Technical Interview Questions – Networking
Technical Interview Questions – Networking
· What is an IP address?
· What is a subnet mask?
· What is ARP?
· What is ARP Cache Poisoning?
· What is the ANDing process?
· What is a default gateway? What happens if I don't have one?
· Can a workstation computer be configured to browse the Internet and yet NOT have a default
gateway?
· What is a subnet?
· What is APIPA?
· What is an RFC? Name a few if possible (not necessarily the numbers, just the ideas behind them)
· What is RFC 1918?
· What is CIDR?
· You have the following Network ID: 192.115.103.64/27. What is the IP range for your network?
· You have the following Network ID: 131.112.0.0. You need at least 500 hosts per network. How
many networks can you create? What subnet mask will you use?
· You need to view at network traffic. What will you use? Name a few tools
· How do I know the path that a packet takes to the destination?
· What does the ping 192.168.0.1 -l 1000 -n 100 command do?
· What is DHCP? What are the benefits and drawbacks of using it?
· Describe the steps taken by the client and DHCP server in order to obtain an IP address.
· What is the DHCPNACK and when do I get one? Name 2 scenarios.
· What ports are used by DHCP and the DHCP clients?
· Describe the process of installing a DHCP server in an AD infrastructure.
· What is DHCPINFORM?
· Describe the integration between DHCP and DNS.
· What options in DHCP do you regularly use for an MS network?
· What are User Classes and Vendor Classes in DHCP?
· How do I configure a client machine to use a specific User Class?
· What is the BOOTP protocol used for, where might you find it in Windows network
infrastructure?
· DNS zones – describe the differences between the 4 types.
· DNS record types – describe the most important ones.
· Describe the process of working with an external domain name
· Describe the importance of DNS to AD.
· Describe a few methods of finding an MX record for a remote domain on the Internet.
· What does "Disable Recursion" in DNS mean?
· What could cause the Forwarders and Root Hints to be grayed out?
· What is a "Single Label domain name" and what sort of issues can it cause?
· What is the "in-addr.arpa" zone used for?
· What are the requirements from DNS to support AD?
· How do you manually create SRV records in DNS?
· Name 3 benefits of using AD-integrated zones.
· What are the benefits of using Windows 2003 DNS when using AD-integrated zones?
· You installed a new AD domain and the new (and first) DC has not registered its SRV records in
DNS. Name a few possible causes.
· What are the benefits and scenarios of using Stub zones?
· What are the benefits and scenarios of using Conditional Forwarding?
· What are the differences between Windows Clustering, Network Load Balancing and Round
Robin, and scenarios for each use?
· How do I work with the Host name cache on a client computer?
· How do I clear the DNS cache on the DNS server?
· What is the 224.0.1.24 address used for?
· What is WINS and when do we use it?
· Can you have a Microsoft-based network without any WINS server on it? What are the
"considerations" regarding not using WINS?
· Describe the differences between WINS push and pull replications.
· What is the difference between tombstoning a WINS record and simply deleting it?
· Name the NetBIOS names you might expect from a Windows 2003 DC that is registered in WINS.
· Describe the role of the routing table on a host and on a router.
· What are routing protocols? Why do we need them? Name a few.
· What are router interfaces? What types can they be?
· In Windows 2003 routing, what are the interface filters?
· What is NAT?
· What is the real difference between NAT and PAT?
· How do you configure NAT on Windows 2003?
· How do you allow inbound traffic for specific hosts on Windows 2003 NAT?
· What is VPN? What types of VPN does Windows 2000 and beyond work with natively?
· What is IAS? In what scenarios do we use it?
· What's the difference between Mixed mode and Native mode in AD when dealing with RRAS?
· What is the "RAS and IAS" group in AD?
· What are Conditions and Profile in RRAS Policies?
· What types or authentication can a Windows 2003 based RRAS work with?
· How does SSL work?
· How does IPSec work?
