Splunk Core Certified Consultant
The globally acclaimed Splunk certification programs are designed to certify elite, well-trained, and sought-after workers who are regarded as experts in their fields by their peers in the industry. The last exam in the Splunk Core Certified Consultant track is the Splunk Core Certified Consultant certification exam. This highly technical certification exam assesses a candidate’s knowledge and skills in Splunk Deployment Methodology and best practices for planning, data collection, sizing, managing, and troubleshooting a standard with indexer and search head clustering, as well as best, practices for planning, data collection, sizing, managing, and troubleshooting.
Passing the exam can be easy if you have access to the right set of resources. We present you the Tutorials and Preparatory Guide that highlight the right steps to achieve this much-valued credential. Get ready to be loaded with all the expert study resources to boost your preparations.
Who is a Splunk Core Certified Consultant?
A Splunk Core Certified Consultant has expert-level knowledge of multi-tier Splunk architectures, clustering, and scalability themes, as well as a full grasp of Splunk Deployment Methodology and execution in big Splunk installations. This certification shows a Consultant’s ability to size, install, and implement Splunk environments correctly, as well as advise others on how to use the product and get the most out of it for their requirements.
The key learning of the exam:
- Firstly, Splunk Validated Architectures
- Secondly, the Monitoring Console configuration
- Thirdly, Authentication Protocols
- Also, Splunk to Splunk (S2S) Communication
- Further, Data Inputs
- Additionally, Forwarder Types
- Furthermore, HEC Tokens
- Subsequently, Fishbucket Records
- Moreover, Pretrained Sourcetypes
- Likewise, Indexing Buckets
- Then, Event Processing
- Eventually, Indexing Intervals
- Not to mention, Data Retention
- In addition to, Search Head Dispatch
- And, Sub-searches
- As well as, Deployment Apps
- Besides, Deployment Server
- Subsequently, Indexer Clustering
- Moreover, Upgrading an Indexer Cluster
- Additionally, Indexer Cluster Failure Modes
- Not to mention, Multi-site Clustering
- Also, Indexer Migration
- Lastly, Search Head Clustering
Exam Details: Splunk Core Certified Consultant
Before diving into your preparations, you need to be familiar with the exam concepts and policies. Lets have a look at some basic exam details.
- A Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam covers 86 questions and you are given 117 minutes to complete them.
- Further, the Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam questions can be of type Multiple Choice & Multi-Response.
- Lastly, the exam is available in English Language only.
| Exam Name | Splunk Core Certified Consultant |
| Number of Questions | 86 Questions |
| Exam Duration | 117 mins |
| Question Format | Multiple Choice & Multi-Response Questions |
| Exam Fee | $125 USD |
| Exam Language | English |
Exam Delivery Options
The Splunk certification exams can be taken in either of the following ways-
- Firstly, In-person at a Pearson Test Center.
- Or at home via online proctoring
Exam Prerequisites
For the Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam you must have the following certifications as a prerequisite:
- Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin
- Then, Splunk Core Certified Power User
- Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect
Candidates for the exam are recommended to complete the lecture, hands-on labs, and quizzes that are part of the course which are:
- Fundamentals 3
- Creating Dashboards with Splunk
- Advanced Searching and Reporting courses by Splunk Education
- Core Consultant labs
- Services: Core Implementation Instructor-Led Training course
Exam Registration
The Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam can be registered by following the steps-
- First-time registrants need to connect your Splunk account to the Pearson VUE platform.
- Next you will have to submit complete, accurate contact information to testing partner Pearson VUE.
- Then you need to wait for Authorization to Test email from Pearson View for two days from your form submission.
- Subsequently, create an account with Pearson VUE.
- Now you need to schedule an exam appointment. Your Pearson VUE Home screen provides a full list of exams for which you are eligible. Click through the verification screens and proceed to Schedule this Exam, followed by Proceed to Scheduling.
- Further, you need to verify exam appointment details and confirm contact information. Agree to policies (please read carefully). Enter payment information (or Voucher code, if applicable). Submit Order.
- Lastly, you will receive a registration confirmation email from Pearson VUE.
Exam Policies: Splunk Core Certified Consultant
The Splunk Core Certified Consultant has the following exam policies
- Exam Retake Policy
- If you are not able to pass the exam on the first attempt Splunk offers you to take the exam again.
- To retake the exam, you must wait seven days.
- You will not be able to repeat any previously passed test unless it is directly connected to a Splunk-approved recertification need. A cost of $125 USD is required for the re-take.
