SPLK-3002 Sample Questions Answers

Copy SA-IndexCreation to $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/ on all individual indexers in your environment.

ITSI Saved Search Scheduling is a feature that allows you to schedule searches that run periodically to populate the data for your KPIs. You can configure various settings for your scheduled searches, such as the search frequency, the time range, the cron expression, and so on. One of the settings is realtime_schedule, which controls the way the scheduler computes the next execution time of a scheduled search. The statement that is accurate about this configuration is:

• B. If this value is set to 0, the scheduler bases its determination of the next scheduled search on the last search execution time. This is called continuous scheduling. If set to 0, the scheduler never skips scheduled execution periods. However, the execution of the saved search might fall behind depending on the scheduler’s load. Use continuous scheduling whenever you enable the summary index option.

The other statements are not accurate because:

• A. If this value is set to 0, the scheduler bases its determination of the next scheduled search execution time on the current time. This is not true because this is what happens when the value is set to 1, not 0.
• C. If this value is set to 0, the scheduler may skip scheduled execution periods. This is not true because this is what happens when the value is set to 1, not 0.
• D. If this value is set to 0, the scheduler might skip some execution periods to make sure that the scheduler is executing the searches running over the most recent time range. This is not true because this is what happens when the value is set to 1, not 0.

References: Create KPI base searches in ITSI, Rrealtime_schedule in SavedSearches.conf

Search results are processed, created, and written to the itsi_summary index via an alert action. 

An adaptive time threshold in the context of Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) refers to the capability of dynamically adjusting threshold values for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on historical data trends and patterns. This feature allows thresholds to evolve as the 'normal' behavior of KPIs changes over time, ensuring that alerts remain relevant and reduce the likelihood of false positives or negatives. The advantage of this approach is that it accommodates for natural fluctuations in KPI values that may occur due to changes in business operations, seasonality, or other factors, without requiring manual threshold adjustments. This makes the monitoring system more resilient and responsive to actual conditions, improving the overall effectiveness of IT operations management.

When an episode warrants investigation, the analyst acknowledges the episode, which moves the status from New to In Progress.

A Multi-KPI alert in Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) is designed to trigger based on the conditions of multiple Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This type of alert is particularly useful when a single KPI's state is not sufficient to indicate an issue, but the correlation between multiple KPIs can provide a clearer picture of an emerging problem. The best use case for a Multi-KPI alert is therefore when comparing the values of two or more KPIs indicates an unusual condition is occurring. This allows for more nuanced and context-rich alerting mechanisms that can identify complex issues not detectable by monitoring individual KPIs. This approach isbeneficial in complex environments where the interplay between different performance metrics needs to be considered to accurately detect and diagnose issues.

Custom deep dives in Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) are versatile and highly customizable dashboards that allow users to analyze various types of data in a unified view. One of the key characteristics of custom deep dives is their ability to combine lanes of different data types, such as metrics, events, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and service health scores. This multifaceted approach provides a comprehensive and layered view of the IT environment, enabling analysts and operators to correlate different data types and gain deeper insights into the health and performance of services. By incorporating these diverse data lanes, custom deep dives facilitate a more holistic understanding of the operational landscape, aiding in more effective troubleshooting and decision-making.

In the context of Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), service dependencies allow for the modeling of relationships between services, where the health of one service (dependent) can affect the health of another (primary).

B.It is best practice to use the dependent service's built-in 'ServiceHealthScore' KPI to reflect impact to the primary service:Utilizing the 'ServiceHealthScore' KPI of a dependent service as part of the primary service's health calculation is a recommended practice. This approach ensures that changes in the health of the dependent service directly influence the primary service's overall health score, providing a more holistic view of service health within the IT environment.

C.Setting the dependent service KPI importance level will be treated as any other KPI in the primary service's health score:When a dependent service's KPI is incorporated into a primary service, the importance level assigned to this KPI is factored into the primary service's overall health score calculation just like any other KPI. This means that the impact of the dependent service on the primary service can be weighted according to the business significance of the relationship between the services.

The other options are not accurate representations of ITSI service dependencies. Changes in KPI importance levels do not break dependencies, and there is no restriction on configuring impactful dependent services to only one primary service, as dependencies can be complex and multi-layered across various services.

After you configure KPI thresholds, you can set up alerts to notify you when aggregate KPI severities change. ITSI generates notable events in Episode Review based on the alerting rules you configure.

Anomaly detection generates notable events when a KPI IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) deviates from an expected pattern.

Notable events are typically generated by a correlation search.

In the context of Smart Mode configuration within Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), the two settings that control how fields affect grouping are "Text similarity" and "Category similarity." Smart Mode is a feature used in event grouping that leverages machine learning to automatically group related events. "Text similarity" refers to how closely the textual content of event fields must match for those events to be grouped together, taking into account commonalities in strings or narratives within the event data. "Category similarity," on the other hand, relates to the similarity in the categorical attributes of events, such as event types or source types, which helps in clustering events that are similar in nature or origin. Both of these settings are crucial in determining how events are grouped in ITSI, influencing the granularity and relevance of the event groupings based on textual and categorical similarities.

Define entities before creating services. When you configure a service, you can specify entity matching rules based on entity aliases that automatically add the entities to your service.

KPI base searches let you share a search definition across multiple KPIs in IT Service Intelligence (ITSI). Create base searches to consolidate multiple similar KPIs, reduce search load, and improve search performance.

One of the recommended best practices for Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) installation is to avoid installing ITSI on search heads that already have Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) installed. This recommendation stems from potential resource conflicts and performance issues that can arise when both resource-intensive applications are deployed on the same instance. Both ITSI and ES are complex applications that require significant system resources to function effectively, and running them concurrently on the same search head can lead to degraded performance, conflicts in resource allocation, and potential stability issues. It's generally advised to segregate these applications onto separate Splunk instances to ensure optimal performance and stability for both platforms.

In the Notable Events Review dashboard within Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), when working with a notable event group, users can set or adjust certain attributes at the individual event level or at the group level. These attributes include:

• Severity:The importance or impact level of the notable event or group, which can be adjusted to reflect the current assessment of the situation.
• Status:The current state of the notable event or group, such as "New," "In Progress," or "Resolved," indicating the progress in addressing the event or group.
• Owner:The user or team responsible for managing and resolving the notable event or group.

These settings allow for effective management and tracking of notable events, ensuring that they are appropriately prioritized, acted upon, and resolved by the responsible parties.

B is the correct answer because adaptive thresholding is a feature of ITSI that allows you to dynamically adjust KPI thresholds based on historical patterns and trends. Adaptive thresholding requires a time buffer of at least 15 minutes to calculate the thresholds based on the previous data points. The time buffer ensures that there is enough data to perform the calculations and avoid false positives or negatives. References: Configure adaptive thresholding for a KPI in ITSI

In the context of Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), a Business Service often has Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) but might not have directly associated entities. Business Services represent high-level aggregations of organizational functions or processes and are typically measured by KPIs that reflect the performance of underlying technical services or components rather than direct infrastructure entities. For example, a Business Service might monitor overall transaction completion times or customer satisfaction scores, which are abstracted from the specific technical entities that underlie these metrics. This abstraction allows Business Services to provide a business-centric view of IT health and performance, focusing on outcomes rather than specific technical components.