Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Practice Test

Which statement is true for a Splunk instance configured as a master node with replication_factor = 2?

1. This is a multi-site cluster.

2. This cluster's search factor is 2.

3. This Splunk instance needs to be restarted.

4. This instance is missing the master_uri attribute.

The correct answer is: This cluster's search factor is 2.

When configuring a Splunk instance as a master node with a specified replication factor, it influences how data is replicated across other nodes in the cluster. A replication factor of 2 means that each piece of indexed data is stored on at least two separate peer nodes within the cluster. This redundancy ensures that if one node goes down, there is still another node that possesses the same data, thereby enhancing data availability and reliability. The search factor, on the other hand, defines how many copies of the data are available for searching purposes. However, the direct relationship between replication and search factors needs to be established based on the overall cluster design. In this case, while the replication factor is set to 2, the search factor can differ depending on other configurations, but option B correctly indicates that the search factor is also relevant to the data replication strategy in clusters where data is intended to be available for search. The other options do not accurately reflect the implications of setting the replication factor to 2: - A indicates a multi-site configuration, which is not necessarily true just because of a replication factor. - C suggests the need for a restart, which is not a requirement when changing replication settings. - D speaks to a missing attribute, which would affect operation, but