Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

What is the primary function of a heavy forwarder?

1. Indexing of data

2. Storing logs

3. Routing data to indexers

4. Managing deployment clients

The correct answer is: Routing data to indexers

The primary function of a heavy forwarder is to route data to indexers. Heavy forwarders are capable of not only forwarding data but also performing initial data processing, such as data parsing and indexing. This means they can read data from various data sources, apply transformations, and then send that data to designated indexers in a Splunk deployment. By managing the distribution of data efficiently, heavy forwarders help ensure that data is ingested into Splunk in an organized manner, which improves the performance and scalability of the data ingestion process. In contrast, while storing logs or indexing data may seem related, these functions are typically handled by indexers rather than heavy forwarders. Heavy forwarders focus on data routing and processing before the data is sent to the indexers for storage and indexing. Managing deployment clients is also not a primary function of heavy forwarders; this task is usually associated with a deployment server that oversees the configuration and management of multiple heavyweight forwarders and other Splunk components. The emphasis on routing data accurately and maintaining efficient data flows is what distinguishes the role of the heavy forwarder in a Splunk architecture.