-in interface for SHC management. From Settings → Distributed Search → Search Head Clustering, an administrator can select “Elect New Captain” or initiate related cluster actions. This interface sends a request to the SHC captain to trigger a new election and designate the appropriate member as the leader. Using Splunk Web is fully supported and simplifies the process for admins who prefer graphical tools.

D. Run the splunk transfer shcluster-captain command from the member you would like to become the captain.
This is the official CLI method to transfer captaincy. Importantly, the command must be run on the member that you want to promote, not from the current captain. Splunk imposes this rule so that the node requesting promotion verifies local health state and ensures it is eligible.

Example command:
splunk transfer shcluster-captain -auth admin:password
This command triggers the election immediately and designates the requesting node as new captain, assuming it is healthy and meets SHC eligibility.

❌ Explanation for Incorrect Options

A. Use the Monitoring Console.
The Monitoring Console (MC) provides extensive visibility into SHC health, such as:
Current captain
Member status
Replication health
KV Store status
Configuration bundle replication
Scheduler activity
However, the Monitoring Console is read-only for SHC administrative operations. You cannot initiate a captain transfer, elect a captain, restart members, or trigger cluster actions from MC.

C. Run the command on the current captain.
Running:
splunk transfer shcluster-captain
from the current captain does not allow selection of a new captain. This command only works when executed on the target node that wants to assume captaincy.
Splunk’s design ensures that the prospective captain initiates the request and proves its own health, reducing the risk of accidentally promoting an unhealthy or offline peer.

Reference:
Splunk Docs – Manage Search Head Clustering
Splunk Docs – Use the CLI to manage SHC
Splunk Docs – SHC Operations CLI