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100+ Free Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Practice Questions

Pass your Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect (SPLK-2002) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

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Which design rule keeps KV store-backed lookups performant for high-volume searches?

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B
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to track
2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Exam

85

Official Questions

Splunk exam page

90 min

Exam Window

Splunk exam page

$130

Exam Fee

Splunk / Pearson VUE

Power User + Admin

Prerequisites

Official architect track

13

Blueprint Domains

Official blueprint

2026-03-01

Policy Update

Splunk certification changes

SPLK-2002 is an 85-question, 90-minute Pearson VUE exam covering Splunk deployment methodology, project requirements, infrastructure and resource planning, forwarder/deployment best practices, performance monitoring, splunk diag/support, single-site and multisite indexer clustering, indexer cluster management, search head clustering, SHC management, and KV store and lookup management. Prerequisites include Splunk Core Certified Power User and Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin, plus the required courses Architecting Splunk Enterprise Deployments, Troubleshooting Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Cluster Administration, and Splunk Enterprise Deployment Practical Lab. Splunk reports pass/fail without publishing a numeric cut score, and program-wide certification policy changes took effect March 1, 2026.

Sample Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which phase of the Splunk deployment methodology focuses on translating business goals into measurable use cases before any hardware is sized?
A.Operate phase
B.Define phase
C.Deploy phase
D.Tune phase
Explanation: In Splunk's deployment methodology, the Define phase captures stakeholder goals, use cases, and success criteria. Sizing, building, and tuning all flow from those defined requirements, so skipping Define usually causes architecture rework later.
2An architect is asked to plan a Splunk deployment for an organization with no prior Splunk usage. Which deliverable belongs to the Define phase, not the Deploy phase?
A.Indexer cluster bootstrap commands
B.Use case catalog with data sources and stakeholders
C.Final indexes.conf with retention values
D.Search head cluster captain election timeout setting
Explanation: Use case catalogs and data-source mapping are produced during Define so that architecture is designed for actual workloads. Cluster bootstrap, indexes.conf retention, and captain election parameters are Deploy-phase artifacts.
3Which output is the most useful Define-phase artifact for sizing a future indexer tier?
A.List of search head cluster member hostnames
B.Estimated daily ingest volume per data source in GB/day
C.Universal forwarder package version
D.Captain election timeout
Explanation: Indexer sizing is driven by daily ingest volume, search concurrency, and retention. Without GB/day per source, the architect cannot apply Splunk's reference sizing rules. Hostnames, package versions, and election timing are operational details.
4During the Splunk deployment methodology, why is iterating on use cases recommended even after the platform is operational?
A.Splunk licensing renews only when use cases iterate
B.Use case iteration drives further data onboarding, retention, and capacity changes
C.Iteration replaces the need for an indexer cluster
D.Iteration is required to keep the deployment server functional
Explanation: Splunk's methodology treats deployments as iterative: new use cases drive new data sources, retention, and search load. That feedback loop refines sizing and capacity over time and is independent of licensing or specific components.
5Which of the following is NOT part of a Splunk deployment methodology readiness review?
A.Confirming use cases and data sources
B.Validating storage IOPS and capacity targets
C.Choosing the password for the admin account on every forwarder
D.Reviewing search concurrency expectations
Explanation: Readiness reviews focus on architectural fit: use cases, data sources, storage IOPS, retention, and search concurrency. Per-forwarder admin passwords are an operational secret-management detail and are not the subject of the methodology readiness review.
6Which question best captures business requirements that will later shape the Splunk architecture?
A.Which version of splunkd are you running on each indexer?
B.What regulatory retention windows must each data source meet?
C.Which TCP port does Splunk Web bind to by default?
D.Which HTTP method does HEC support?
Explanation: Regulatory retention shapes index design, storage tiers, and clustering replication factors. Splunkd version, default Web port, and HEC verbs are operational facts that do not drive architecture.
7An architect must capture project requirements that drive search head sizing. Which requirement is most relevant?
A.Number of concurrent users running ad-hoc and scheduled searches
B.Default fishbucket directory location
C.License manager IP address
D.Username of the deployment app author
Explanation: Search head capacity is driven primarily by user concurrency and scheduled-search workload, both ad-hoc and saved. Fishbucket location, license manager IP, and app authorship details are unrelated to search head sizing.
8Which stakeholder group is normally engaged during requirements gathering to scope security and compliance use cases?
A.Backup operators only
B.Information security and compliance leads
C.Pearson VUE proctors
D.Splunk customer success only
Explanation: InfoSec and compliance leads define detection use cases, retention, and access controls that shape Splunk Enterprise Security or audit requirements. Backup operators and Pearson VUE play no role in defining security use cases, and Splunk customer success cannot replace internal stakeholders.
9Which requirement must be captured to plan an indexer cluster's replication and search factors?
A.Tolerable indexer failure count and search availability target
B.Number of dashboards in production
C.Default theme for Splunk Web
D.Public IP allocation for forwarders
Explanation: Replication factor (RF) and search factor (SF) are driven by how many indexer failures the business will tolerate while keeping data raw and searchable. Dashboard count, web theme, and forwarder IP planning are operational rather than RF/SF inputs.
10When project requirements include cross-region disaster recovery for searchable data, what is the architecturally correct path?
A.Single-site indexer cluster with RF=2
B.Standalone indexer with daily snapshot backups only
C.Multisite indexer cluster with appropriate site replication and search factors
D.A larger search head cluster
Explanation: A multisite indexer cluster with explicit site_replication_factor and site_search_factor handles cross-site DR for searchable data. Single-site clusters and snapshots do not provide automatic site failover, and search head clusters do not protect indexed data.

