Best Practices for implementing Windows OS monitoring?

[sloshburch]

I see a lot of posts within the validated_best-practice tag related to Windows monitoring. Is there a list of these best practices for implementing Windows monitoring?

I know there could be a lot to say on this topic but I'm specifically focused on guidance for rapid deployment of the Splunk Add-on for Windows such that data collection is ready to be enabled based on my use case needs.

[sloshburch · Accepted solution]

The Splunk Product Best Practices team provided this response. Read more about How Crowdsourcing is Shaping the Future of Splunk Best Practices.

Yes! Before you implement Windows OS monitoring, it’s important that you are familiar with the Splunk components such as forwarders, indexers, and search heads.

Installation

As you noted, the Splunk Add-on for Windows is an excellent choice for a variety of data sources necessary for Windows OS monitoring use cases. The Documentation for the Splunk Add-on for Windows has everything you need, but for those in a rush, these two topics are critical:

1. Install the Add-on as per the documented instructions to install the Splunk Add-on for Windows.
2. Familiarize yourself with the instructions to configure the Splunk Add-on for Windows. This knowledge will be used as data sources are enabled for your use case implementation.

Best Practices

With the Installation complete, refer to the following validated best practices:

• Is it a best practice to use the Splunk Add-on for Microsoft Windows?
• What are the Splunk apps and add-ons for Microsoft technologies, and what do I use them for?
• What are the best practices for installing Splunk on Windows endpoints?
• How do I collect basic Windows OS Event Log data from my Windows systems?
• How do I collect basic performance data from my Windows systems?
• Is there a template for the advanced configuration options of Splunk Add-on for Microsoft Windows?
• What are the best practices to create a local configuration file?
• What are best practices for referencing a scripted input from another app?
• What are best practices for deploying an add-on with slightly different configurations?
• What's the best practice to configure a windows system to collect data with the Splunk platform?

[adukes_splunk]

Added related validated best practice.