What does the Indexer handle with regards to data?

The Indexer plays a crucial role in the Splunk architecture, specifically in how data is managed after it is ingested. Its primary function is to index data, which involves the process of organizing the data in such a way that it can be efficiently retrieved and searched later. This indexing process enhances search performance, enabling users to quickly access relevant information without the need to sift through large volumes of raw data.

By creating a structured index of the data, the Indexer allows Splunk to support rapid querying and analytics, making it a vital component for any operation requiring timely insights from stored data. The index structure optimizes data retrieval, reducing the time it takes for search queries to execute, which is essential for effective data analysis and reporting within Splunk.

While the other options relate to important aspects of data management in various contexts, they do not accurately describe the specific responsibilities assigned to the Indexer. For instance, data backups, transformations into readable formats, and data compression are important tasks in data management, but they fall under different components of the system or different aspects of data handling rather than the core duties of indexing.