In Splunk, it's considered best practice to create small, single-purpose deployment apps rather than large, multi-purpose ones. This approach ensures better manageability, easier updates, and clearer version control. Option D, which suggests creating large, multi-purpose deployment apps, is not a best practice.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Deployment Server Best Practices

When there are conflicting configurations in Splunk, the platform resolves them based on the configuration file precedence rules. These rules dictate which settings are applied based on the hierarchy of the configuration files.

In the provided configurations:

The first configuration in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/unix/local/inputs.conf sets the sourcetype to access_combined.

The second configuration in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/search/local/inputs.conf sets the sourcetype to linux_secure.

Configuration File Precedence:

In Splunk, configurations in local directories take precedence over those in default.

If two configurations are in local directories of different apps, the alphabetical order of the app names determines the precedence.

Since 'search' comes after 'unix' alphabetically, the configuration in $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/search/local/inputs.conf will take precedence.

Therefore, the value of the sourcetype property for this stanza is linux_secure.

Splunk Documentation Reference:

Configuration File Precedence

Resolving Conflicts in Splunk Configurations

This confirms that the correct answer is C. linux_secure.

The correct attribute/value pair to successfully extract the timestamp from the provided events is TIME_FORMAT = %b %d %H:%M:%S. This format corresponds to the structure of the timestamps in the provided data:

%b represents the abbreviated month name (e.g., Sep).

%d represents the day of the month.

%H:%M:%S represents the time in hours, minutes, and seconds.

This format will correctly extract timestamps like 'Sep 12 06:11:58'.

Splunk Documentation Reference: Configure Timestamp Recognition

In Splunk Cloud, when there is a need for a change request that might involve modifying settings, upgrading, or other actions requiring Splunk Support, the process typically requires submitting a support case.

D . Any person with the appropriate entitlement: This is the correct answer. Any individual who has the necessary permissions or entitlements within the Splunk environment can submit a support case. This includes administrators or users who have been granted the ability to engage with Splunk Support. The request does not necessarily have to come from a Certified Splunk Cloud Administrator or the infrastructure owner; rather, it can be submitted by anyone with the correct level of access.

Splunk Documentation Reference:

Submitting a Splunk Support Case

Managing User Roles and Entitlements

Splunk executes scripts from specific directories that are structured within its installation paths. These directories typically include:

SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/bin: This directory is used to store scripts that are part of the core Splunk system configuration.

SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps//bin: Each Splunk app can have its own bin directory where scripts specific to that app are stored.

SPLUNK_HOME/bin/scripts: This is a standard directory for storing scripts that may be globally accessible within Splunk's environment.

However, C. SPLUNKHOMS/ctc/scripts/local is not a recognized or standard path used by Splunk for executing scripts. This path does not adhere to the typical directory structure within the SPLUNK_HOME environment, making it the correct answer as it does not correspond to a valid script execution path in Splunk.

Splunk Documentation Reference:

Using Custom Scripts in Splunk

Directory Structure of SPLUNK_HOME