Heavy forwarders, HEC, and collectors need one story — not three conflicting diagrams.
Splunk
Design a Splunk reference architecture that spans your product lines
Point designs per product line break at the boundaries — shared indexers, dual ingest paths, and security versus SRE consumers pull architecture in different directions without a documented target state.
Multi-product design Ingestion topology Clear handoffs Bounded deliverable
Why this matters
Why this matters
Without a multi-product reference, teams implement in silos and pay twice for data, operations, and upgrade cycles.
ES and Observability Cloud both depend on Platform choices — architecture should say what lives where.
Cribl or OTEL in the path changes the picture — we document pipeline options without forcing a vendor.
What you get
Clear outputs you can use
Scoped reference architecture across Splunk Platform, ES, and Observability Cloud: ingestion topology, search and security analytics placement, observability signal paths, and integration points — with explicit handoffs to child-hub delivery.
- ✓ Target-state architecture diagrams and narrative for agreed scope
- ✓ Product-line boundaries: what Platform, ES, and Observability each own
- ✓ Implementation backlog with suggested child-hub owners and sequencing
Why teams talk to GKC
Calm, practical, and grounded in the environment you already have
Designed for your deployment model — on-prem, hybrid, or Splunk Cloud Platform as scoped
Does not replace child-hub deep dives — it sets the frame they implement within
Honest about trade-offs — cost, retention, and security coverage spelled out
What happens next
A straightforward first step
We keep the first step straightforward so you can understand fit, scope, and likely value before deciding what to do next.
1
Confirm scope and constraints
We agree which product lines, regions, and compliance constraints are in scope and which are explicitly out.
2
Design target state
Architecture work covers ingestion, search roles, security analytics placement, observability paths, and key integrations.
3
Review and hand off
You receive documentation sized for engineering and leadership review, with a backlog routed to Platform, ES, or Observability delivery as needed.
Questions teams often have
Common questions
Splunk PS already sold us a reference design. Why revisit?
We validate against your actual consumers and data flows — security, operations, and finance — and make product-line boundaries explicit for internal delivery teams.
Does this include full implementation?
No. Implementation is scoped separately on the relevant hub. This engagement produces the reference your teams or partners build against.
What if we only use Platform today?
Scope can be Platform-forward with extension points for ES or Observability — we will not over-design lines you are not planning to adopt.
Related services
If this is close, these may be relevant too
Splunk
Splunk Portfolio & Roadmap Workshop
A facilitated workshop mapping your use cases to Splunk Platform, Enterprise Security, and Observability Cloud — with licence, data-flow, and sequencing implications you can act on internally or with GKC follow-on work.
Splunk Platform
Platform Health Check & Architecture Review
A bounded Platform health check: cluster topology, search and scheduler load, knowledge object hygiene, and prioritised recommendations ordered by risk and effort.
Splunk Platform
Platform Implementation (Greenfield Scoped)
Scoped greenfield Platform implementation: core deployment topology, heavy/light forwarder strategy, baseline apps, initial onboarding patterns, and admin handover.
Next step
Start with a practical conversation
We can talk through the environment, what is making this feel urgent or uncertain, and whether this service is the right fit. If another starting point makes more sense, we will say so.