Splunk Fundamentals 1 Practice Exam

When should wildcards be avoided in searches?

1. When searching specific file types

2. When items contain punctuation

3. When querying large datasets

4. When working with numerical data

The correct answer is: When items contain punctuation

Wildcards should be avoided in searches, particularly when querying large datasets. This is because using wildcards can significantly impact search performance by increasing the load on the indexing and search processes. When wildcards are implemented, the search engine must evaluate many potential matches in the dataset, which can slow down the retrieval of results and place unnecessary strain on system resources. In contrast, each of the other scenarios has reasons for using wildcards. Searching specific file types may require flexibility in the filenames, and items containing punctuation may also necessitate using wildcards to account for variance in naming conventions. Similarly, wildcards might be relevant in contexts where numerical data can be formatted in various ways. However, in the context of performance and efficiency, it's essential to limit wildcard usage whenever possible, especially in large datasets.