SPLK-1002 Splunk Core Certified Power User Exam Questions and Answers

The search below groups events by two or more fields (clientip and host), creates transactions with start and end constraints (maxspan=30s and maxpause=5s), and calculates the duration of each transaction.

index=main | transaction clientip host maxspan=30s maxpause=5s

The search does the following:

It filters the events by the index main, which is a default index in Splunk that contains all data that is not sent to other indexes.

It uses the transaction command to group events into transactions based on two fields: clientip and host. The transaction command creates new events from groups of events that share the same clientip and host values.

It specifies the start and end constraints for the transactions using the maxspan and maxpause arguments. The maxspan argument sets the maximum time span between the first and last events in a transaction. The maxpause argument sets the maximum time span between any two consecutive events in a transaction. In this case, the maxspan is 30 seconds and the maxpause is 5 seconds, meaning that any transaction that has a longer time span or pause will be split into multiple transactions.

It creates some additional fields for each transaction, such as duration, eventcount, startime, etc. The duration field shows the time span between the first and last events in a transaction.

The timechart command is used to create a time-series chart of statistical values based on your search results2. You can use the timechart command with a by clause to split the results by one or more fields and create multiple series in the chart2. However, you can only list one field after the by clause when using the timechart command because _time is already implied as the x-axis of the chart2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect.

Event types are custom categories of events that are based on search criteria. Event types can be used to label events with meaningful names, such as error, success, login, logout, etc. Event types can also be used to create transactions, alerts, reports, dashboards, etc. Event types can be created in two ways:

By going to the Settings menu and clicking Event Types > New. This will open a form where you can enter the name, description, search string, app context, and tags for the event type.

By selecting an event in search results and clicking Event Actions > Build Event Type. This will open a dialog box where you can enter the name and description for the event type. The search string will be automatically populated based on the selected event.

Event types cannot be created by using the searchtypes command in the search bar, as this command does not exist in Splunk. Event types can also be created by editing the event_type stanza in the transforms.conf file, not the props.conf file.

As mentioned before, a calculated field is a field that you create based on the value of another field or fields2. A calculated field can be based on extracted fields, which are fields that are extracted from your raw data using various methods such as regular expressions, delimiters or key-value pairs2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect because they are not types of fields that a calculated field can be based on.

The transaction command is a search command that creates a single event from a group of events that share some common characteristics. The transaction command can group events based on fields, time, or both. The transaction command can also create some additional fields for each transaction, such as duration, eventcount, startime, etc. The transaction command does not group a set of transactions based on time, but rather groups a set of events into a transaction based on time. The transaction command does not separate two events based on one or more values, but rather joins multiple events based on one or more values. The transaction command does not return the number of credit card transactions found in the event logs, but rather creates transactions from the events that match the search criteria.

The Field Extractor (FX) allows you to use regular expressions (regex) to extract fields from your events using a graphical interface or by manually editing the regex2. When you use the FX to perform a regex field extraction, you can use the require option to specify a string that must be present in an event for it to be included in the extraction2. This way, you can filter out events that do not contain the required string and focus on the events that are relevant for your extraction2. Therefore, option D is correct, while options A, B and C are incorrect.

 The data model command allows you to run searches on data models that have been accelerated1. The syntax for using the data model command is | datamodel [search ]1. Therefore, option A is the correct way to use the data model command to search fields in the data model within the web dataset. Options B and C are incorrect because they do not follow the syntax for the data model command. Option D is incorrect because it does not use the data model command at all.

The Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) add-on helps you normalize your data from different sources and make it easier to analyze and report on it3. One of the functionalities that the CIM add-on relies on to normalize fields with different names is field aliases3. Field aliases allow you to assign an alternative name to an existing field without changing the original field name or value2. By using field aliases, you can map different field names from different sources or sourcetypes to a common field name that conforms to the CIM standard3. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect.

After manually editing a regular expression (regex) that was created using the Field Extractor (FX) UI, it is no longer possible to edit the field extraction in the FX UI. The FX UI is a tool that helps you extract fields from your data using delimiters or regular expressions. The FX UI can generate a regex for you based on your selection of sample values or you can enter your own regex in the FX UI. However, if you edit the regex manually in the props.conf file, the FX UI will not be able to recognize the changes and will not let you edit the field extraction in the FX UI anymore. You will have to use the props.conf file to make any further changes to the field extraction. Changes made manually cannot be reverted in the FX UI, as the FX UI does not keep track of the changes made in the props.conf file. It is possible to manually edit a regex that was created using the FX UI, as long as you do it in the props.conf file.

