Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

Which component acts as a middle layer in Splunk architecture?

1. Indexer

2. Search Head

3. Forwarder

4. Cluster Master

The correct answer is: Search Head

The search head serves as the crucial middle layer in Splunk architecture, bridging the user interface and the underlying data infrastructure. Users interact with the search head to run queries, visualize data, and generate reports. It manages the distribution of search requests and aggregates results from one or more indexers. This allows for efficient and flexible searching while ensuring that the users have access to a centralized interface for data analysis. The search head also facilitates collaboration among multiple users by allowing shared knowledge objects, such as saved searches, alerts, and dashboards. Therefore, its role is pivotal in leveraging the powerful indexing capabilities of Splunk while providing the necessary tools for data exploration and analysis.