In Splunk, the time plus date field is an important aspect of the information collected plus the analysis process. This field is utilized in finding when events occurred plus organizing them in chronological order. The suitable name for the date and time field in Splunk is the “timestamp” field.
The timestamp field is utilized in showing the date & time of an event being indexed. The timestamp field is auto-added to every event when they’re indexed by Splunk. Moreover, it’s utilized in filtering and sorting events based on their happening time.
In addition, the timestamp field utilizes the format “YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM: SS“, It’s typically in the machine’s local time format when the event was created. Moreover, users can also state the timestamp field time zone during the indexing process. Furthermore, users can also utilize the timestamp field to make time ranges for reporting and searching. This field is very significant for Splunk as it’s used as the base for every time-based visualization and analysis.
Timestamp Field
As said earlier, in Splunk timestamp field contains the time plus date of an event. It’s used to find out the time an event occurred plus organize it in sequential order. The timestamp field is normally the first field in a Splunk event, plus it’s used to sort & filter events depending on their timestamps.
The timestamp field can either be a numerical value or a string. If it’s a string, it needs to be in “YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM: SS” or “YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM: SS” format. If it’s in numerical value, it needs to be in Unix timestamp format, which is the amount of seconds from 1st January 1970.
Splunk auto recognizes the timestamp field on occasion, but it can also be stated by the user. If the timestamp field isn’t specified, Splunk will utilize the time the event was indexed as a timestamp.
Time Extraction
In addition to the timestamp field, Splunk can extract time details from other fields in any event. This is understood as time extraction. Time extraction enables users to get timestamps from fields that don’t have a timestamp field including log files.
Splunk utilizes regular expressions to get timestamps from fields. These regular expressions need to be configured inside the props.conf file, located at /etc/system/local directory. Furthermore, the regular expressions need to be written in “TIME_FORMAT = <format>” format. Remember this format needs to match the timestamp format in the field.
Time Ranges
The timestamp field can also be utilized in specifying time ranges in Splunk. Time ranges are utilized to filter events depending on their timestamps. Users could specify a certain time range or utilize predefined time ranges, like “Yesterday”, “Last month“, or “Last 7 days“.
Moreover, time ranges can be stated in the search bar with the help of the “time” keyword followed by the time range. For instance, “time > yesterday” will display all the events which happened after yesterday. Similarly, time ranges can also be stated in the “Time range picker” found in the top right corner of your Splunk dashboard.
Conclusion
In summary, the suitable name for the time & date field in Splunk is the “timestamp” field. The timestamp field is suitable for identifying when events happened and arranging them in sequential order. Splunk can also extract time details from other fields in any event, understood as time extraction. Furthermore, the timestamp field is also suitable for specify time ranges in Splunk used to sort events based on their timestamps.
