This is because the Splunk App for AWS is a prebuilt app that is installed on the deployer and pushed to the search head cluster members. When a power user modifies a dashboard in the app on one of the search head cluster members, the changes are stored in the local directory of that member. When the app is upgraded to the latest version by following the instructions via the deployer, the changes in the default directory of the app are overwritten, but the changes in the local directory are preserved. Therefore, the power user will still see their modified version of the dashboard, while other users will see the updated version of the dashboard.

The other options are incorrect because they do not reflect what happens when a prebuilt app is upgraded in a search head cluster. Option A is incorrect because the updated dashboard will be deployed globally to all users, except for the power user who modified it. Option B is incorrect because applying the search head cluster bundle will not fail due to the conflict, as the local changes are not pushed back to the deployer. Option C is incorrect because the updated dashboard will not be available to the power user, as their local changes will take precedence over the default changes.  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

Install a prebuilt app on a search head cluster 1

How configuration file precedence works 2

The configuration files that must be modified to connect to an Active Directory LDAP provider are authentication.conf and ldap.conf. The authentication.conf file is used to specify the authentication method and settings for Splunk. The ldap.conf file is used to define the LDAP strategies and servers for Splunk. By editing these files, the customer can configure Splunk to use Active Directory as the external authentication provider, and map the LDAP groups and attributes to Splunk roles and capabilities. Therefore, the correct answer is B. authentication.conf, ldap.conf.  References :

Splunk Core Certified Consultant Test Blueprint

Splunk Documentation: Configure Splunk to use LDAP and Active Directory

Splunk Documentation: About authentication.conf

Splunk Documentation: About ldap.conf

The bloomfilter resides in the directory of each bucket that has one. The directory name is composed of the earliest and latest timestamps of the events in the bucket, as well as the bucket ID. For example, $SPLUNK_HOME/var/lib/splunk/indexfoo/db/db_1553504858_1553504507_8 is a possible directory name for a bucket. The bloomfilter is a file named bloomfilter in this directory. Therefore, the correct answer is A, $SPLUNK_HOME/var/lib/splunk/indexfoo/db/db_1553504858_1553504507_8.  References  :=

Splexicon:Bloomfilter

Indexer cluster configuration overview

 This is the minimum and least disruptive change necessary to protect the searchability of the indexer cluster in case of indexer failure, because it ensures that there are always at least two copies of each bucket in the cluster, one of which is searchable. This way, if one indexer fails, the cluster can still serve search requests from the remaining copy. Increasing the replication factor and search factor also improves the cluster’s resiliency and availability.

The other options are incorrect because they either do not protect the searchability of the cluster, or they require more changes and disruptions to the cluster. Option A is incorrect because enabling maintenance mode on the CM does not prevent excessive fix-up, but rather delays it until maintenance mode is disabled. Maintenance mode also prevents searches from running on the cluster, which defeats the purpose of protecting searchability. Option B is incorrect because leaving replication_factor=2 means that there is only one searchable copy of each bucket in the cluster, which is not enough to protect searchability in case of indexer failure. Enabling summary_replication does not help with this issue, as it only applies to summary indexes, not all indexes. Option C is incorrect because converting the cluster to multi-site requires a lot of changes and disruptions to the cluster, such as reassigning site attributes to all nodes, reconfiguring network settings, and rebalancing buckets across sites. It also does not guarantee that there will always be a searchable copy of each bucket in each site, unless the site replication factor and site search factor are set accordingly.  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 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 website and can be customized using the Interactive Splunk Validated Architecture (iSVA) tool.

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.

 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

This is because the bucket freezing process in a clustered indexer is controlled by the cluster master, which ensures that all copies of the bucket are frozen at the same time. This way, the cluster master can maintain the consistency and availability of the data across the cluster, and avoid any conflicts or errors due to mismatched bucket states.

The other options are incorrect because they do not reflect what happens when a bucket rolls from cold to frozen on a clustered indexer. Option A is incorrect because all replicated copies will not be rolled to frozen, while original copies will remain. This would violate the replication factor and search factor settings of the cluster, and cause data loss or unavailability. Option B is incorrect because replicated copies of the bucket will not remain on all other indexers, and the cluster master will not assign a new primary bucket. This would create duplicate and outdated data in the cluster, and cause search inefficiency or inconsistency. Option D is incorrect because nothing will not happen, and replicated copies of the bucket will not remain on all other indexers until a local retention rule causes it to roll. This would create different retention policies for different copies of the same bucket, and cause data fragmentation or corruption.  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

How indexer clusters handle frozen data 1

How Splunk Enterprise handles frozen data 2

 The inputs.conf stanzas in the image are attempting to monitor the files secure and messages in the /var/log directory. However, the whitelist attribute is set to “messages” and “secure” respectively, which means that only those files will be actively monitored. Therefore, the correct answer is D. /var/log/secure, /var/log/messages.  References :

Splunk Core Certified Consultant Test Blueprint

Splunk Documentation: Monitor files and directories with inputs.conf

Splunk Documentation: Use whitelist and blacklist to filter inputs

 The internal Splunk authentication will take precedence over any external schemes, such as LDAP. This means that if a username exists in both $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/passwd and LDAP, the Splunk platform will attempt to log in the user using the native authentication first. If the authentication fails, and the failure is not due to a nonexistent local account, then the platform will not attempt to use LDAP to log in. If the failure is due to a nonexistent local account, then the Splunk platform will attempt a login using the LDAP authentication scheme.  References :

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/Security/SetupuserauthenticationwithLDAP#Precedence_of_Splunk_authentication_schemes 1

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.1.1/Security/SetupuserauthenticationwithLDAP#Precedence_of_Splunk_authentication_schemes 2