Getting Data In

How do I forward and delete logs?

nick405060
Motivator

I would like to be able to forward logs and then delete them using a UF. How can I do this?

For the sake of the Splunk community, it would be nice if this question had a run-anywhere solution. However, I will also detail my use case specifically.

I am using Windows Event Forwarding (WEF) to collect 4800/4801 Windows security logs from 2000 of our workstations into a Windows Event Collector (WEC) that has a UF on it. I only spun up the WEC VM with an 80GB disk, as there is no reason to assign more disk space to merely a collection node, and storage is money. I can forward the logs from the WEC without a problem, but I need to be able to purge the logs after forwarding.

0 Karma
1 Solution

mayurr98
Super Champion

@nick405060 , Indeed it is

according to the description of "batch" in inputs.conf.spec , you should set move_policy = sinkhole .

move_policy = sinkhole
 * IMPORTANT: This attribute/value pair is required. You *must* include "move_policy = sinkhole" when defining batch inputs.
 * This loads the file destructively.  
 * Do not use the batch input type for files you do not want to consume destructively.
 * As long as this is set, Splunk won't keep track of indexed files. Without the "move_policy = sinkhole" setting,  it won't load the files destructively and will keep a track of them.

View solution in original post

mayurr98
Super Champion

@nick405060 , Indeed it is

according to the description of "batch" in inputs.conf.spec , you should set move_policy = sinkhole .

move_policy = sinkhole
 * IMPORTANT: This attribute/value pair is required. You *must* include "move_policy = sinkhole" when defining batch inputs.
 * This loads the file destructively.  
 * Do not use the batch input type for files you do not want to consume destructively.
 * As long as this is set, Splunk won't keep track of indexed files. Without the "move_policy = sinkhole" setting,  it won't load the files destructively and will keep a track of them.

nick405060
Motivator
0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Index This | What is broken 80% of the time by February?

December 2025 Edition   Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!    We’re back with this ...

Unlock Faster Time-to-Value on Edge and Ingest Processor with New SPL2 Pipeline ...

Hello Splunk Community,   We're thrilled to share an exciting update that will help you manage your data more ...

Splunk MCP & Agentic AI: Machine Data Without Limits

Discover how the Splunk Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server can revolutionize the way your organization uses ...