Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

How can outputs from a script be input into Splunk?

1. By manually entering the script output

2. By executing the script and using its output

3. By configuring the script to log to a file

4. By using the REST API to fetch data

The correct answer is: By executing the script and using its output

Using the output of a script directly as input for Splunk is a common practice among data administrators. When a script is executed and its output is generated in real-time, that output can be piped directly into Splunk. This is typically done by utilizing the command line to execute the script and channel the output to Splunk through the Splunk command. This method is efficient because it enables dynamic data ingestion, allowing Splunk to index data as soon as it is available, rather than requiring any intermediary steps. In this context, other options do not provide the same level of direct integration. Manually entering data can be time-consuming, and it requires human intervention, which is not ideal for automation. Configuring a script to log to a file introduces an additional step where data is first written to a file and then needs to be ingested by Splunk, which could delay data processing and indexing. Utilizing the REST API is a valid method for data ingestion but does not apply in this specific scenario of directly using script output; rather, it pertains more to interacting with services programmatically. Thus, executing the script and using its output aligns with the streamlined and automated nature of data ingestion within Splunk environments.