Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

Which option allows for continuous monitoring of data files and directories?

1. Upload

2. Monitor

3. Forward

4. Stream

The correct answer is: Monitor

The ability to continuously monitor data files and directories is essential for maintaining an up-to-date view of your data in Splunk. The option that facilitates this functionality is the monitoring capability, which allows Splunk to keep an eye on specified files and directories in real time. When you configure Splunk to monitor a file or directory, it watches for changes, such as new log entries being added or existing files being modified. This approach ensures that all relevant data is indexed and available for search without needing to manually upload or refresh it. This continuous monitoring process is crucial for various applications like security monitoring, system performance, and operational intelligence, where timely data insights are necessary. It provides a dynamic approach to event data as it emerges, allowing administrators to set up real-time alerts and dashboards based on the latest data. While uploading provides a way to get static files into Splunk, it does not offer ongoing monitoring. Forwarding is more about sending data from one Splunk instance to another, rather than about direct monitoring of on-disk files. Streaming generally refers to real-time processing of data as it is created, but it does not necessarily relate to the direct observation of files and directories. Thus, monitoring is the most appropriate and effective option for continuous oversight of data