About the Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Exam

The Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect (SPLK-2002) exam validates expert-level deployment of Splunk Enterprise across requirements, sizing, single-site and multisite indexer clusters, search head clusters, KV store, and operational workflows such as cluster-bundle pushes, rolling restarts, and KV store backup. It is the expert-tier credential in the Splunk Enterprise certification track and requires the Power User and Admin prerequisites plus four required architect courses.

Assessment

85 multiple-choice questions

Time Limit

90 minutes

Passing Score

Pass/Fail (exact cut score not published by Splunk)

Exam Fee

$130 USD (Splunk / Pearson VUE)

Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Exam Content Outline

5%

Splunk Deployment Methodology

Apply Splunk's lifecycle (Define, Design, Deploy, Operate, Iterate) to enterprise projects, including readiness reviews and use-case-driven scaling.

5%

Project Requirements

Capture business goals, data sources, regulatory retention, search concurrency, and high-availability targets that drive Splunk architecture.

5%

Infrastructure Planning: Index Design

Design indexes, bucket lifecycle (hot/warm/cold/frozen), retention via frozenTimePeriodInSecs, and tiered storage paths in indexes.conf.

7%

Infrastructure Planning: Resource Planning

Apply Splunk's 300 GB/day reference sizing, IOPS-driven storage planning, RF and SF storage multipliers, and search head sizing for concurrency.

5%

Forwarder and Deployment Best Practices

Choose UF vs HF, design intermediate forwarder tiers, configure outputs.conf with autoLB, and operate the deployment server with server classes.

5%

Performance Monitoring and Tuning

Use the Monitoring Console for queue saturation and scheduler health, tune scheduled-search skew, and apply indexed extractions for hot fields.

3%

Splunk Diag and Support

Use splunk diag, splunk btool list --debug, and splunk dbinspect to triage and document issues for Splunk Support.

10%

Single-site Indexer Cluster

Operate cluster manager, peers, replication factor, search factor, pass4SymmKey, indexer discovery, and minimum peer counts for RF/SF.

10%

Multisite Indexer Cluster

Configure site_replication_factor and site_search_factor, manage search affinity (site = siteX vs site0), and plan inter-site DR and bandwidth.

15%

Indexer Cluster Management and Administration

Apply cluster-bundle pushes from etc/master-apps, run rolling restarts, use maintenance mode, monitor fixups, and follow upgrade order.

10%

Search Head Cluster

Operate captain election, deployer-driven app distribution, SHC replication factor, and SHC integration with the indexer cluster manager.

15%

Search Head Cluster Management and Administration

Apply shcluster-bundle from etc/shcluster/apps, transfer captaincy, add and recover members, perform rolling restarts, and follow SHC upgrade order.

5%

KV Store Collection and Lookup Management

Define collections.conf and transforms.conf lookups, write data via outputlookup, manage KV store quorum and backups, and tune lookup performance.

How to Pass the Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Pass/Fail (exact cut score not published by Splunk)
  • Assessment: 85 multiple-choice questions
  • Time limit: 90 minutes
  • Exam fee: $130 USD

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect Study Tips from Top Performers

1Spend the heaviest time on indexer cluster and search head cluster management because each domain carries 15% of the blueprint.
2Practice replication factor and search factor math, including the rule SF must be less than or equal to RF, in both single-site and multisite scenarios.
3Memorize the multisite syntax: site_replication_factor = origin:X,total:Y and site_search_factor = origin:X,total:Y, plus search affinity using site = siteX or site0.
4Run apply cluster-bundle from etc/master-apps and apply shcluster-bundle from etc/shcluster/apps in a lab so you keep the two pipelines straight.
5Use splunk btool list --debug, splunk show cluster-status, splunk show shcluster-status, splunk show kvstore-status, splunk dbinspect, and splunk diag until each command's output is familiar.
6Drill rolling-restart, maintenance-mode, captain transfer, and member add/recovery workflows so operational questions feel hands-on rather than memorized.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the Splunk SPLK-2002 exam?

Splunk's official exam page lists 85 multiple-choice questions for the Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect exam, with a 90-minute total exam window. The exam is delivered by Pearson VUE.

What is the passing score for SPLK-2002?

Splunk reports the result as pass or fail and does not publicly publish an exact cut score. The practical study target is consistent competence across all 13 blueprint domains rather than chasing a numeric percentage.

What are the prerequisites for SPLK-2002?

Splunk requires both the Splunk Core Certified Power User and Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin certifications. Four courses are also required: Architecting Splunk Enterprise Deployments, Troubleshooting Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Cluster Administration, and Splunk Enterprise Deployment Practical Lab.

Which domains carry the most weight on the SPLK-2002 blueprint?

Indexer Cluster Management and Administration and Search Head Cluster Management and Administration are each weighted at 15%, making them the largest study priorities. Single-site indexer cluster, multisite indexer cluster, and search head cluster each carry 10%.

How long should I study for SPLK-2002?

Most candidates plan 60 to 100 hours of focused study after completing the prerequisite certifications and required coursework. Hands-on lab time with single-site and multisite indexer clustering, SHC, and KV store is essential.

What changed in Splunk certification policy in 2026?

Splunk published program-wide certification changes effective March 1, 2026 that updated recertification handling and removed coursework-based recertification options. Verify current renewal rules in the Splunk certification handbook before planning.