Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

If the host value is changed after a file monitor is running, will the new value apply to already ingested data?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Only for the next indexing cycle

4. Only if data is reprocessed

The correct answer is: No

When the host value is changed after a file monitor has already started ingesting data, that change will only affect new data being ingested and will not apply retroactively to data that has already been indexed. This means that any prior events that have been ingested into Splunk will retain their original host value, reflecting the context and specifics of that data at the time it was indexed. The host value is typically set when the data is initially ingested and is part of the metadata associated with each event. Once an event is indexed, its metadata, including the host value, remains static and cannot be altered without reprocessing the data. Therefore, while new data picked up by the file monitor will reflect the updated host value, any previously ingested data will not change. This is why the correct answer emphasizes that the change in host value does not apply to already ingested data.