Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

What must be done to ensure load balancing for forwarders?

1. Configure inputs.conf

2. Edit outputs.conf

3. Use props.conf settings

4. Modify server.conf for load balancing

The correct answer is: Edit outputs.conf

To ensure load balancing for forwarders in a Splunk environment, it is essential to edit the outputs.conf file. This file is responsible for defining how data is sent from forwarders to indexers. By configuring outputs.conf, you can specify multiple destination indexers, which enables the forwarders to distribute the data load evenly among those indexers. Load balancing is achieved by using the 'server' stanza in outputs.conf, where you can list multiple indexers along with their respective weights. This allows Splunk to intelligently distribute incoming data to the indexers based on their load capacities, ensuring no single indexer becomes overwhelmed. Thus, editing outputs.conf is crucial for implementing effective load balancing strategies for forwarders in the architecture. In contrast, inputs.conf is primarily concerned with configuring data inputs on the forwarder itself, while props.conf is used for data processing and transformations. Modifying server.conf may change various settings related to the server configuration but does not directly manage how data is forwarded or balanced among indexers. Therefore, outputs.conf is the correct choice for achieving load balancing for forwarders.