Custom timestamp extraction is specified in which configuration file?

Custom timestamp extraction is defined in the props.conf configuration file within Splunk. This file specifies how data is processed after it is ingested, including how to handle timestamps. By using props.conf, administrators can set up rules for parsing incoming data, specifying how to extract timestamps based on the format or structure of the data.

In props.conf, you can define various attributes related to time, such as the TIME_FORMAT and TIME_PREFIX settings, which inform Splunk how to retrieve the relevant timestamp from the event data. This capability is essential for ensuring that data is correctly indexed and searchable based on the appropriate time, which is crucial for any analysis, reporting, or alerting tasks performed in Splunk.

Other configuration files such as inputs.conf, transforms.conf, and outputs.conf serve different purposes. Inputs.conf is used to configure data inputs and how data is initially collected, transforms.conf is more focused on transforming data—like modifying fields or event attributes after they have been extracted, while outputs.conf deals with how data is sent or forwarded to other systems or indices. None of these files are used to define custom timestamp extraction rules directly, making props.conf the correct and essential file for this purpose.