SPLK-2002 VCE Exam Download

The average run time of all searches increases as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases. The CPU cores are the processing units that execute the instructions and calculations for the data. The number of CPU cores on the indexers affects the search performance, because the indexers are responsible for retrieving and filtering the data from the indexes. The more CPU cores the indexers have, the faster they can process the data and return the results. The less CPU cores the indexers have, the slower they can process the data and return the results. Therefore, the average run time of all searches is inversely proportional to the number of CPU cores on the indexers. The average run time of all searches is not independent of the number of CPU cores on the indexers, because the CPU cores are an important factor for the search performance. The average run time of all searches does not decrease as the number of CPU cores on the indexers decreases, because this would imply that the search performance improves with less CPU cores, which is not true. The average run time of all searches does not increase as the number of CPU cores on the indexers increases, because this would imply that the search performance worsens with more CPU cores, which is not true

Within the [clustering] stanza of the server.conf file, the mode attribute defines the functional role of a Splunk instance within an indexer cluster. Splunk documentation identifies three valid modes:

mode = manager

Defines the node as the Cluster Manager (formerly called the Master Node).

Responsible for coordinating peer replication, managing configurations, and ensuring data integrity across indexers.

mode = peer

Defines the node as an Indexer (Peer Node) within the cluster.

Handles data ingestion, replication, and search operations under the control of the manager node.

mode = searchhead

Defines a Search Head that connects to the cluster for distributed searching and data retrieval.

The value “deployer” (Option C) is not valid within the [clustering] stanza; it applies to Search Head Clustering (SHC) configurations, where it is defined separately in server.conf under [shclustering].

Each mode must be accompanied by other critical attributes such as manager_uri, replication_port, and pass4SymmKey to enable proper communication and security between cluster members.

References (Splunk Enterprise Documentation):

• Indexer Clustering: Configure Manager, Peer, and Search Head Modes

• server.conf Reference – [clustering] Stanza Attributes

• Distributed Search and Cluster Node Role Configuration

• Splunk Enterprise Admin Manual – Cluster Deployment Architecture

According to the Splunk documentation1, multi-site clustering is an indexer cluster that spans multiple physical sites, such as data centers. Each site has its own set of peer nodes and search heads. Each site also obeys site-specific replication and search factor rules. The use cases that are made possible by multi-site clustering are:

Greatly reduce WAN traffic by preferentially searching assigned site (search affinity). This means that if you configure each site so that it has both a search head and a full set of searchable data, the search head on each site will limit its searches to local peer nodes. This eliminates any need, under normal conditions, for search heads to access data on other sites, greatly reducing network traffic between sites2.

Seamlessly route searches to a redundant site in case of a site failure. This means that by storing copies of your data at multiple locations, you maintain access to the data if a disaster strikes at one location. Multisite clusters provide site failover capability. If a site goes down, indexing and searching can continue on the remaining sites, without interruption or loss of data2.

The other options are false because:

Use blockchain technology to audit search activity from geographically dispersed data centers. This is not a use case of multi-site clustering, as Splunk does not use blockchain technology to audit search activity. Splunk uses its own internal logs and metrics to monitor and audit search activity3.

Enable a forwarder to send data to multiple indexers. This is not a use case of multi-site clustering, as forwarders can send data to multiple indexers regardless of whether they are in a single-site or multi-site cluster. This is a basic feature of forwarders that allows load balancing and high availability of data ingestion4.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (From Splunk Enterprise Documentation)Splunk’s Search Head Clustering documentation explains that the cluster uses a majority-based election system. A captain is elected only when a node sees more than half of the cluster. In a two-site design where site1 has the majority of members, Splunk states that the majority site continues normal operation during a network partition. The minority site (site2) is not allowed to elect a captain and should not promote itself.

Splunk specifically warns administrators not to enable static captain on a minority site during a network split. Doing so creates two independent clusters, leading to configuration divergence and severe data-consistency issues. The documentation emphasizes that static captain should only be used for a complete loss of majority, not for a site partition.

Because Site1 maintains majority, it remains the active cluster and site2 does not perform any actions. Splunk states that minority-site members should simply wait until network communication is restored.

Thus the correct answer is B: No action is required.