- Exam Rescheduling Policy
- All scheduled tests are subject to cancellation and/or rescheduling policy of at least 24 hours. The registration money is forfeited if an exam is not canceled or rescheduled within this time limit.
- Certification Validity
- The Splunk Core Certified User certification is valid for a period of 3 years.
Check out the Splunk Core Certified Consultant Interview Questions to prepare for your interview.
Exam FAQ: Splunk Core Certified Consultant
Before venturing into your preparations, you must have complete clarity about the exam policies. Visit Splunk Core Certified Consultant FAQ
Exam Course Outline
The Splunk Core Certified Consultant Exam covers nine domains. Each domain enlists the concepts and competencies that are required for the exam. Percentage against each Knowledge area signifies its contribution to the final exam. However, the Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam objective includes:
1.0 Deploying Splunk (5%)
- 1.1 Define Splunk Validated Architectures (Splunk Documentation:Key manuals for a distributed deployment)
- 1.2 Articulate how and why Splunk grows from standalone environment to distributed environment with indexer and Search Head clustering (Splunk Documentation: Search head clustering architecture)
- 1.3 Explain the difference between High Availability and Disaster Recovery and how both can be addressed in Splunk. (Splunk Documentation: Scale your deployment with Splunk Enterprise components)
2.0 Monitoring Console (8%)
- 2.1 Describe which instances are suitable to configure as the Monitoring Console (Splunk Documentation: About the Monitoring Console)
- 2.2 Articulate how to configure the MC for a single or distributed environment (Splunk Documentation: Configure the Monitoring Console in distributed mode)
- 2.3 Examine how the MC uses the server roles and groups (Splunk Documentation: Use the monitoring console to view distributed search status)
- 2.4 Describe how MC health checks are performed and can be extended (Splunk Documentation: Access and customize health check)
3.0 Access and Roles 8%
- 3.1 Identify authentication methods (Splunk Documentation: Users, roles, and authentication)
- 3.2 Describe LDAP concepts and configuration (Splunk Documentation: About securing the Splunk Platform)
- 3.3 List SAML and SSO options (Splunk Documentation: Configure SAML SSO using configuration files)
- 3.4 Define roles and articulate how roles are used to secure data (Splunk Documentation: About users and roles)
4.0 Data Collection 15%
- 4.1 Articulate the different ways data can be ingested by an indexer (Splunk Documentation: How Splunk Enterprise licensing works)
- 4.2 Articulate how one Splunk instance communicates with another Splunk instance (S2S) (Splunk Documentation: Configure secure communications between Splunk instances with updated cipher suite and message authentication code)
- 4.3 Describe the types and configuration of data inputs (Splunk Documentation: Configure data collection on your Splunk Enterprise instance)
- 4.4 Describe ways to troubleshoot data inputs (Splunk Documentation: Use a test index to test your inputs)
5.0 Indexing 14%
- 5.1 List indexing artefacts and locations (Splunk Documentation: How indexing works)
- 5.2 Describe event processing and data pipelines (Splunk Documentation: Configuration parameters and the data pipeline)
- 5.3 Describe the underlying text parsing and indexing process (Splunk Documentation: inputs.conf)
- 5.4 List data retention controls (Splunk Documentation: Configure data retention for SmartStore indexes)
6.0 Search 14%
- 6.1 Describe how to use search job inspection, Explain the inner-workings of a search (Splunk Documentation: View search job properties)
- 6.2 List the different search types (Splunk Documentation: Types of searches)
- 6.3 Describe how to maximize search efficiency (Splunk Documentation: Search modes)
- 6.4 Describe how sub-searches work (Splunk Documentation: How concurrent users and searches impact performance)
7.0 Configuration Management 8%
- 7.1 Describe a deployment app (Splunk Documentation: App deployment overview)
- 7.2 Articulate how a Deployment Server works (Splunk Documentation: About deployment server and forwarder management)
- 7.3 Describe deployment system configuration (Splunk Documentation: Configure workload management on distributed deployments)
- 7.4 Articulate how to manage deployment Server (Splunk Documentation: Deployment server architecture)
8.0 Indexer Clustering 18%
- 8.1 Describe deployment and component configuration (Splunk Documentation: Components of a Splunk Enterprise deployment)
- 8.2 Describe the life cycle of data using buckets (Splunk Documentation: Buckets and indexer clusters)
- 8.3 Determine failure modes and recovery processes (Splunk Documentation: About indexer clusters and index replication)
- 8.4 Articulate how multi-site clustering works (Splunk Documentation: Multisite indexer clusters)
- 8.5 List migration procedures (Splunk Documentation:Migrate from a search head pool to a search head cluster)
9.0 Search Head Clustering 10%
- 9.1 Articulate how to manage and deploy a Search Head cluster (Splunk Documentation: Search head clustering architecture)
- 9.2 Determine when a Search Head Cluster may be needed and when a Search Head Cluster would not be recommended (Splunk Documentation: Configure search head clustering)
- 9.3 Describe content management using the Deployer (Splunk Documentation: Indexer cluster deployment overview)
- 9.4 Describe the role of the cluster members and the Captain (Splunk Documentation: Use the search head clustering dashboard)
- 9.5 Articulate how Captain election works (RAFT) (Splunk Documentation:Handle Raft issues)
Preparatory Guide for Splunk Core Certified Consultant
Obtaining certification for your knowledge and talents enhances your self-esteem and establishes your reputation. Exam preparation is one of the most important yet challenging trips. Furthermore, the key to passing a test is proper preparation. Preparation necessitates perseverance and persistence. There are also several materials accessible. To pass the test, you’ll need the correct information and equipment. We’ve put up a unique Preparatory Guide to assist you in becoming a Splunk Core Certified Consultant.
