Getting Data In

Force splunk to poll files more quickly?

sconover
Engager

For testing purposes, I would really really like to force splunk to poll files in a monitor:// directory structure (and index changes) more quickly - at least temporarily. Is there some way I can force splunk to do this, overriding the default check-backoff behavior?

Tags (1)

sconover
Engager
"Generally speaking, I haven't seen the need for this though, as I see files indexed with almost no delay at all between when the files are updated and when the updates come into Splunk."

My experiments show that there's anywhere from a zero to 15 second delay in indexing, which seems to match up well with the answer to this post:

http://splunk-base.splunk.com/answers/6693/how-to-force-splunk-to-index-new-files-quickly

I've since found a solution for what I want to happen - use oneshot:

http://splunk-base.splunk.com/answers/684/after-fixing-propsconf-how-to-re-index-the-same-files-usin...

which converts indexing from async to blocking - more appropriate for my usage scenario.

jbsplunk
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

There isn't a user configurable monitor interval setting which can be used to gain this kind of control over monitor stanzas. Generally speaking, I haven't seen the need for this though, as I see files indexed with almost no delay at all between when the files are updated and when the updates come into Splunk.

0 Karma

mikelanghorst
Motivator

The only time I've seen this an issue with data taking too long to get there was with previous versions and trying to monitor a directory with too many files/subdirectories. Is your monitor stanza set overly broad then trying to whitelist down?

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!

Data Management Digest – August 2026

MichelleCorpora_1-1788182384472.png Welcome to the August 2026 edition of Data Management Digest! August was a ...

Your Feedback. Our Roadmap. Visit the PX Feedback Booth at .conf26

You use Splunk every day, come and help shape what's next.  Save Your Seat: Product-Focused Sessions at ...

Agentic SOC Triage: Investigating Splunk ES Notables with MCP Server and a Local LLM

The Problem: Too Many Alerts, Too Little Context Security operations teams running Splunk Enterprise Security ...