What is datamodels.conf and in which component of Splunk should it be defined?

[pavanae]

Also, what actually does Splunk do when we give the below line in datamodels.conf file?

acceleration.max_concurrent = 1

could someone provide me a basic level understanding of datamodels.conf?

[vinkumar_splunk]

Generally, a data model Provides more meaningful representation of underlying raw machine data. It breakdown the complex events into understanding pieces.

Data models enable users to create compelling reports and dashboards without having to write the searches that generate them.

In Bookish words, A data model is a hierarchically structured search-time mapping of knowledge about one or more datasets.

Three points to remember:

A Data Model is a Collection of Objects.
Objects Have Constraints and Attributes.

Child Objects Inherit Constraints and Attributes.

datamodels.conf is a configuration file which contains possible attribute/value pairs for configuring data models.

Before knowing about acceleration.max_concurrent = 1, You must be aware of Data Model Acceleration.

A data-summary-backed method of accelerating the datasets within data models, causing pivot searches on that dataset to run much faster than they would otherwise. The collection of summaries that a data model uses for acceleration is called the high performance analytics store.

[woodcock]

http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Admin/Datamodelsconf

[gjanders]

On the search head, refer to About data models and datamodels.conf.spec

acceleration.max_concurrent = <unsigned int>
* The maximum number of concurrent acceleration instances for this data
  model that the scheduler is allowed to run.
* Defaults to: 3