· How do I deploy IPSec for a large number of computers?
· What types of authentication can IPSec use?
· What is PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) in IPSec?
· How do I monitor IPSec?
· Looking at IPSec-encrypted traffic with a sniffer. What packet types do I see?
· What can you do with NETSH?
· How do I look at the open ports on my machine?
Technical Interview Questions – Active Directory
· What is Active Directory?
· What is LDAP?
· Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few options.
· Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
· What is the SYSVOL folder?
· Name the AD NCs and replication issues for each NC
· What are application partitions? When do I use them
· How do you create a new application partition
· How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
· What is the Global Catalog?
· How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
· Why not make all DCs in a large forest as GCs?
· Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?
· What are the Support Tools? Why do I need them?
· What is LDP? What is REPLMON? What is ADSIEDIT? What is NETDOM? What is
REPADMIN?
· What are sites? What are they used for?
· What's the difference between a site link's schedule and interval?
· What is the KCC?
· What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
· What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
· What can you do to promote a server to DC if you're in a remote location with slow WAN link?
· How can you forcibly remove AD from a server, and what do you do later? • Can I get user
passwords from the AD database?
· What tool would I use to try to grab security related packets from the wire?
· Name some OU design considerations.
· What is tombstone lifetime attribute?
· What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 DC in a Windows 2000 AD?
· What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows 2003 AD?
· How would you find all users that have not logged on since last month?
· What are the DS* commands?
· What's the difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE? Usage considerations?
· What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens when each one fails?
· What FSMO placement considerations do you know of?
· I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
· What's the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing one? Which one should you
NOT seize? Why?
· How do you configure a "stand-by operation master" for any of the roles?
· How do you backup AD?
· How do you restore AD?
· How do you change the DS Restore admin password?
· Why can't you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
· What are GPOs?
· What is the order in which GPOs are applied?
· Name a few benefits of using GPMC.
· What are the GPC and the GPT? Where can I find them?
· What are GPO links? What special things can I do to them?
· What can I do to prevent inheritance from above?
· How can I override blocking of inheritance?
· How can you determine what GPO was and was not applied for a user? Name a few ways to do
that.
· A user claims he did not receive a GPO, yet his user and computer accounts are in the right OU,
and everyone else there gets the GPO. What will you look for?
· Name a few differences in Vista GPOs
· Name some GPO settings in the computer and user parts.
· What are administrative templates?
· What's the difference between software publishing and assigning?
· Can I deploy non-MSI software with GPO?
· You want to standardize the desktop environments (wallpaper, My Documents, Start menu,
printers etc.) on the computers in one department. How would you do that?
Related Articles
· MCSE and System Administrator Job Interview Questions - Part 1 - Networking
· MCSE and System Administrator Job Interview Questions - Part 3 – Exchange
Technical Interview Questions – Exchange 2003
· Tell me a bit about the capabilities of Exchange Server.
· What are the different Exchange 2003 versions?
· What's the main differences between Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000/2003?
· What are the major network infrastructure for installing Exchange 2003?
· What is the latest Exchange 2003 Service Pack? Name a few changes in functionality in that SP.
· What are the disk considerations when installing Exchange (RAID types, locations and so on).
· You got a new HP DL380 (2U) server, dual Xeon, 4GB of RAM, 7 SAS disks, 64-bit. What do
you do next to install Exchange 2003? (you have AD in place)
· Why not install Exchange on the same machine as a DC?
· Are there any other installation considerations?
· How would you prepare the AD Schema in advance before installing Exchange?
· What type or permissions do you need in order to install the first Exchange server in a forest? In a
domain?
· How would you verify that the schema was in fact updated?
· What type of memory optimization changes could you do for Exchange 2003?
· How would you check your Exchange configuration settings to see if they're right?
· What are the Exchange management tools? How and where can you install them?
· What types of permissions are configurable for Exchange?