Therefore, only statement B is true about manually editing a regex.

Selected fields are fields that you choose to display in your search results by clicking on them in the Fields sidebar or by using the fields command2. Selected fields are displayed below each event in the search results, along with their values2. Therefore, option A is correct, while options B, C and D are incorrect because they are not places where selected fields are displayed.

A space is an implied AND in a search string, which means that it acts as a logical operator that returns events that match both terms on either side of the space2. For example, status=200 method=GET will return events that have both status=200 and method=GET2. Therefore, option B is correct, while options A, C and D are incorrect because they are not implied by a space in a search string.

The eval command supports a number of functions that you can use in your expressions to perform calculations, conversions, string manipulations and more2. One of the eval command functions is tostring(), which converts a numeric value to a string value2. Therefore, option D is correct, while options A, B and C are incorrect because they are not valid eval command functions.

The search string below creates a table of the total count of mysterymeat corndogs split by user.

| stats count by user | where corndog=mysterymeat

The search string does the following:

It uses the stats command to calculate the count of events for each value of the user field. The stats command creates a table with two columns: user and count.

It uses the where command to filter the results by the value of the corndog field. The where command only keeps the rows where corndog equals mysterymeat.

Therefore, the search string creates a table of the total count of mysterymeat corndogs split by user.

Field aliases are alternative names for fields in Splunk. Field aliases can be used to normalize data across different sources and sourcetypes that have different field names for the same concept. For example, you can create a field alias for src_ip that maps to clientip, source_address, or any other field name that represents the source IP address in different sourcetypes. Field aliases can also be used in lookup file definitions to map fields in your data to fields in the lookup file. For example, you can use a field alias for src_ip to map it to ip_address in a lookup file that contains geolocation information for IP addresses. Field alias names do not replace the original field name, but rather create a copy of the field with a different name. Field alias names are case sensitive when used as part of a search, meaning that src_ip and SRC_IP are different fields.

The correct answer is D.

A search macro is a way to reuse a piece of SPL code in different searches. A search macro can take arguments, which are variables that can be replaced by different values when the macro is called. A search macro can also contain another search macro within it, which is called a nested macro1.

To represent an argument in a macro definition, you need to use the dollar sign ($) character to enclose the argument name. For example, if you want to create a search macro that takes one argument named “object”, you can use the following syntax:

[my_macro(object)] search sourcetype= object

This will create a search macro named my_macro that takes one argument named object. When you call the macro in a search, you need to provide a value for the object argument, such as:

my_macro(web)

This will replace the object argument with the value web and run the following SPL code:

search sourcetype=web

The other options are not correct because they use quotation marks (’ or ") or percentage signs (%) to represent arguments, which are not valid syntax for macro arguments. These characters will be interpreted as literal values instead of variables.

References:

Use search macros in searches

https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.1.0/SearchReference/ConversionFunctions#tostring.28X.2CY.29

The tostring function in the eval command converts a numeric value to a string value. It can take an optional second argument that specifies the format of the string value. Some of the possible formats are:

hex: converts the numeric value to a hexadecimal string.

commas: adds commas to separate thousands in the numeric value.

duration: converts the numeric value to a human-readable duration string, such as “2h 3m 4s”.

Therefore, the formats A, B, and D can be used with the tostring function.

The Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) add-on is a Splunk app that contains data models to help you normalize data from different sources and formats. The CIM add-on defines a common and consistent way of naming and categorizing fields and events in Splunk. This makes it easier to correlate and analyze data across different domains, such as network, security, web, etc. The CIM add-on does not use machine learning to normalize data, but rather relies on predefined field names and values. The CIM add-on does not contain dashboards that show how to map data, but rather provides documentation and examples on how to use the data models. The CIM add-on is not automatically installed in a Splunk environment, but rather needs to be downloaded and installed from Splunkbase.

https://docs .splunk.com/Documentation/DashApp/0.9.0/DashApp/chartsBub

"Calculated fields can reference all types of field extractions and field aliasing, but they cannot reference lookups, event types, or tags."

