SPLK-3002 Splunk IT Service Intelligence Certified Admin Exam Questions and Answers

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.

To install Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) on a single Search Head, one of the straightforward methods is to use the Splunk Web interface, specifically the "Manage Apps" dashboard, to download and install ITSI. This method is user-friendly and does not require manual file handling or command-line operations. By navigating to "Manage Apps" in the Splunk Web interface, users can find ITSI in the app repository or upload the ITSI installation package if it has been downloaded previously. From there, the installation process is initiated through the Splunk Web interface, simplifying the setup process. This approach ensures that the installation follows Splunk's standard app installation procedures, helping to avoid common installation errors and ensuring that ITSI is correctly integrated into the Splunk environment.

In Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), entities represent infrastructure components, applications, or other elements that are monitored. Each entity is uniquely identified by its entity ID, and entities can be associated with one or more services through the concept of aliases. A problem arises when two or more entities have the same value in a single alias field because aliases are used to match events to entities in ITSI. If multiple entities share the same alias value, ITSI might incorrectly associate data with the wrong entity, leading to inaccurate monitoring and analytics. This scenario requires correction to ensure that each alias uniquely identifies a single entity, thereby maintaining the integrity of the monitoring and analysis process within ITSI. The uniqueness of service IDs, entity IDs, and entity key values in info fields is also important but does not typically present the same level of issue as duplicate values in an alias field.

In Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), when using multiple event management policies, it is important to understand that policy processing is applied in a defined order. This order is crucial because it determines how events are processed and aggregated, and which rules are applied to events first. The order of policies can be customized, allowing administrators to prioritize certain policies over others based on the specific needs and operational logic of their IT environment. This feature provides flexibility in event management, enabling more precise control over event processing and ensuring that the most critical events are handled according to the desired precedence. This structured approach to policy processing helps in maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness of event management within ITSI.

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 is beneficial in complex environments where the interplay between different performance metrics needs to be considered to accurately detect and diagnose issues.

In Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), creating teams for each department and assigning services to those teams is an effective way to segregate data and ensure that information remains private between different groups within an organization. Teams in ITSI provide a mechanism for role-based access control, allowing administrators to define which users or groups have access to specific services, KPIs, and dashboards. By setting up teams corresponding to each department and then assigning services to these teams, ITSI can accommodate multi-departmental use within the same instance while maintaining strict access controls. This ensures that each department can only view and interact with the data and services relevant to their operations, preserving confidentiality and data integrity across the organization.

C is the correct answer because teams are a feature of ITSI that allow you to restrict access to service content in UI views based on user roles. To create separate teams for finance and sales analysts, you need to create custom roles that inherit from the itoa_analyst role, which has read-only access to ITSI content. For example, you can create itoa_finance_analyst and itoa_sales_analyst roles that inherit from itoa_analyst. Then, you need to create custom teams that include these roles and assign them to the relevant services. For example, you can create a finance team that includes the itoa_finance_analyst role and assign it to the finance services. Similarly, you can create a sales team that includes the itoa_sales_analyst role and assign it to the sales services. This way, analysts in each department can only see their own services and not each other’s. References: Create teams in ITSI, Assign teams to services in ITSI

It's a deduplicated group of notable events occurring as part of a larger sequence, or an incident or period considered in isolation.

It's a best practice to schedule maintenance windows with a 15- to 30-minute time buffer before and after you start and stop your maintenance work. 

Throttling applies to any correlation search alert type, including notable events and actions (RSS feed, email, run script, and ticketing).

Time policies are user-defined threshold values to be used at different times of the day or week to account for changing KPI workloads. Time policies accommodate normal variations in usage across your services and improve the accuracy of KPI and service health scores. For example, if your organization’s peak activity is during the standard work week, you might create a KPI threshold time policy that accounts for higher levels of usage during work hours, and lower levels of usage during off-hours and weekends. The statement that applies when configuring time policies for KPI thresholds is:

B. They are great if you expect normal behavior at 1:00 to be different than normal behavior at 5:00. This is true because time policies allow you to define different threshold values for different time blocks, such as AM/PM, work hours/off hours, weekdays/weekends, and so on. This way, you can account for the expected variations in your KPI data based on the time of day or week.

