What is the role of the Splunk forwarder?

The role of the Splunk forwarder is primarily to collect and send log data to the Splunk indexer. Forwarders are used in Splunk's architecture to gather data from various sources, such as servers or applications, and then transmit that data to the indexer for indexing and further processing.

Splunk forwarders come in two types: universal forwarders and heavy forwarders. The universal forwarder is a lightweight agent that collects data and forwards it to the indexer without parsing or indexing the data itself. On the other hand, the heavy forwarder can perform parsing and indexing but is used less frequently due to its greater resource demands.

Understanding this function is crucial for effective Splunk deployment, as it ensures that data is efficiently captured and made available for analysis, visualization, and other activities in Splunk. Thus, its primary purpose of forwarding data directly correlates with this role, making it a fundamental component in the Splunk ecosystem.

The other options do not align with the primary function of a forwarder. While storing data locally is a task performed by the Splunk indexer, visualizing data is largely the responsibility of the Splunk user interface, and managing user access is handled through Splunk’s authentication and authorization mechanisms.