Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

If a forwarder sends data to two indexers at 30-second intervals, can it switch exactly at the 30th second?

1. Yes, always

2. No, to avoid partial events

3. Sometimes, depending on configuration

4. Yes, unless configured otherwise

The correct answer is: No, to avoid partial events

The reasoning behind the selection of this answer lies in how Splunk handles the transmission of data to ensure the integrity and completeness of events. In Splunk, forwarders can face a scenario known as "partial events" if they switch the target indexers at arbitrary intervals, particularly when dealing with time-sensitive data. When a forwarder transmits an event, it often needs to ensure that the entire event is sent before switching to another indexer. If the forwarder were to switch precisely at the 30-second mark, it's possible that an event that spans this time might be left partially sent, resulting in the receiving indexer not capturing the complete data. This could lead to data loss or incomplete events. Therefore, to maintain data integrity, forwarders avoid making a switch at fixed time intervals like 30 seconds to prevent such issues with partial events. Instead, the forwarding process is managed in a way that allows for a smoother transition without disrupting the completeness of the data. This is key to ensuring that all pieces of an event are available for searching and reporting in Splunk.