Which of the following is NOT a best practice for optimizing Splunk searches?

Using wildcard searches liberally is not considered a best practice for optimizing Splunk searches. Wildcard searches can significantly slow down search performance, especially when used at the beginning of a search term or in combination with other fields. This is because wildcard searches require Splunk to evaluate a much larger set of potential matches in the data, which can lead to increased resource consumption and longer search times.

In contrast, limiting the number of fields returned helps to minimize the amount of data processed, thereby improving performance. Specifying indexed fields allows Splunk to utilize its indexing capabilities more efficiently, enhancing search speed. Reducing the timeframe of the search narrows the data set that needs to be processed, which also contributes to search optimization. By understanding these practices, users can write more efficient searches that yield quicker results.