Splunk is a software which processes and brings out insight from machine data and other forms of big data. This machine data is generated by CPU running a webserver, IOT devices, logs from mobile apps, etc. In other words, Splunk is a software platform to search, analyze and visualize the machine-generated data gathered from the websites, applications, sensors, devices etc. These make up your IT infrastructure and business. It is not necessary to provide this data to the end users and does not have any business meaning.
However, they are extremely important to understand, monitor and optimize the performance of the machines. Splunk can read this unstructured, semi-structured or rarely structured data. After reading the data, it allows to search, tag, create reports and dashboards on these data. With the advent of big data, Splunk is now able to ingest big data from various sources, which may or may not be machine data and run analytics on big data. Hence, from a simple tool for log analysis, Splunk has come a long way to become a general analytical tool for unstructured machine data and various forms of big data.
Why Splunk?
- Analyzes the machine-generated data to provide operational intelligence. The main advantage of using Splunk is that it does not need any database to store its data. This is because it extensively makes use of its indexes to store the data.
- Provides real-time monitoring, event management and alerting, and visibility into the health of physical and virtual IT infrastructure.
- Enables monitoring of applications and business and IT services.
- Provides a wide range of analytic coverage. This not only helps in preventing downtime but also helps to ensure optimal customer experience and smooth business operations.
- Speeds security investigations through real-time monitoring, historical analysis, and visualization of massive datasets.
- Offers real-time visibility across the application stack, with end-to-end views into application performance, transaction, and user activity.
- Enables you to monitor operations, analyze usage, and integrate insights into an end-to-end view of business operations. Splunk accomplishes this feat by using data that is generated by connected devices, control systems, sensors, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and more.
- Opens a window into complex business processes, customer behavior, product usage, and digital marketing campaigns.