The difficulty of the Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) exam can vary depending on your level of familiarity with Splunk and your experience with data analysis. Generally speaking, the SPLK-1001 exam is designed to test your basic knowledge of Splunk and covers topics such as searching and reporting, knowledge objects, creating and editing alerts, and using fields and tags.
If you have experience with Splunk and have completed the Splunk Fundamentals 1 and 2 courses, you may find the exam relatively straightforward. However, if you are new to Splunk or do not have much experience with data analysis, you may find the exam more challenging.
To prepare for the exam, it is recommended to review the Splunk documentation and take advantage of the resources available on the Splunk website, including the Splunk Fundamentals 1 and 2 courses, as well as practice exams and study guides.
Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam Overview
The SPLK-1001 exam is designed for individuals who are new to Splunk or have limited experience with the software. It covers a range of topics, including searching and reporting with Splunk, creating and using fields, using tags and event types, and creating visualizations. The exam is designed to test your ability to perform basic searches in Splunk, create reports and dashboards, and use Splunk’s search processing language (SPL).
Even though Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam is an entry-level exam still, there is a need to have good knowledge and understanding of the core exam areas. And, in order to prepare well, there are exam guides and training courses that Splunk offers for this exam to have a better preparation. Therefore, to help in this, we have prepared a step-by-step pathway covering the exam guide, study pattern, and training resources to reduce your difficulty and to increase your confidence level.
Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam Glossary
Here are some key terms and concepts that may appear on the Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) exam:
- Splunk: A software platform used for searching, analyzing, and visualizing machine-generated data in real-time.
- Index: A repository for storing data in Splunk.
- Search: The process of querying data in Splunk to retrieve specific information.
- Field: A specific piece of data within an event in Splunk.
- Event: A single occurrence of data in Splunk, usually representing a log or transaction.
- Source: The origin of an event in Splunk, such as a log file or network feed.
- Sourcetype: A classification of data in Splunk based on its format and structure.
- Search Head: The component of Splunk that handles search requests and displays results.
- Indexer: The component of Splunk that stores and indexes data.
- Distributed Deployment: A deployment of Splunk that includes multiple instances of Splunk running on different servers.
- App: A collection of configurations and components in Splunk that provide a specific functionality.
- Dashboard: A visual display of data in Splunk that provides a summary of key metrics and trends.
- Alert: A notification in Splunk that is triggered when certain conditions are met.
- Report: A pre-defined search in Splunk that generates a summary of data based on specific criteria.
- Search Language: The language used to construct search queries in Splunk, including commands, functions, and operators.
Understanding these key terms and concepts can help you better navigate the Splunk software and answer exam questions related to Splunk’s core features and functionality.
Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam Guide
Here are some official resources that can be helpful in preparing for the Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam:
- Exam Blueprint: The exam blueprint provides a detailed breakdown of the topics covered in the exam, including the percentage of questions for each topic. It can be found on the Splunk website: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/training/certification-track/splunk-certified-user/learn-exam-topics.html.
- Study Guide: Splunk offers an official study guide for the SPLK-1001 exam. The study guide covers all the exam topics and provides practice questions and answers. It can be purchased on the Splunk website: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/training/bookstore/self-paced-courses/splunk-core-certified-user-study-guide.html.
- Online Courses: Splunk offers a variety of online courses that cover the topics on the SPLK-1001 exam. These courses can be accessed through the Splunk website: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/training/free-courses/splunk-core-certified-user.html.
- Splunk Answers: Splunk Answers is a community-driven question and answer forum where users can ask and answer questions related to Splunk. It can be a helpful resource for getting answers to specific questions or troubleshooting issues: https://answers.splunk.com.
- Splunk Documentation: Splunk’s official documentation provides in-depth information about the Splunk platform, including how to use it and how to troubleshoot issues. It can be found on the Splunk website: https://docs.splunk.com/.
- Practice Exam: Splunk offers a practice exam that simulates the format and difficulty level of the SPLK-1001 exam. It can be purchased on the Splunk website: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/training/bookstore/self-paced-courses/splunk-core-certified-user-practice-exam.html.
Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks that can be helpful in preparing for the Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001) Exam:
- Review the Exam Blueprint: The exam blueprint provides a breakdown of the topics covered in the exam, as well as the percentage of questions for each topic. Make sure to review the blueprint and focus your study efforts on the areas that have the highest percentage of questions.
- Use Official Study Materials: Splunk offers an official study guide and practice exam for the SPLK-1001 exam. These resources cover all the exam topics and provide practice questions and answers. Using official study materials can help ensure that you’re studying the right material and that you’re prepared for the format and difficulty level of the exam.
- Take Advantage of Online Courses: Splunk offers a variety of online courses that cover the topics on the SPLK-1001 exam. These courses can be accessed through the Splunk website and can provide a more in-depth understanding of the material.
- Practice, Practice, Practice: Splunk’s software is hands-on, so it’s important to practice using the software and applying the concepts you’ve learned. Splunk offers a free online sandbox environment where you can practice using Splunk without installing it on your own computer.
- Join the Splunk Community: Splunk has an active community of users who share tips, tricks, and best practices for using the software. Joining the community can provide valuable insights and help you prepare for the exam.
- Manage Your Time: The SPLK-1001 exam consists of 65 multiple-choice and true/false questions and must be completed within 90 minutes. Make sure to manage your time effectively during the exam to ensure that you have enough time to answer all the questions.
- Read Carefully: The exam questions can be tricky, so it’s important to read each question and answer choice carefully. Make sure you understand what the question is asking before selecting an answer.
Splunk Core Certified User (SPLK-1001): Step by Step Study Guide
STEP 1 – Review the Exam Topics
For the purpose of exam composition, the topic categories and goals give more detailed direction. However, you’ll be given a list of topics separated into sections and subsections for the Splunk Core Certified User test. Make use of this to establish a good study routine and get a head start on your exam preparation. The topics are:
1. Splunk Basics
- Splunk components
- Understand the uses of Splunk
- Define Splunk apps
- Customizing user settings
- Basic navigation in Splunk
2. Basic Searching
- Run basic searches
- Set the time range of a search
- Identify the contents of search results
- Refine searches
- Use the timeline
- Work with events
- Control a search job
- Save search results
3. Using Fields in Searches
- Understand fields
- Use fields in searches
- Use the fields sidebar
4. Search Language Fundamentals
- Reviewing basic search commands and general search practices
- Examine the search pipeline
- Specify indexes in searches
- Using the following commands for executing searches: tables, rename, fields, dedup, & sort
5. Using Basic Transforming Commands
- The top command
- Rare command
- The stats command
6. Creating Reports and Dashboards
- Save a search as a report
- Edit reports
- Create reports that display statistics (tables)
- Creating reports that display visualizations (charts)
- Create a dashboard
- Add a report to a dashboard
- Edit a dashboard
7. Creating and Using Lookups
- Describe lookups
- Examine a lookup file example
- Create a lookup file and create a lookup definition
- Configure an automatic lookup
- Use the lookup in searches
8. Creating Scheduled Reports and Alerts
- Describe scheduled reports
- Configure scheduled reports
- Describe alerts
- Create alerts
- View fired alerts
STEP 2 – Take the Splunk recommended Training Course
This section is just as crucial as the exam topics. That is, the modules in these training courses are connected directly to the exam topics, making it easier for you to comprehend the concepts.
This course covers how to use Splunk for searching and browsing, creating reports, dashboards, lookups, and alerts, and extracting statistics from your data using fields. Because of scenario-based examples and hands-on challenges, you’ll be able to create sophisticated searches, reports, and charts. It also goes over Splunk’s dataset features and the Pivot interface.
This is accessible with both Instructor-on-Demand and eLearning, which allows you to study at your own speed through online courses that are accessible at any time and from any location. Further, this covers the course topics such as:
- Introduction to Splunk’s interface
- Basic searching
- Using fields in searches
- Search fundamentals
- Transforming commands
- Creating reports and dashboards
- Datasets
- The Common Information Model (CIM)
- Creating and using lookups
- Scheduled Reports
- Alerts
- Using Pivot
STEP 3 – Splunk Using Additional Course
(A) What is Splunk?
