What does search factor determine in Splunk clustering?

The search factor in a Splunk clustering environment is crucial since it determines the number of copies of searchable data that are maintained across the cluster. This ensures data availability and fault tolerance.

When the search factor is set, it specifies how many replicas of each piece of data should exist in the indexers. This means that if one indexer fails or becomes unavailable, other indexers containing copies of the data can continue to serve search requests. Therefore, by defining the search factor, you are effectively managing the redundancy of the data, which is essential for maintaining high availability of searchable data in a clustered environment.

A local database size, the number of indexers, or data replication frequency would not directly relate to the search factor. Instead, those aspects pertain to other configurations and considerations within the Splunk architecture.