The transaction command is used to group events into transactions based on some common characteristics, such as fields, time, or both. The transaction command can also specify start and end constraints for the transactions, such as a field value that indicates the beginning or the end of a transaction. The stats command is used to calculate summary statistics on the events, such as count, sum, average, etc. The stats command cannot group events based on start and end constraints, but only on fields or time buckets. Therefore, the transaction command should be used instead of the stats command when you need to group events based on start and end constraints.

Tags are aliases or alternative names for field values in Splunk. They can make your data more understandable by using common or descriptive terms instead of cryptic or technical terms. For example, you can tag a field value such as “200” with “OK” or “success” to indicate that it is a HTTP status code for a successful request. Tags are case sensitive, meaning that “OK” and “ok” are different tags. Tags are created at search time, meaning that they are applied when you run a search on your data. Tags are searched by using the syntax tag::, where  is the name of the tag you want to search for.

Highlighted search terms indicate matching search results in Splunk, which means that they show which parts of your events match your search string2. For example, if you search for error OR fail, Splunk will highlight error or fail in your events to show which events match your search string2. Therefore, option D is correct, while options A, B and C are incorrect because they are not indicated by highlighted search terms.

In Splunk, Pivot is a tool that allows you to report on a specific data set without using the Splunk Search Processing Language (SPL™)1. You can use a drag-and-drop interface to design and generate pivots that present different aspects of your data in the form of tables, charts, and other visualizations12.

One of the features of Pivot is that it allows you to save your reports1. This can be useful when you want to reuse a report or share it with others1. Therefore, it’s not true that users cannot share visualizations created with Pivot or that they must use SPL to find events in a Pivot12. It’s also not true that users cannot create visualizations with Pivot, as creating visualizations is one of the main functions of Pivot12.

The correct answer is C. By enclosing the macro name in backtick characters (`).

A macro is a way to reuse a piece of SPL code in different searches. A macro can take arguments, which are variables that can be replaced by different values when the macro is called. A macro can also contain another macro within it, which is called a nested macro1.

To reference a macro in a search, you need to enclose the macro name in backtick characters (). For example, if you have a macro named my_macro` that takes one argument, you can reference it in a search by using the following syntax:

| my_macro(argument) | ...

This will replace the macro name and argument with the SPL code contained in the macro definition. For example, if the macro definition is:

[my_macro(argument)] search sourcetype=$argument$

And you reference it in a search with:

index=main | my_macro(web) | stats count by host

This will expand the macro and run the following SPL code:

index=main | search sourcetype=web | stats count by host

References:

Use search macros in searches

When using the Field Extractor (FX) tool in Splunk and the tool fails to extract a value from all appropriate events, there are specific steps you can take to improve the extraction process. These steps involve interacting with the FX tool and possibly adjusting the extraction method:

A. Select an additional sample event with the Field Extractor (FX) and highlight the missing value in the event. This approach allows Splunk to understand the pattern better by providing more examples. By highlighting the value in another event where it wasn't extracted, you help the FX tool to learn the variability in the data format or structure, improving the accuracy of the field extraction.

D. Edit the regular expression manually. Sometimes the FX tool might not generate the most accurate regular expression for the field extraction, especially when dealing with complex log formats or subtle nuances in the data. In such cases, manually editing the regular expression can significantly improve the extraction process. This involves understanding regular expression syntax and how Splunk extracts fields, allowing for a more tailored approach to field extraction that accounts for variations in the data that the automatic process might miss.

Options B and C are not typically related to improving field extraction within the Field Extractor tool. Re-ingesting data (B) does not directly impact the extraction process, and changing to a delimited extraction method (C) is not always applicable, as it depends on the specific data format and might not resolve the issue of missing values across events.

In Splunk, a macro can accept arguments, and the correct syntax for a macro that takes two arguments is macro_name(argument1, argument2). In this case, the macro is called samplemacro, and it accepts two arguments, so the correct format would be samplemacro(1,2). This syntax allows for passing dynamic values into the macro, which can then be used to modify the search dynamically based on the arguments provided.

