A customer has asked for a five-node search head cluster (SHC), but does not have the storage budget to use a replication factor greater than 2. They…

In a Splunk Search Head Cluster (SHC), if a user requests a search artifact (like historical scheduled search results) that is not stored locally on the search head they are connected to, the system is designed for high availability. The search head will contact a peer node that holds a copy of the artifact and proxy the necessary data to fulfill the user's request. Subsequently, to optimize future access and maintain data locality, the cluster's replication mechanism will create a permanent copy of that artifact on the requesting search head. This ensures both immediate access and improved performance for subsequent requests.

B. This is incorrect. The core purpose of an SHC is to provide a seamless user experience; the cluster actively fetches non-local artifacts from peers rather than failing the request.

C. This is incorrect. A restart is a disruptive event and is not the standard mechanism for synchronizing on-demand runtime artifacts like search results across the cluster.

D. This is incorrect. The apply shcluster-bundle command is used exclusively for distributing configuration files (apps, settings) from the deployer, not for synchronizing user-generated runtime data like search artifacts.

1. Splunk Enterprise Documentation, Distributed Search Manual, "Search head clustering architecture":

Section: "How the cluster handles search artifacts"

Content: "When a user on a search head attempts to access a search artifact, such as a scheduled search job, the search head first looks for the artifact on its own file system. If it cannot find the artifact locally, it pulls the artifact from one of its peers... The cluster then replicates the artifact to the local search head, so that it is available locally for future use." This directly validates that the artifact is pulled (proxied) and then replicated for future use, as stated in option A.

2. Splunk Enterprise Documentation, Distributed Search Manual, "The search head cluster deployer":

Section: "Use the deployer to distribute apps and configuration updates"

Content: This section details that the deployer's role is to push configuration bundles to cluster members. It explicitly states, "You use the deployer to distribute apps and other configurations to the cluster members." This confirms that the deployer is not involved in replicating runtime search artifacts, invalidating option D.