Step 1 – Download the Splunk Core Certified Consultant Official Guide
The first step in your preparation guide should always be to visit the This will unquestionably put you on the right track. Remember, the official website is the most trusted website to get authentic information. From exam patterns to all the included modules and study materials are covered on the portal itself. Familiarise yourself with all the objectives and course domains with the Official Guide and create a Splunk Core Certified Consultant blueprint for better preparation. Tailor your study focus around the exam domains. This will result in strengthening your preparation.
Step 2 – Choose the Right Books
Preparing for any test without books appears both ridiculous and ineffective. As a result, you should look for relevant and trustworthy publications from qualified authors to help you prepare for the exam. Candidates preparing for this certification test might use books as a thorough source of information. Books provide a full explanation of numerous subjects covered on the Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam. Most essential, make sure you get your Splunk Core Certified Consultant test materials from reliable sources.
Step 3 – Enroll in Training Course
Training is a must while preparing. Splunk Core Certified Consultant training courses provide hands-on experience and practical knowledge about the exam. Such understanding is necessary while preparing for the Splunk Core Certified Consultant exam. Splunk offers the following fundamental courses to aid your preparation journey-
- Splunk Fundamentals 3
- This course focuses on additional search commands as well as advanced use of knowledge objects. Advanced statistics and eval commands, advanced lookup topics, advanced alert actions, using regex and erex to extract fields, working with self-referencing data with spatial, creating nested macros and macros with event types, and accelerating reports and data models are just a few of the major topics covered.
- Creating Dashboards with Splunk
- This two-day workshop is for advanced users who want to learn how to construct dashboards and forms using best practices. It focuses on increasing efficiency through the use of tokens and global searches, as well as modifying charts, implementing dynamic behaviors, and adding JavaScript and CSS extensions.
- Advanced Searching and Reporting with Splunk
- This 3 virtual day course takes the Splunk search language to the next level. Learn powerful advanced commands and lookup methods.
- Core Consultant Labs
- This package is a required prerequisite to the Core Implementation course. It consists of an eLearning course focused on base configs and best practices for props.conf, along with 6 self-paced Splunk Core Certified Consultant labs. You must be a Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect prior to beginning this course.
- Services Core Implementation
- This is a five-day instructor-led course that covers how to build up large clustered Splunk setups using best practices and make Splunk Enterprise function effectively. The course assesses your ability to implement Splunk Enterprise successfully in a variety of settings, including Search Head Cluster, Indexer Cluster, and distributed systems.
Step 4 – Join a community
The next crucial step in your preparation is to join a study group or an online discussion forum. When a large number of individuals get involved in a problem, the chances of finding a solution grow dramatically. In addition, having different points of view makes the material more lively. The research get more extensive as a result of these conversations. Introverts, who may normally avoid dialogues, get an opportunity to express themselves. Forums are excellent for forming a community that is necessary for understanding others.
Step 5 – Evaluate with Practice Tests
Now, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test. The final step of your preparations is to analyze how prepared are you for the real exam. Here comes the importance of practice tests. Attempting the Splunk Core Certified Consultant practice tests, helps you review the exam questions structure. Also, practice tests help you recognize areas that will require additional study. Moreover, such tests provide you with real exam experience and you learn to manage your time accordingly. Strengthening your weaker areas will definitely make you confident about your preparedness. Further, attempting multiple Splunk Core Certified Consultant practice exam tests and outperforming yourself in each subsequent test will boost your confidence as well as esteem. Start practicing now to ace your exam!
