Dashboards & Visualizations

Why is the dropdown selection with large dataset, slow?

koshyk
Super Champion

hi,
we have few dashboards for end users to select "hostname" to search for. Unfortunately, the list of unique hostnames now renders above 25K+ and the Splunk default Dropdown element (with typing option) is slow

Any ready-made code you guys have found to load a large dataset dynamically? Something like when I type prod... , it should dynamically load the servers with prod* in its name and not the entire set of 25k+ hostnames beforehand.

I could fiddle out with select2 library which have similar functions or some external libraries UI work, but was checking if you guys have already done so within Splunk native UI elements.

0 Karma

tomaszpiekos
Explorer

maybe like this
|tstats values(host) where index=* by host | fields host | dedup host

restrict time range to the reasonable minimum.

0 Karma

jpolvino
Builder

I don't have host lists that big, but like gcusello would avoid drop down lists for this. One solution that sounds like what you're suggesting would be to have a pre-filter text box that limits the list to "prod*" when you type prod into it. If your hosts belong to families (e.g., prod, nonprod, test, perf), then a drop down with hose values can help limit the host list. You'd want to put the user input before the first pipe and also limit the dynamic search time range to something reasonable. You can also explore using a summary index to collect unique host names every day (not the typical stats use case SI is famous for) and then query that. Of course, put pre-pipe fields in the lookup to tighten your search: index, sourcetype, earliest, latest, source, etc.

0 Karma

koshyk
Super Champion

I understand from technical point of view. But the requirement is from client which I have less flexiblity to change upon. the reason to have drop down is to fill up while users type as they don't to make mistakes with incorrect names

0 Karma

to4kawa
Ultra Champion

textbox-validation-issue

why don't you lookup host and check host is?

0 Karma

gcusello
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Hi @koshyk,
when I have a so large set of values I don't use dropdown but text box!

If you need a dropdown and you haven't a so dynamic list, you could try to extract a lookup with a scheduled search and use it for your dropdown.

Ciao.
Giuseppe

0 Karma
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Index This | What travels the world but is also stuck in place?

April 2026 Edition  Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!   We’re back with this ...

Discover New Use Cases: Unlock Greater Value from Your Existing Splunk Data

Realizing the full potential of your Splunk investment requires more than just understanding current usage; it ...

Continue Your Journey: Join Session 2 of the Data Management and Federation Bootcamp ...

As data volumes continue to grow and environments become more distributed, managing and optimizing data ...