· How can you grant access for an administrator to access all mailboxes on a specific server?
· What is the Send As permission?
· What other management tools are used to manage and control Exchange 2003? Name the tools
you'd use.
· What are Exchange Recipient types? Name 5.
· You created a mailbox for a user, yet the mailbox does not appear in ESM. Why?
· You wanted to change mailbox access permissions for a mailbox, yet you see the SELF permission
alone on the permissions list. Why?
· What are Query Based Distribution groups?
· What type of groups would you use when configuring distribution groups in a multiple domain
forest?
· Name a few configuration options for Exchange recipients.
· What's the difference between Exchange 2003 Std. and Ent. editions when related to storage
options and size?
· Name a few configuration options related to mailbox stores.
· What are System Public Folders? Where would you find them?
· How would you plan and configure Public Folder redundancy?
· How can you immediately stop PF replication?
· How can you prevent PF referral across slow WAN links?
· What types of PF management tools might you use?
· What are the differences between administrative permissions and client permissions in PF?
· How can you configure PF replication from the command prompt in Exchange 2003?
· What are the message hygiene options you can use natively in Exchange 2003?
· What are the configuration options in IMF?
· What are virtual servers? When would you use more than one?
· Name some of the SMTP Virtual Server configuration options.
· What is a Mail Relay? Name a few known mail relay software or hardware options.
· What is a Smart Host? Where would you configure it?
· What are Routing Groups? When would you use them?
· What are the types of Connectors you can use in Exchange?
· What is the cost option in Exchange connectors?
· What is the Link State Table? How would you view it?
· How would you configure mail transfer security between 2 routing groups?
· What is the Routing Group Master? Who holds that role?
· Explain the configuration steps required to allow Exchange 2003 to send and receive email from
the Internet (consider a one-site multiple server scenario).
· What is DS2MB?
· What is Forms Based Authentication?
· How would you configure OWA's settings on an Exchange server?
· What is DSACCESS?
· What are Recipient Policies?
· How would you work with multiple recipient policies?
· What is the "issue" with trying to remove email addresses added by recipient policies? How would
you fix that?
· What is the RUS?
· When would you need to manually create additional RUS?
· What are Address Lists?
· How would you modify the filter properties of one of the default address lists?
· How can you create multiple GALs and allow the users to only see the one related to them?
· What is a Front End server? In what scenarios would you use one?
· What type of authentication is used on the front end servers?
· When would you use NLB?
· How would you achieve incoming mail redundancy?
· What are the 4 types of Exchange backups?
· What is the Dial-Tone server scenario?
· When would you use offline backup?
· How do you re-install Exchange on a server that has crashed but with AD intact?
· What is the dumpster?
· What are the e00xxxxx.log files?
· What is the e00.chk file?
· What is circular logging? When would you use it?
· What's the difference between online and offline defrag?
· How would you know if it is time to perform an offline defrag of your Exchange stores?
· How would you plan for, and perform the offline defrag?
· What is the eseutil command?
· What is the isinteg command?
· How would you monitor Exchange's services and performance? Name 2 or 3 options.
· Name all the client connection options in Exchange 2003.
· What is Direct Push? What are the requirements to run it?
· How would you remote wipe a PPC?
· What are the issues with connecting Outlook from a remote computer to your mailbox?
· How would you solve those issues? Name 2 or 3 methods
· What is RPC over HTTP? What are the requirements to run it?
· What is Cached Mode in OL2003/2007?
· What are the benefits and "issues" when using cached mode? How would you tackle those issues?
· What is S/MIME? What are the usage scenarios for S/MIME?
· What are the IPSec usage scenarios for Exchange 2003?
· How do you enable SSL on OWA?
· What are the considerations for obtaining a digital certificate for SSL on Exchange?
· Name a few 3rd-party CAs.
· What do you need to consider when using a client-type AV software on an Exchange server?
· What are the different clustering options in Exchange 2003? Which one would you choose and
why.
