SPLK-1002: Splunk Core Certified Power User

The fields sidebar is a panel that shows the fields that are present in your search results2.The fields sidebar does not show all extracted fields, which are fields that are extracted from your raw data using various methods such as regular expressions, delimiters or key-value pairs2.The fields sidebar only shows selected fields and interesting fields2.Selected fields are fields that you choose to display in your search results by clicking on them in the fields sidebar or by using the fields command2.Interesting fields are fields that appear in at least 20 percent of events or have high variability among values2. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A and B are incorrect because they are types of fields that the fields sidebar does show.

The correct answer is D.

A search macro is a way to reuse a piece of SPL code in different searches. A search macro can take arguments, which are variables that can be replaced by different values when the macro is called. A search macro can also contain another search macro within it, which is called a nested macro1.

To represent an argument in a macro definition, you need to use the dollar sign ($) character to enclose the argument name. For example, if you want to create a search macro that takes one argument named ''object'', you can use the following syntax:

[my_macro(object)] search sourcetype= object

This will create a search macro named my_macro that takes one argument named object. When you call the macro in a search, you need to provide a value for the object argument, such as:

my_macro(web)

This will replace the object argument with the value web and run the following SPL code:

search sourcetype=web

The other options are not correct because they use quotation marks (' or ') or percentage signs (%) to represent arguments, which are not valid syntax for macro arguments. These characters will be interpreted as literal values instead of variables.

Use search macros in searches

The correct answer is C. A macro is a portion of a search that can be reused in multiple places.

A macro is a way to reuse a piece of SPL code in different searches. A macro can be any part of a search, such as an eval statement or a search term, and does not need to be a complete command. A macro can also take arguments, which are variables that can be replaced by different values when the macro is called. A macro can also contain another macro within it, which is called a nested macro1.

To create a macro, you need to define its name, definition, arguments, and description in the Settings > Advanced Search > Search Macros page in Splunk Web or in the macros.conf file. To use a macro in a search, you need to enclose the macro name in backtick characters (`) and provide values for the arguments if any1.

For example, if you have a macro named my_macro that takes one argument named object and has the following definition:

search sourcetype= object

You can use it in a search by writing:

my_macro(web)

This will expand the macro and run the following SPL code:

search sourcetype=web

The benefits of using macros are that they can simplify complex searches, reduce errors, improve readability, and promote consistency1.

The other options are not correct because they describe other types of knowledge objects in Splunk, not macros. These objects are:

A) An event type is a method of categorizing events based on a search. An event type assigns a label to events that match a specific search criteria. Event types can be used to filter and group events, create alerts, or generate reports2.

B) A field alias is a way to associate an additional (new) name with an existing field name. A field alias can be used to normalize fields from different sources that have different names but represent the same data. Field aliases can also be used to rename fields for clarity or convenience3.

D) An alert is a knowledge object that enables you to schedule searches for specific events and trigger actions when certain conditions are met. An alert can be used to monitor your data for anomalies, errors, or other patterns of interest and notify you or others when they occur4.

About event types

About field aliases

About alerts

Define search macros in Settings

Use search macros in searches

The timechart command is used to create a time-series chart of statistical values based on your search results2.You can use the timechart command with a by clause to split the results by one or more fields and create multiple series in the chart2.However, you can only list one field after the by clause when using the timechart command because _time is already implied as the x-axis of the chart2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect.

A root event dataset is the base dataset for a data model that defines the source or sources of the data and the constraints and fields that apply to the data1.A root event dataset has two parts: constraints and fields1.Constraints are filters that limit the data to a specific index, source, sourcetype, host or search string1.Fields are the attributes that describe the data and can be extracted, calculated or looked up1. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A, B and D are incorrect.