In a deployment with multiple indexes, what will happen when a search is run and an index is not specified in the search string?

When a search is executed in a Splunk environment and an index is not specified, events from every index that the user has access to will be included in the search results. This behavior is fundamental to how Splunk processes searches, ensuring that users can retrieve relevant data without needing to specify each index individually.

By default, Splunk uses a set of indexes defined for searches, which means that if no specific index is indicated in the search query, it will search across all available indexes accessible to the user. This design promotes efficiency since users don’t need to remember or manually specify each index potentially containing relevant data. It allows for a more streamlined search process, saving time and resources.

Understanding this default behavior is crucial for users to effectively utilize Splunk for searching and reporting data across multiple indexes.