Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test 2026 - Free Splunk Admin Practice Questions and Study Guide

The outputs.conf file is essential for configuring how and where a Splunk Universal Forwarder sends its collected data. This file specifies the destination, including the indexers or heavy forwarders where the data should be routed. It allows administrators to define settings such as the type of connection (e.g., TCP, SSL) and parameters for load balancing, ensuring efficient and reliable data transmission to the appropriate Splunk instances.

In contrast, other .conf files serve different purposes. Inputs.conf is used for defining data input configurations, such as log file monitoring settings or listening ports. Props.conf deals with event processing attributes, enabling custom parsing of data before it reaches its destination. Transforms.conf is focused on data transformation and routing based on specific criteria, but it doesn't specify the destination for data forwarding itself. Thus, it is the outputs.conf that directly governs the forwarder's data sending behavior.