The original search ends with | table clientip, uripath, count. The preceding stats command already generates results in a tabular format containing these exact fields. The final table command is used primarily for presentation—to control the order of columns and ensure no other fields are included. Option C removes this final table command. This is the most efficient rewrite because it eliminates a processing step from the search pipeline that is redundant for generating the core data. The output from stats is sufficient, and removing the unnecessary formatting command optimizes the search.

A: Using the search command after a transforming command like stats is less efficient than using where. The where command is specifically designed to evaluate and filter aggregated results.

B: Placing a table command before the stats command is highly inefficient. It forces Splunk to format all events into a table before the primary aggregation, which is an unnecessary and costly step.

D: Replacing stats with chart does not provide an efficiency gain for this type of aggregation. The stats command is the more direct and standard tool for this task.

1. Splunk Enterprise Documentation, Search Manual, "Write better searches": This guide emphasizes optimizing searches by removing unnecessary commands. The final table command is unnecessary if the default output of the stats command is acceptable. The manual states, "A search is a series of commands... Every command that you add to your search adds to the processing load." (Splunk Enterprise 9.2.1, Search Manual, Chapter: "Write better searches", Section: "Quick tips for optimization").

2. Splunk Enterprise Documentation, Search Reference, "where": The documentation for the where command explicitly contrasts it with search for filtering results of other commands. It states, "The search command can be used for the same purpose, but where is more efficient because it does not use the search parsers." This confirms why Option A is incorrect. (Splunk Enterprise 9.2.1, Search Reference, Command: "where", Section: "Description").

3. Splunk Enterprise Documentation, Search Manual, "About transforming commands and searches": This section explains the nature of transforming commands like stats and table. Placing table before stats (Option B) disrupts the efficient flow of data by performing a formatting transformation before the necessary statistical transformation, which is an anti-pattern for performance. (Splunk Enterprise 9.2.1, Search Manual, Chapter: "About searches", Section: "About transforming commands and searches").