Per the documentation available at the following URL...
http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/latest/Data/AboutWindowsdataandSplunk
...the following statement is made regarding Windows Event Log data:
These specialized inputs are available only on Windows installations of Splunk.
Does this mean that Splunk cannot process Windows Event Log data unless the indexer is running under a Windows OS? If so, why is there this restriction in place?
Thanks,
Vincent
An indexer can parse and index Windows data, regardless of the platform it's installed on. The reference to specialized inputs refers to the fact that WMI/Perfmon/Registry/AD APIs are only available on Windows platforms. A forwarder installed on a Windows platform can remotely gather data using WMI, and an agent/forwarder installed on a server can provide Perfmon/Registry/AD access. They can then forward the data to an indexer running on any supported OS.