· What is an IP address?
· What is a subnet mask?
· What is ARP?
· What is ARP Cache Poisoning?
· What is the ANDing process?
· What is a default gateway? What happens if I don't have one?
· Can a workstation computer be configured to browse the Internet and yet NOT have a default
gateway?
· What is a subnet?
· What is APIPA?
· What is an RFC? Name a few if possible (not necessarily the numbers, just the ideas behind them)
· What is RFC 1918?
· What is CIDR?
· You have the following Network ID: 192.115.103.64/27. What is the IP range for your network?
· You have the following Network ID: 131.112.0.0. You need at least 500 hosts per network. How
many networks can you create? What subnet mask will you use?
· You need to view at network traffic. What will you use? Name a few tools
· How do I know the path that a packet takes to the destination?
· What does the ping 192.168.0.1 -l 1000 -n 100 command do?
· What is DHCP? What are the benefits and drawbacks of using it?
· Describe the steps taken by the client and DHCP server in order to obtain an IP address.
· What is the DHCPNACK and when do I get one? Name 2 scenarios.
· What ports are used by DHCP and the DHCP clients?
· Describe the process of installing a DHCP server in an AD infrastructure.
· What is DHCPINFORM?
· Describe the integration between DHCP and DNS.
· What options in DHCP do you regularly use for an MS network?
· What are User Classes and Vendor Classes in DHCP?
· How do I configure a client machine to use a specific User Class?
· What is the BOOTP protocol used for, where might you find it in Windows network
infrastructure?
· DNS zones – describe the differences between the 4 types.
· DNS record types – describe the most important ones.
· Describe the process of working with an external domain name
· Describe the importance of DNS to AD.
· Describe a few methods of finding an MX record for a remote domain on the Internet.
· What does "Disable Recursion" in DNS mean?
· What could cause the Forwarders and Root Hints to be grayed out?
· What is a "Single Label domain name" and what sort of issues can it cause?
· What is the "in-addr.arpa" zone used for?
· What are the requirements from DNS to support AD?
· How do you manually create SRV records in DNS?
· Name 3 benefits of using AD-integrated zones.
· What are the benefits of using Windows 2003 DNS when using AD-integrated zones?
· You installed a new AD domain and the new (and first) DC has not registered its SRV records in
DNS. Name a few possible causes.
· What are the benefits and scenarios of using Stub zones?
· What are the benefits and scenarios of using Conditional Forwarding?
· What are the differences between Windows Clustering, Network Load Balancing and Round
Robin, and scenarios for each use?
· How do I work with the Host name cache on a client computer?
· How do I clear the DNS cache on the DNS server?
· What is the 224.0.1.24 address used for?
· What is WINS and when do we use it?
· Can you have a Microsoft-based network without any WINS server on it? What are the
"considerations" regarding not using WINS?
· Describe the differences between WINS push and pull replications.
· What is the difference between tombstoning a WINS record and simply deleting it?
· Name the NetBIOS names you might expect from a Windows 2003 DC that is registered in WINS.
· Describe the role of the routing table on a host and on a router.
· What are routing protocols? Why do we need them? Name a few.
· What are router interfaces? What types can they be?
· In Windows 2003 routing, what are the interface filters?
· What is NAT?
· What is the real difference between NAT and PAT?
· How do you configure NAT on Windows 2003?
· How do you allow inbound traffic for specific hosts on Windows 2003 NAT?
· What is VPN? What types of VPN does Windows 2000 and beyond work with natively?
· What is IAS? In what scenarios do we use it?
· What's the difference between Mixed mode and Native mode in AD when dealing with RRAS?
· What is the "RAS and IAS" group in AD?
· What are Conditions and Profile in RRAS Policies?
· What types or authentication can a Windows 2003 based RRAS work with?
· How does SSL work?
· How does IPSec work?
· How do I deploy IPSec for a large number of computers?
