Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

Which two "Add data" options do not update or create an inputs.conf file?

1. Upload and Monitor

2. Index once and Upload

3. Monitor and Index once

4. Forward and Upload

The correct answer is: Index once and Upload

The choice indicating "Index once and Upload" is correct because this option is primarily used for a one-time indexing of a file into Splunk without setting up ongoing data input configurations. When you use the "Index once and Upload" option, you're essentially telling Splunk to index the file content for immediate analysis, but it does not create or modify an inputs.conf file, which is responsible for defining new data inputs on an ongoing basis. The inputs.conf file is a crucial configuration file in Splunk where data inputs can be defined to collect data continuously from specified sources. In contrast, options like "Upload" or "Monitor" are designed to create or alter this configuration file. Utilizing the "Upload" option generally involves transferring files so that Splunk can process them, while "Monitor" actively watches certain files or data sources for new content automatically and updates inputs.conf accordingly. Similarly, "Forward" actions typically rely on the configuration file to manage data flow from one Splunk instance to another. Therefore, the nature of the "Index once and Upload" action clearly distinguishes it as an option that bypasses any updates or creations of the inputs.conf file, focusing instead on a non-continuous data index process.