We all make mistakes the first time we try something for the first time. It’s human nature. What separates a good Splunker from a bad one is whether or not we learn from those mistakes and apply the knowledge going forward. Below are a few tips to help you with your first Splunk deployment. Looking back on our previous deployments, these are the things we wish we’d known the first time around. Hopefully, you will benefit from our past hardships.
5 Tips for Installing Splunk Right the First Time:
- More than One Index? Completely ignore the main index. You will avoid logging data to the incorrect index since you must explicitly state which data is routed to which index rather than leaving it to the default.
- Utilize the S.O.S. Splunk App. Many common troubleshooting queries are included by default. This will save you a lot of time.
- When making changes to .conf files, it is NOT necessary to restart Splunk. Simply refresh the service by appending /debug/refresh to your Splunk URL.
- Setup a dev Splunk environment. All changes should be vetted here prior to any changes to production. This can be accomplished by utilizing VMs and free licenses.
- Utilize your dev environment when setting up new data sources. This will allow you to “trim” the logs to get only the data you want prior to pushing into production. This prevents you from surpassing your license with data you do not want/need and having to have the alert reset by Splunk.
These 5 times are just the tip of the iceberg for helpful hints and advice for installing Splunk. Be sure to check out Part 2: Things I Wished I Knew Before Installing Splunk and come back in the future for more helpful information.
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