Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

What happens when custom indexed fields are added?

1. It improves indexing performance

2. It can negatively impact indexing performance

3. It reduces storage size of the index

4. It has no effect on search times

The correct answer is: It can negatively impact indexing performance

When custom indexed fields are added, it can negatively impact indexing performance because the indexing process involves additional overhead in terms of both processing and storage. When fields are indexed, Splunk must apply additional computations and store extra information during the indexing phase. This can lead to longer indexing times and require more CPU and memory resources, especially if the data being indexed is large or complex. In contrast, standard indexed fields are typically optimized for fast indexing, while custom fields require more effort to index, thereby impacting the overall performance and possibly increasing the time it takes for new data to be made available for searching. This trade-off is crucial to consider when designing an indexing strategy within Splunk. Other options imply improvements or different impacts that do not align with the consequences of adding custom indexed fields. For instance, improving indexing performance or reducing storage size conflicts with the inherent complexity and resource demands introduced by custom fields. Similarly, claiming that there is no effect on search times disregards the interconnected nature of indexing performance and search capabilities within Splunk's architecture.