· What types of authentication can IPSec use?
· What is PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) in IPSec?
· How do I monitor IPSec?
· Looking at IPSec-encrypted traffic with a sniffer. What packet types do I see?
· What can you do with NETSH?
· How do I look at the open ports on my machine?
Technical Interview Questions – Active Directory
· What is Active Directory?
· What is LDAP?
· Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few options.
· Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
· What is the SYSVOL folder?
· Name the AD NCs and replication issues for each NC
· What are application partitions? When do I use them
· How do you create a new application partition
· How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
· What is the Global Catalog?
· How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
· Why not make all DCs in a large forest as GCs?
· Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?
· What are the Support Tools? Why do I need them?
· What is LDP? What is REPLMON? What is ADSIEDIT? What is NETDOM? What is
REPADMIN?
· What are sites? What are they used for?
· What's the difference between a site link's schedule and interval?
· What is the KCC?
· What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
· What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
· What can you do to promote a server to DC if you're in a remote location with slow WAN link?
· How can you forcibly remove AD from a server, and what do you do later? • Can I get user
passwords from the AD database?
· What tool would I use to try to grab security related packets from the wire?
· Name some OU design considerations.
· What is tombstone lifetime attribute?
· What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 DC in a Windows 2000 AD?
· What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows 2003 AD?
· How would you find all users that have not logged on since last month?
· What are the DS* commands?
· What's the difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE? Usage considerations?
· What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens when each one fails?
· What FSMO placement considerations do you know of?
· I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
· What's the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing one? Which one should you
NOT seize? Why?
· How do you configure a "stand-by operation master" for any of the roles?
· How do you backup AD?
· How do you restore AD?
· How do you change the DS Restore admin password?
· Why can't you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
· What are GPOs?
· What is the order in which GPOs are applied?
· Name a few benefits of using GPMC.
· What are the GPC and the GPT? Where can I find them?
· What are GPO links? What special things can I do to them?
· What can I do to prevent inheritance from above?
· How can I override blocking of inheritance?
· How can you determine what GPO was and was not applied for a user? Name a few ways to do
that.
· A user claims he did not receive a GPO, yet his user and computer accounts are in the right OU,
and everyone else there gets the GPO. What will you look for?
· Name a few differences in Vista GPOs
· Name some GPO settings in the computer and user parts.
· What are administrative templates?
· What's the difference between software publishing and assigning?
· Can I deploy non-MSI software with GPO?
· You want to standardize the desktop environments (wallpaper, My Documents, Start menu,
printers etc.) on the computers in one department. How would you do that?
Related Articles
· MCSE and System Administrator Job Interview Questions - Part 1 - Networking
· MCSE and System Administrator Job Interview Questions - Part 3 – Exchange
Technical Interview Questions – Exchange 2003
· Tell me a bit about the capabilities of Exchange Server.
· What are the different Exchange 2003 versions?
· What's the main differences between Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000/2003?
· What are the major network infrastructure for installing Exchange 2003?
· What is the latest Exchange 2003 Service Pack? Name a few changes in functionality in that SP.
· What are the disk considerations when installing Exchange (RAID types, locations and so on).
· You got a new HP DL380 (2U) server, dual Xeon, 4GB of RAM, 7 SAS disks, 64-bit. What do
you do next to install Exchange 2003? (you have AD in place)
· Why not install Exchange on the same machine as a DC?
· Are there any other installation considerations?
· How would you prepare the AD Schema in advance before installing Exchange?
· What type or permissions do you need in order to install the first Exchange server in a forest? In a
domain?
· How would you verify that the schema was in fact updated?
· What type of memory optimization changes could you do for Exchange 2003?
· How would you check your Exchange configuration settings to see if they're right?
· What are the Exchange management tools? How and where can you install them?
· What types of permissions are configurable for Exchange?
· How can you grant access for an administrator to access all mailboxes on a specific server?
