Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

If a user does not specify an index when running an SPL search, which indexes are searched?

1. The system default indexes

2. Indexes specified in the user's role

3. All available indexes

4. No indexes are searched

The correct answer is: Indexes specified in the user's role

When a user does not specify an index in their SPL (Search Processing Language) search, the query defaults to searching the indexes that are defined in the user's role. This role-based access is a crucial aspect of Splunk's security and data management, ensuring that users can only access the data they are authorized to view. By utilizing roles to define accessible indexes, Splunk allows for better control over data visibility and user permissions. This means that even if a user does not explicitly mention an index in their search command, the system will leverage those predefined settings to determine which indexes to search. The system default indexes refer to those that are available to all users generally, but the search behavior ultimately depends on the user's specific role configuration. Therefore, only the indexes associated with the user's role are searched in the absence of a specified index in the SPL command. This design helps protect sensitive information and aligns with best practices for data segregation and access control.