This eLearning course covers what machine data is and how Splunk can be used to assess and respond to operational intelligence issues in their enterprises.
(B) Intro to Splunk
This eLearning course explains how to use Splunk’s Search Processing Language to create reports and dashboards, as well as investigate events. You’ll also learn about Splunk’s architecture, user responsibilities, and how to create comprehensive searches, reports, visualizations, and dashboards using the Splunk Web interface.
(C) Using Fields
This three-hour course is for advanced users who want to learn more about fields and the process of utilizing them in searches. Among the subjects covered will be the role of fields in searches, field discovery, using fields in searches, and the distinction between permanent and temporary fields. However, the last session of this course will explore how to improve search results by combining information from several data sources.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- How Splunk works
- Creating search queries
- Knowledge objects
(D) Scheduling Reports & Alerts
This eLearning course shows you how to use scheduled reports and alerts to automate operations in your organization. You’ll also create, monitor, and schedule reports and alerts, as well as use alert actions to respond to occurrences.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
It is suggested to have knowledge of:
- Splunk eLearning course
- Objects eLearning course
(E) Visualizations
This eLearning course will show you how to create visualizations using Splunk’s Search Processing Language and the Splunk Web interface. You’ll also learn how to use Splunk’s visual formatting options to display data on charts and graphs, transform geographic data into maps, create single value visualizations, and change the look of statistical tables.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
It is suggested to have knowledge of:
- Splunk eLearning course
(F) Working with Time
This three-hour class is for advanced users who want to learn the process of using time effectively in searches. We’ll go through how to search for and format time, as well as how to use time commands and interact with time zones.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- How Splunk works
- Creating search queries
- The eval command
(G) Statistical Processing
Advanced users who want to learn how to detect and use conversion commands and eval functions to create statistics on their data should attend this three-hour course. This also includes:
- Firstly, rename and sort commands
- Secondly, data series kinds
- Thirdly, major transforming commands
- Then, mathematical and statistical eval functions
- Lastly, eval as a function.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- How Splunk works
- Creating search queries
(H) Leveraging Lookups & Subsearches
This three-hour course is for advanced users who want to learn how to use lookups and sub searches to enhance their results. Lookup instructions, as well as how to utilize sub searches to correlate and filter data from several sources, will be covered.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- How Splunk works
- Creating search queries
- Lookups
(I) Search Optimization
Advanced users who want to improve their search results can benefit from this three-hour session. This includes the steps involved in:
- Firstly, searching modes affect performance
- Secondly, designing an efficient basic search
- Thirdly, speeding up reports and data models
- Lastly, querying data rapidly with the tstats command.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- Firstly, how Splunk works
- Secondly, creating search queries
- Lastly, creating reports and data models
(J) Enriching Data with Lookups
This three-hour training is for knowledge managers who want to use lookups to improve their search environment. The subjects will include how to upload and define lookups, as well as how to build automatic lookups and employ sophisticated lookup settings. Students will also learn how to use search to verify lookup information and study best practices for lookups.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- Firstly, how Splunk works
- Secondly, knowledge objects
(K) Data Models
This three-hour course will benefit knowledge managers who want to learn how to build and accelerate data models. We’ll go through datasets, build data models, use the Pivot editor, and speed up data models.
Prerequisite Knowledge:
For this, you should have a solid understanding of the following:
- Firstly, how Splunk works
- Secondly, creating search queries
- Lastly, knowledge objects
STEP 4 – Use Practice Tests
Splunk Core Certified User certification practice exams will reveal your strong and weak points. Furthermore, by strengthening your reaction abilities, you will be able to improve your time management skills. This will allow you to save a large amount of time during the exam. Starting the Splunk Core Certified User certification practice tests by finishing a complete subject first and then tackling the sample examinations is a suggested method. As a consequence, you’ll be able to revise more efficiently and grasp the material better.
