Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin Practice Test

Which type of data can Splunk monitor from text files?

1. Network data only

2. Script output only

3. Files and directories

4. All data types

The correct answer is: Files and directories

Splunk is designed to monitor and index data from various sources, including text files. When referring to text files, it's essential to recognize that Splunk can ingest any files and directories that contain relevant log or text-based data formats. This capability allows organizations to centralize their logging and data analysis processes, making it easier to collect logs from applications, system files, and configuration files. Monitoring files and directories specifically means that Splunk can track changes, additions, or updates within these files. For instance, log files that are generated by applications or system processes can be continuously monitored, enabling real-time analysis and alerting based on the contents. While network data and script output might be important sources of data for Splunk, they are more focused on specific contexts rather than the general capability of monitoring all text file sources. The concept of "all data types" is too broad, as Splunk focuses primarily on text-based and structured data for its monitoring capabilities. Thus, the correct answer highlights the specific capability of Splunk to handle files and directories, underscoring its versatile approach to data ingestion.