Which component handles indexing and searching in Splunk?

The component that handles indexing and searching in Splunk is the Indexer. The Indexer is responsible for processing incoming data, which involves parsing it, indexing it, and storing it in a format that supports efficient searching. This is crucial because the performance and speed of a search are heavily influenced by how well the data is indexed.

When data arrives in Splunk, it goes through several steps: it is first parsed for timestamps and indexed to create a structure that can be quickly searched later. The Indexer also handles the storage of that indexed data, managing how it is written to disk and ensuring that it can be efficiently retrieved during search queries.

In contrast, the Forwarder is used to collect and send data to the Indexer, while the Search Head is the component where users perform their searches and visualize results, but it does not handle indexing. The Deployment Server is utilized for managing configurations across multiple Splunk instances but doesn't play a role in data indexing or search functionality. Therefore, the Indexer plays a central role in both indexing and searching within the Splunk architecture.