Using a scatter chart to identify discrete requests by size and response time

As shown by the recipes up until this point, there is vast intelligence that can be attained by building visualizations that summarize the current application state, analyze performance data over time, or compare values to one another. However, what about those discrete events that appear off in the distance at odd or random times? These events might not be correctly reflected when looking at a column chart, single value gauge, or pie chart, as to most calculations, they are just a blip in the radar somewhere off in the distance. However, there could be times where these discrete events are indicative of an issue or simply the start of one.

In this recipe, you will write a very simple Splunk search to plot a few elements of web request data in the tabular format. The real power comes next where you will graphically represent these values using a scatter chart.

Getting ready

To step through this recipe, you will need...