Choosing the Right Number of Indexers for High Availability in Splunk

When managing large data environments, like a customer ingesting 600 GB of data daily, the question of how many indexers to deploy becomes crucial—especially if you’re keen on ensuring high availability. You see, for Splunk deployments focusing on resilience, it’s not just about throwing resources at the problem. It’s about a strategic configuration that supports your unique needs. Here’s the scoop: when aiming for high availability, the optimal choice is to utilize two clustered indexers.

You might wonder why clustering matters so much. Imagine you’re running a busy restaurant on a Saturday night. If one chef suddenly drops out due to illness without a backup, the entire kitchen has to scramble. It becomes chaotic, food gets delayed, and customers leave dissatisfied. This scenario is what happens in a data environment when you don’t cluster your indexers. If one indexer crashes and there's no backup, user experience plummets, and data accessibility may suffer. Clustering solves this by allowing indexers to work together, ensuring that if one fails, the other takes over seamlessly.

So, let’s break down the choices we discussed in the context of the Splunk practice question. You have options like deploying two indexers in a cluster or keeping them separate without clustering. With two clustered indexers, you set up for high availability, a key priority that keeps your system robust. This setup not only helps in data replication but also in load balancing.

On the flip side, two indexers not in a cluster miss out on that failover capability. If one fails, you're in a fix, especially during long or complicated searches when users expect uninterrupted access. Wouldn’t that be frustrating? Saving and scheduling a high volume of searches also heavily benefits from a clustered setup. It allows you to share the load across your indexers, instead of putting all your eggs in one basket.

In environments that handle significant data ingestion—like our 600 GB/day scenario—you really need that redundancy. When those data demands surge, two clustered indexers ensure there's no bottleneck. Users can run all the searches they need without worrying about system hiccups.

Ultimately, this decision reflects a fundamental principle of IT: it’s not just about volume; it’s about how you manage that volume to keep things running smoothly. So, if you're prepping for the Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect exam, remember this: two clustered indexers should be your go-to recommendation for high availability. Trust me, your future self will thank you—because there’ll be fewer fires to put out!

In summary, when deployed carefully, two clustered indexers help maintain accessibility, boost resilience, and optimize resource use—an absolute must for heavy data environments like yours. This path leads you towards a reliable setup that keeps both your data and your users happy.