Splunk Core Certified User Practice Exam

What is the purpose of the command `stats sum(sc_bytes) as Bandwidth by s_hostname`?

1. To count unique source hosts

2. To sort events by source hostname

3. To retrieve total bytes sent per host

4. To compare bandwidth across different applications

The correct answer is: To retrieve total bytes sent per host

The command `stats sum(sc_bytes) as Bandwidth by s_hostname` is designed to aggregate data by a specified field, in this case, it calculates the total bytes transferred (represented by `sc_bytes`) and groups this total by the `s_hostname`. The use of `sum(sc_bytes)` effectively adds up all the byte counts for each unique hostname, producing a summarization of the bandwidth utilized per host. This functionality is particularly useful for assessing network activity, as it allows users to quickly see which hosts are consuming the most bandwidth. By naming the resulting sum `Bandwidth`, the command makes it clear what the output represents, leading to straightforward interpretation of the results. Other options, such as counting unique source hosts or sorting events, do not align with what the command accomplishes since the focus is specifically on summing up the bytes for each hostname. Similarly, while comparing bandwidth across applications might be a valid analysis goal, this command does not directly facilitate that comparison as it is tailored to hostname-based aggregation rather than application-based metrics.