Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

Which combination best describes the function of Scripted Inputs relative to Splunk's capabilities?

1. Collecting, transforming, and aggregating historical data

2. Scripting, monitoring, and visualizing real-time data

3. Scheduling script execution and indexing dynamic outputs

4. Aggregating and reporting static datasets from multiple sources

The correct answer is: Scheduling script execution and indexing dynamic outputs

The function of Scripted Inputs in Splunk is primarily about enabling the execution of custom scripts to collect data in real-time. This process involves scheduling the execution of these scripts, which can either retrieve data from specific sources or generate data dynamically. Once the scripts have run, the outputs are indexed in Splunk, making the collected data searchable and available for analysis. This capability is essential for scenarios where data is not natively supported by Splunk's built-in inputs, or where there is a need to pull in data from APIs, logs, or other dynamic sources that change frequently. The combination of scheduling script execution and indexing the resulting dynamic outputs reflects the versatility and power of Scripted Inputs in efficiently incorporating varied data types into Splunk’s ecosystem. The other alternatives do not accurately capture the essence of Scripted Inputs. While they may involve some aspects of data handling within Splunk, they do not specifically emphasize the capability of executing custom scripts to collect and index live data from various sources. Therefore, the option highlighting the scheduled execution of scripts and indexing their outputs is the most precise description of this Splunk functionality.