What is the purpose of the `top_k` command in Splunk?

The top_k command in Splunk is specifically designed to return the most frequent values for a specified field. When you use this command, it aggregates data and provides insights by listing the most common occurrences based on the specified criteria. This is particularly useful for quickly identifying trends and patterns within your data.

For example, if you were analyzing web server logs, you might want to find the top IP addresses that accessed your site. The top_k command would allow you to quickly retrieve that information without needing to manually sort through the entire dataset.

The option that indicates the calculation of average values for a field does not align with the purpose of top_k, as it is not intended for averaging data. Removing duplicate data pertains to data normalization or deduplication, which is not the function of the top_k command. Filtering out irrelevant data describes the overall search constraints one might apply, but it is not the specific functionality of top_k, which focuses on ranking values by their frequency.