The other statements do not apply because:

A. A person can only configure 24 policies, one for each hour of the day. This is not true because you can configure more than 24 policies using different time block combinations, such as 3 hour block, 2 hour block, 1 hour block, and so on.

C. If a person expects a KPI to change significantly through a cycle on a daily basis, don’t use it. This is not true because time policies are designed to handle KPIs that change significantly through a cycle on a daily basis, such as web traffic volume or CPU load percent.

D. It is possible for multiple time policies to overlap. This is not true because you can only have one active time policy at any given time. When you create a new time policy, the previous time policy is overwritten and cannot be recovered.

In the context of troubleshooting KPI search performance in Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), the search names in the job activity that identify base searches typically follow the pattern "Indicator - Shared - xxxx - ITSI Search." These base searches are fundamental components of the KPI calculation process, aggregating and preparing data for further analysis by KPIs. Identifying these base searches in the job activity is crucial for diagnosing performance issues, as these searches can be resource-intensive and impact overall system performance. Understanding the naming convention helps administrators and analysts quickly pinpoint the base searches related to specific KPIs, facilitating more effective troubleshooting and optimization of search performance within the ITSI environment.

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.

C. New KPIs. This is true because when you add new KPIs to a service template, they will be automatically added to all the services that are linked to that template. This helps you keep your services consistent and up-to-date with the latest KPI definitions.

The other options will not be added to linked services by default because:

A. Thresholds. This is not true because when you change thresholds in a service template, they will not affect the existing thresholds in the linked services. You need to manually apply the threshold changes to each linked service if you want them to inherit the new thresholds from the template.

B. Entity rules. This is not true because when you change entity rules in a service template, they will not affect the existing entity rules in the linked services. You need to manually apply the entity rule changes to each linked service if you want them to inherit the new entity rules from the template.

D. Health score. This is not true because when you change health score settings in a service template, they will not affect the existing health score settings in the linked services. You need to manually apply the health score changes to each linked service if you want them to inherit the new health score settings from the template.

SA-IndexCreation is required on all indexers. For non-clustered, distributed environments, copy SA-IndexCreation to $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/ on individual indexers.

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 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.

When an anomaly is detected in Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), it typically generates a notable event that can be reviewed and managed in the Episode Review dashboard. The Episode Review is part of ITSI's Event Analytics framework and serves as a centralized location for reviewing, annotating, and managing notable events, including those generated by anomaly detection. This process enables IT operators and analysts to efficiently identify, prioritize, and respond to potential issues highlighted by the anomaly alerts. The integration of anomaly alerts into the Episode Review dashboard streamlines the workflow for managing and investigating these alerts within the broader context of IT service management and operational intelligence.

 D is the correct answer because ITSI provides multiple ways to delete multiple duplicate entities. You can use a CSV upload to overwrite existing entities with new or updated information, or delete them by setting the action field to delete. You can also use the entity lister page to select multiple entities and delete them in bulk. Alternatively, you can use a search command called | deleteentity to delete entities that match certain criteria. References: Create and update entities using a CSV file in ITSI, Delete entities in bulk in ITSI, Delete entities using the | deleteentity command in ITSI

To modify default deep dives in Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), the least permissive role typically required is theitoa_adminrole. This role is specifically designed within ITSI to provide administrative capabilities, including the ability to configure and customize various aspects of ITSI, such as services, KPIs, and deep dives. Theitoa_adminrole has the necessary permissions to edit and manage default deep dives, enabling users with this role to tailor the deep dives to meet specific operational requirements and preferences. Other roles likeitoa_analyst,admin, orpowermight not have sufficient privileges to modify default deep dives, as these roles are generally more restricted in terms of their ability to make broad changes within ITSI.