References:

Splunk Docs - Macros

This is because event types are added to events as a field named eventtype, and you can use this field as a search term to find events that match a specific event type. For example, eventtype=successful_purchases returns all events that have been categorized as successful purchases by the event type definition. The other options are incorrect because they either use a different field name (tag), a different syntax (Event Type:: or event type—), or have a typo (success ful_purchases). You can learn more about how to use event types in searches from the Splunk documentation1.

To filter for only IP addresses that appear more than five times in the search results for index=games, you can use a combination of the stats and where commands. The stats command counts the occurrences of each IP address and assigns the count to IP_count. The where command then filters the results to include only those IP addresses with a count greater than five.

Here is how the complete search would look:

index=games | stats count as IP_count by IP | where IP_count > 5

References:

Splunk Docs: stats command

Splunk Docs: where command

Splunk Answers: Filtering results using stats and where commands

An event type in Splunk is essentially a saved search with specific conditions. It must meet the following criteria:

The search cannot include transforming commands like stats, inputlookup, or where.

It should define a clear pattern of events to match.

Explanation of each option:

A: Includes stats count by code, which is a transforming command. This cannot be saved as an event type.

B: Contains only search criteria (index, sourcetype, and code). This can be saved as an event type.

C: Includes stats and a conditional filter (where), which are not valid for event types.

D: Includes inputlookup, a transforming command, so it cannot be saved as an event type.

The fillnull command in Splunk is used to replace null (missing) field values with a specified value.

Explanation of options:

A: Incorrect, as fillnull does not set fields to null; it fills null values with a specific value.

B: Incorrect, as the command only affects the specified field (src in this case).

C: Correct, as the fillnull command explicitly sets null values in the src field to "Unknown".

D: Incorrect, as only the src field is affected, not all fields.

Example:If the src field is null for some events, fillnull will populate "Unknown" in those cases.

In Splunk, a field alias is used to create an alternative name for an existing field, making it easier to refer to data in a consistent manner across different searches and reports. Field aliases can be applied to both calculated fields and extracted fields. Calculated fields are those that are created using eval expressions, while extracted fields are typically those parsed from the raw data at index time or search time. This flexibility allows users to streamline their searches by using more intuitive field names without altering the underlying data. Field aliases cannot be applied to data in a lookup table, specific individual fields within a dataset, or directly to a host, source, or sourcetype.

In this search, count will appear on the y-axis2. This search uses the chart command to create a chart of the count of events over host for events that have status not equal to 2002. The chart command creates a table with one column for each value of the field after the over clause and one row for each value of the field after the by clause (if any)2. The values in the table are calculated by applying the function before the over clause to the events in each group2. In this case, the chart command creates a table with one column for each host and one row for the count of events for each host. The y-axis of the chart shows the values of the count function applied to each host. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A and B are incorrect because they appear on the x-axis or as labels of the chart.

To use a search macro in a search string, you need to place a back tick character (`) before and after the macro name1. You also need to use the same number of arguments as defined in the macro2. The macro weekly sales (2) has two arguments: Price and AmountSold. Therefore, you need to provide two values for these arguments when you call the macro.

The option A is incorrect because it uses parentheses instead of back ticks around the macro name. The option B is incorrect because it uses underscores instead of spaces in the macro name. The option D is incorrect because it uses spaces instead of commas to separate the argument values.

In Splunk, when using the chart command, the useother parameter can be set to false (f) to remove the 'OTHER' category, which is a bucket that Splunk uses to aggregate low-cardinality groups into a single group to simplify visualization. Here's how the options break down:

A. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action useother=fThis command correctly sets the useother parameter to false, which would prevent the 'OTHER' category from being displayed in the resulting visualization.

B. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action usenull=f useother=tThis command has useother set to true (t), which means the 'OTHER' category would still be included, so this is not a correct option.

C. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action limit=10 useother=fSimilar to option A, this command also sets useother to false, additionally imposing a limit to the top 10 results, which is a way to control the granularity of the chart but also to remove the 'OTHER' category.

D. | chart count over CurrentStanding by Action limit-10This command has a syntax error (limit-10 should be limit=10) and does not include the useother=f clause. Therefore, it would not remove the 'OTHER' category, making it incorrect.

The correct answers to rewrite the syntax to remove the 'OTHER' category are options A and C, which explicitly set useother=f.

