Getting Data In

Questions on a Splunk Forwarder

crt89
Communicator

Good day Splunkers,

Would like to ask some questions on the universal forwarder.

  1. What is the minimum CPU usage? Given that we configured the forwarder as default with a minimum of 3 log files being monitored and forwarded.
  2. What is its disk I/O requirements?

Thanks,

0 Karma
1 Solution

MuS
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Hi crt89,

basically you can say, that the impact of the universal forwarder is very low. You can see maybe some CPU and IO peak during initial load of old logs. But during daily business the load should stay at a low one numbered percent.

The load will increase, the more file will be observed by the UF.

Regarding the minimum requirements, here is a basic rule - if you depend on near real-time events use fast CPU's and high IO disks. If you don't ... well, I run an UF on an ARMv5te 1.2Ghz mini server with an old 2.5" USB2 disk attached and it runs fine.

To sum this up: it really depends on your use case, if you need special fast CPU and high IO disks or not.

You can also check the system requirement docs and get some CPU info's for the UF.

hope this helps ...

cheers, MuS

View solution in original post

MuS
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Hi crt89,

basically you can say, that the impact of the universal forwarder is very low. You can see maybe some CPU and IO peak during initial load of old logs. But during daily business the load should stay at a low one numbered percent.

The load will increase, the more file will be observed by the UF.

Regarding the minimum requirements, here is a basic rule - if you depend on near real-time events use fast CPU's and high IO disks. If you don't ... well, I run an UF on an ARMv5te 1.2Ghz mini server with an old 2.5" USB2 disk attached and it runs fine.

To sum this up: it really depends on your use case, if you need special fast CPU and high IO disks or not.

You can also check the system requirement docs and get some CPU info's for the UF.

hope this helps ...

cheers, MuS

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!

Observability Simplified: Combining User Experience, Application Performance & ...

Tech Talk Observability Simplified: Combining User Experience, Application Performance & Network ...

Event Series May & June: From Network Visibility to Service Intelligence

Unifying the Network: Moving from Alert Noise to Service Intelligence with Splunk ITSI In today’s hybrid ...

Global Splunk User Group Events: May + June 2026

Your Splunk Community Awaits: Discover Upcoming User Group Events Worldwide    Staying ahead in the fast-paced ...