In Splunk, which context would you expect to find inputs.conf, props.conf, and outputs.conf used together?

The context where you would expect to find inputs.conf, props.conf, and outputs.conf used together is Global. In this context, the configurations in these files apply to all instances of Splunk in the environment and affect how data is collected, parsed, and forwarded throughout the entire deployment.

Inputs.conf is responsible for defining the data inputs, specifying where and how Splunk should ingest data. Props.conf is crucial for data transformation and parsing rules, enabling Splunk to properly interpret the incoming data. Outputs.conf manages the forwarding settings, determining where the ingested data is sent next, such as to indexers or other systems.

When used in the Global context, these configuration files ensure consistency across all deployments, enabling centralized management of data input, processing, and output. This is essential for maintaining uniform data handling policies and configurations across multiple Splunk instances, which can be critical in larger or more complex environments.

Other contexts such as App/User, Local, and System are more specialized and typically don’t require the comprehensive integration of these three files to function together across the entire environment.