When using the transaction command in Splunk, the default maximum span between events is set to unlimited. This is indicated by the default value of maxspan=-1, which corresponds to an “all time” time range.

The transaction command is a Splunk command that finds transactions based on events that meet various constraints1.

Transactions are made up of the raw text (the _raw field) of each member, the time and date fields of the earliest member, as well as the union of all other fields of each member1.

The transaction command adds some fields to the raw events that are part of the transaction12. These fields are:

duration: The difference, in seconds, between the timestamps for the first and last events in the transaction12.

eventcount: The number of events in the transaction12.

closed_txn: A Boolean field that indicates whether the transaction is closed or evicted2. A transaction is closed if it meets one of the following conditions: maxevents, maxpause, maxspan, or startswith2. A transaction is evicted if it does not meet any of these conditions and exceeds the memory limit specified by maxopentxn or maxopenevents23.

Therefore, evicted transactions can be distinguished from non-evicted transactions by checking the value of the closed_txn field. The closed_txn field is set to 0, or false, for evicted transactions and 1, or true for non-evicted, or closed, transactions23.

Field aliases in Splunk are alternate names assigned to fields. These can be particularly useful for normalizing data from different sources or simply for making field names more intuitive. Once an alias is created for a field, it can be used across various Splunk knowledge objects, enhancing their flexibility and utility.

A. Calculated fields, lookups, event types, and tags: This is the correct answer. Field aliases can indeed be referenced in calculated fields, lookups, event types, and tags within Splunk. When you create an alias for a field, that alias can then be used in these knowledge objects just like any standard field name.

Calculated fields: These are expressions that can create new field values based on existing data. You can use an alias in a calculated field expression to refer to the original field.

Lookups: These are used to enrich your event data by referencing external data sources. If you've created an alias for a field that matches a field in your lookup table, you can use that alias in your lookup configurations.

Event types: These are classifications for events that meet certain search criteria. You can use field aliases in the search criteria for defining an event type.

Tags: These allow you to assign meaningful labels to data, making it easier to search and report on. You can use field aliases in the search criteria that you tag.

In Splunk, a variable for a macro is defined by placing the variable name inside dollar signs, like this: $variable name$. This syntax allows the macro to dynamically replace the variable with the appropriate value when the macro is invoked within a search. Using this method ensures that the search strings can be dynamically adjusted based on the variable's value at runtime.

References:

Splunk Docs: Use macros

Splunk Answers: Defining and Using Macros

A calculated field in Splunk is designed to automatically add fields at search time using an eval expression. This feature allows users to define new fields based on existing data without needing to manually include an eval command in every search. Calculated fields simplify repeated search tasks by embedding the eval logic directly into the field configuration.

References:

Splunk Docs: Calculated fields

Splunk Answers: Purpose of calculated fields

The transaction command is used to group events that are related by some common fields or conditions, such as start/end values, time span, or pauses. The stats command is used to calculate statistics on a group of events by a common field value.

References

Splunk Community

Splunk Transaction - Exact Details You Need

The tag=Priv* search will return events containing a tag named Privileged, as well as any other tag that starts with Priv. The asterisk (*) is a wildcard character that matches zero or more characters. The other searches will not match the exact tag name.

The search modes determine how Splunk processes your search and displays your results2. There are three search modes: Fast, Smart and Verbose2. The search mode that automatically returns all extracted fields in the fields sidebar is Verbose2. The Verbose mode shows all the fields that are extracted from your events, including default fields, indexed fields and search-time extracted fields2. The fields sidebar is a panel that shows the fields that are present in your search results2. Therefore, option C is correct, while options A and B are incorrect because they are not search modes that automatically return all extracted fields in the fields sidebar.

When you mouse over and click to add a search term from the Fields sidebar or from an event in your search results, Splunk automatically adds the term to your search string with an implied AND operator2. However, this does not apply to some Boolean operators such as OR, NOT and parentheses (). These operators are not implied when you add a search term and you have to type them manually if you want to use them in your search string2. Therefore, options A, B and D are correct, while option C is incorrect because AND is implied when you add a search term.

