We will cover Splunk apps in much more detail in Chapter 9, Splunk Applications, but because they are such a significant part of many Splunk administration tasks, I need to provide at least an introduction to what Splunk apps represent to avoid confusion when I reference apps in the tasks we'll be discussing shortly. Also, Splunk's use of the term may not reflect what you're accustomed to thinking of as an app – so it's important to address this sooner rather than later.
An app created by a Splunk user, or any of the apps that come with Splunk, contain a collection of all the objects that make up the app and how it functions within the Splunk environment. These objects can include configuration (.conf) files to control inputs, indexes, saved searches, reports, dashboards, alerts, and more, as well as static files for creating web...