An administrator is provisioning one search head prior to installing ES. What are the reference minimum requirements for OS, CPU, and RAM for that machine?

The reference minimum requirements for provisioning a search head before installing Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) are critical to ensure that the system can handle the demands of the application. The correct set of specifications includes a 64-bit operating system, which is essential because Splunk is optimized for 64-bit architectures, allowing it to utilize more memory and process data efficiently.

The recommended RAM of 32 GB provides sufficient memory for the Splunk platforms, particularly when working with large datasets and handling multiple concurrent searches. Insufficient RAM can lead to poor performance and slow response times, which can significantly affect the user experience and data processing capabilities.

Additionally, specifying a CPU with 16 cores allows the system to manage multiple processes and queries concurrently, which is crucial for a search head that may need to handle a heavy load. More cores enable better parallelization of tasks, reducing bottlenecks and improving search performance during peak usage.

Overall, these specifications ensure that the search head is capable of supporting the demands of Splunk ES, providing efficient data indexing and search functionalities while maintaining responsiveness to user queries.