· What is the Send As permission?
· What other management tools are used to manage and control Exchange 2003? Name the tools
you'd use.
· What are Exchange Recipient types? Name 5.
· You created a mailbox for a user, yet the mailbox does not appear in ESM. Why?
· You wanted to change mailbox access permissions for a mailbox, yet you see the SELF permission
alone on the permissions list. Why?
· What are Query Based Distribution groups?
· What type of groups would you use when configuring distribution groups in a multiple domain
forest?
· Name a few configuration options for Exchange recipients.
· What's the difference between Exchange 2003 Std. and Ent. editions when related to storage
options and size?
· Name a few configuration options related to mailbox stores.
· What are System Public Folders? Where would you find them?
· How would you plan and configure Public Folder redundancy?
· How can you immediately stop PF replication?
· How can you prevent PF referral across slow WAN links?
· What types of PF management tools might you use?
· What are the differences between administrative permissions and client permissions in PF?
· How can you configure PF replication from the command prompt in Exchange 2003?
· What are the message hygiene options you can use natively in Exchange 2003?
· What are the configuration options in IMF?
· What are virtual servers? When would you use more than one?
· Name some of the SMTP Virtual Server configuration options.
· What is a Mail Relay? Name a few known mail relay software or hardware options.
· What is a Smart Host? Where would you configure it?
· What are Routing Groups? When would you use them?
· What are the types of Connectors you can use in Exchange?
· What is the cost option in Exchange connectors?
· What is the Link State Table? How would you view it?
· How would you configure mail transfer security between 2 routing groups?
· What is the Routing Group Master? Who holds that role?
· Explain the configuration steps required to allow Exchange 2003 to send and receive email from
the Internet (consider a one-site multiple server scenario).
· What is DS2MB?
· What is Forms Based Authentication?
· How would you configure OWA's settings on an Exchange server?
· What is DSACCESS?
· What are Recipient Policies?
· How would you work with multiple recipient policies?
· What is the "issue" with trying to remove email addresses added by recipient policies? How would
you fix that?
· What is the RUS?
· When would you need to manually create additional RUS?
· What are Address Lists?
· How would you modify the filter properties of one of the default address lists?
· How can you create multiple GALs and allow the users to only see the one related to them?
· What is a Front End server? In what scenarios would you use one?
· What type of authentication is used on the front end servers?
· When would you use NLB?
· How would you achieve incoming mail redundancy?
· What are the 4 types of Exchange backups?
· What is the Dial-Tone server scenario?
· When would you use offline backup?
· How do you re-install Exchange on a server that has crashed but with AD intact?
· What is the dumpster?
· What are the e00xxxxx.log files?
· What is the e00.chk file?
· What is circular logging? When would you use it?
· What's the difference between online and offline defrag?
· How would you know if it is time to perform an offline defrag of your Exchange stores?
· How would you plan for, and perform the offline defrag?
· What is the eseutil command?
· What is the isinteg command?
· How would you monitor Exchange's services and performance? Name 2 or 3 options.
· Name all the client connection options in Exchange 2003.
· What is Direct Push? What are the requirements to run it?
· How would you remote wipe a PPC?
· What are the issues with connecting Outlook from a remote computer to your mailbox?
· How would you solve those issues? Name 2 or 3 methods
· What is RPC over HTTP? What are the requirements to run it?
· What is Cached Mode in OL2003/2007?
· What are the benefits and "issues" when using cached mode? How would you tackle those issues?
· What is S/MIME? What are the usage scenarios for S/MIME?
· What are the IPSec usage scenarios for Exchange 2003?
· How do you enable SSL on OWA?
· What are the considerations for obtaining a digital certificate for SSL on Exchange?
· Name a few 3rd-party CAs.
· What do you need to consider when using a client-type AV software on an Exchange server?
· What are the different clustering options in Exchange 2003? Which one would you choose and
why.
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