The span option is used to specify the time span for the timechart command. The span value can be a number followed by a time unit, such as h for hour, d for day, w for week, etc. The span value determines how the data is grouped into time buckets. For example, span=12h means that the data is grouped into 12-hour intervals. The timespan option is not a valid option for the timechart command2

1: Splunk Core Certified Power User Track, page 9. 2: Splunk Documentation, timechart command.

The eval command ‘if’ function requires the following three arguments (in order): boolean expression, result if true, result if false. The eval command is a search command that allows you to create new fields or modify existing fields by performing calculations or transformations on them. The eval command can use various functions to perform different operations on fields. The ‘if’ function is one of the functions that can be used with the eval command to perform conditional evaluations on fields. The ‘if’ function takes three arguments: a boolean expression that evaluates to true or false, a result that will be returned if the boolean expression is true, and a result that will be returned if the boolean expression is false. The ‘if’ function returns one of the two results based on the evaluation of the boolean expression.

The correct answer is C. When events contain unstructured data.

The regular expression method works best with unstructured event data, such as log files or text messages, where the fields are not separated by a common delimiter, such as a comma or space1. You select a sample event and highlight one or more fields to extract from that event, and the field extractor generates a regular expression that matches similar events in your dataset and extracts the fields from them1. The regular expression method provides several tools for testing and refining the accuracy of the regular expression. It also allows you to manually edit the regular expression1.

The delimiters method is designed for structured event data: data from files with headers, where all of the fields in the events are separated by a common delimiter, such as a comma or space1. You select a sample event, identify the delimiter, and then rename the fields that the field extractor finds1. This method is simpler and faster than the regular expression method, but it may not work well with complex or irregular data formats1.

A comparison operator is a symbol that compares two values and returns a Boolean result (true or false)2. Splunk supports various comparison operators such as <, >, =, !=, <=, >=, IN and LIKE2. However, ?= is not a valid comparison operator in Splunk and will cause a syntax error if used in a search string2. Therefore, option E is correct, while options A, B, C and D are incorrect because they are valid comparison operators in Splunk

The correct answer is B. Root event dataset. This is because root event datasets are defined by a constraint that filters out events that are not relevant to the dataset. A constraint for a root event dataset is a simple search that returns a fairly wide range of data, such as sourcetype=access_combined. Without a constraint, a root event dataset would include all the events in the index, which is not useful for data modeling. You can learn more about how to design data models and add root event datasets from the Splunk documentation1. The other options are incorrect because root transaction datasets and root search datasets have different ways of defining their datasets, such as transaction definitions or complex searches, and root child datasets are not a valid type of root dataset.

The statement that fields extracted using the Field Extractor persist as knowledge objects is true. The Field Extractor (FX) is a graphical tool that allows you to extract fields from raw events using regular expressions or delimiters. The fields extracted by the FX are saved as knowledge objects that can be used in future searches or shared with other users.

Data models and pivot are both knowledge objects in Splunk that allow you to analyze and visualize your data in different ways. Data models are collections of datasets that represent your data in a structured and hierarchical way. Data models define how your data is organized into objects and fields. Pivot is a user interface that allows you to create data visualizations that present different aspects of a data model. Pivot does not require users to input SPL searches on data models, but rather lets them select options from menus and forms. Data models are not created out of datasets called pivots, but rather pivots are created from datasets in data models.

A workflow action is a link that appears when you click an event field value in your search results1. A workflow action can open a web page or run another search based on the field value1. There are two types of workflow actions: GET and POST1. A GET workflow action appends the field value to the end of a URI and opens it in a web browser1. A POST workflow action sends the field value as part of an HTTP request to a web server1. You can configure a workflow action to open a web page in either the same window or a new window1. Therefore, option D is correct, while options A, B and C are incorrect.

The relationship between data models and pivots is that data models provide the datasets for pivots. Data models are collections of datasets that represent your data in a structured and hierarchical way. Data models define how your data is organized into objects and fields. Pivots are user interfaces that allow you to create data visualizations that present different aspects of a data model. Pivots let you select options from menus and forms to create charts, tables, maps, etc., without writing any SPL code. Pivots use datasets from data models as their source of data. Pivots and data models are not the same thing, as pivots are tools for visualizing data models. Pivots do not provide datasets for data models, but rather use them as inputs.

Therefore, only statement A is true about the relationship between data models and pivots.