Interview Questions
In today's dynamic IT world many people might find themselves in a position where
they are now looking to get a new or better job than they had up to that point in
time. Getting your foot into the door is hard enough, and for that you need a wellwritten CV, not to mention the ability to make a good first impression on the
potential phone conversation you might get. However, getting the foot in the door is
just the first step of actually getting the job. In most cases you should now expect to
be interviewed by an experienced IT Professional, perhaps even the same one that
you're going to replace, or the one you're going to work under.
Most technical interviews will be related to the job-specific tasks you're supposed to apply for,
therefore not all technical interviews are alike. However, applying for a Microsoft-related IT
position has some benefits, as most of the information can be found on the Internet (not to
mention this website). Needless to say, you should NOT apply for a job you're not qualified to
perform, but as we all know, this recommendation is hardly ever followed by people who
sometimes falsify their so-called experience and pretend to have knowledge they do not actually
have. Here is where the interviewer's role comes into place, and where true knowledge can be
placed apart from various wannabes or fakers.
Part 1 Networking
Here is part 1 of Daniel Petri's (long and thorough) MCSE/IT Pro/System Administrator job
interview questions sample. Note that this is only a sample of what I might ask a potential
candidate, however I think that I've covered most of the basic and non-basic issues. Answering
this list in a satisfactory way will give you a pretty good chance to impress your potential
interviewer, especially if that person really knows a thing or two about these issues.
This article is in fact targeted at both the interviewer (who needs a pool of valid questions they
can ask) and to the candidate (who wants a pool of sample questions they can prepare for).
Needless to say, both MUST know what they're talking about. Having an interviewer that knows
nothing about the questions they ask should be punishable by law! :)
I did not prepare a passing score chart for my interview questions, as I feel that it is the
responsibility of the interviewer to get the "right" feel from the candidate. Passing with a hard
coded score of 70% does not qualify you, it's the general feeling I get from asking the questions,
looking at the candidate's ability to answer them and the way he or she copes with questions that
they cannot answer.
Also, although I consider these questions as a thorough verbal test for the candidate's knowledge,
in most cases, when he or she passes this phase, I will also ask them to perform an actual handson lab based on my written exercises. I might also include these in a future part of this session.
I have deliberately left out the answers to these questions. I want YOU to research them and take
the time to actually learn these topics, if you don't know them already.
Another question that came up from some readers was whether I was not afraid to disclose these
questions publicly, as some candidates reading this site will quickly copy the questions and use
them to get prepared in advance for the interview. My answer to that is THAT IS EXACTLY
THE POINT! I want the candidate to know what they're here for, and the more prepared they are,
the better their knowledge is. The "cheating" candidate that will only learn the answers by heart
(like "Paper MCSEs" do today) will have no chance of passing my hands-on exam anyway.
Most sub topics start off with relatively easy questions where the candidate is supposed to
demonstrate their knowledge on that topic. A few sentences will be enough to show their (lack
of) knowledge on the topic.
I know some of these questions might make you feel like I am digging in too deep. Well,
although this might be true for some questions, I always proceed with the interview in a dynamic
way, which means I will add more questions on a topic or reduce the level of questions based on
the candidate's ability to answer previous questions. Much like ADAPTIVE TESTING that was
used in some past Microsoft exams. For example, when asking a candidate about DNS he
demonstrated very limited knowledge of the basic meaning of the service and what it was used
for. There was no point in trying to ask him about Round Robin, knowing that since he did not
know what SRV Records were, what was an AD Integrated Zone, what were Zone Transfers and
so on, he will probably not know the answers to the more advanced questions. Oh, and in case
you wanted to ask he was not accepted for that specific job
In part 1 of this article series I will cover Microsoft Networking issues. As always, your
comments and feedbacks are more than welcome. Use the "Feedback" form to send them in. If
you're using this interview question sample in your own environment please drop me a line
telling me how it works for you. Also, placing a link to my site and giving me credit for my work
is expected.
What is an IP address?
What is ARP?
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 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
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 DHCPINFORM?
What is the BOOTP protocol used for, where might you find it in Windows
network infrastructure?
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 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.
Can you have a Microsoft-based network without any WINS server on it? What
are the "considerations" regarding not using WINS?
Name the NetBIOS names you might expect from a Windows 2003 DC that is
registered in WINS.
What is NAT?
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's the difference between Mixed mode and Native mode in AD when
dealing with RRAS?
What types or authentication can a Windows 2003 based RRAS work with?
In This article set is targeted at both the interviewer (who needs a pool of valid questions they
can ask) and to the candidate (who wants a pool of sample questions they can prepare for).
Needless to say, both MUST know what they're talking about. Also, although I consider these
questions as a thorough verbal test for the candidate's knowledge, in most cases, when he or she
passes this phase, I will also ask them to perform an actual hands-on lab based on my written
exercises. I might also include these in a future part of this session.
I have deliberately left out the answers to these questions. I want YOU to research them and take
the time to actually learn these topics, if you don't know them already.
Most sub topics start off with relatively easy questions where the candidate is supposed to
demonstrate their knowledge on that topic. A few sentences will be enough to show their (lack
of) knowledge on the topic.
As always, your comments and feedbacks are more than welcome, you can use the form after the
article. If you're using this interview question sample in your own environment please drop me a
line telling me how it works for you. Also, placing a link to my site and giving me credit for my
work is expected.
What is LDAP?
Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
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?
How would you find all users that have not logged on since last month?
What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens when
each one fails?
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?
What are the GPC and the GPT? Where can I find them?
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?
Part 3 Exchange
This article set is targeted at both the interviewer (who needs a pool of valid questions they can
ask) and to the candidate (who wants a pool of sample questions they can prepare for). Needless
to say, both MUST know what they're talking about. Also, although I consider these questions as
a thorough verbal test for the candidate's knowledge, in most cases, when he or she passes this
phase, I will also ask them to perform an actual hands-on lab based on my written exercises. I
might also include these in a future part of this session.
I have deliberately left out the answers to these questions. I want YOU to research them and take
the time to actually learn these topics, if you don't know them already.
Most sub topics start off with relatively easy questions where the candidate is supposed to
demonstrate their knowledge on that topic. A few sentences will be enough to show their (lack
of) knowledge on the topic.
As always, your comments and feedback are more than welcome. Use the "Comment" form
below to send them in. If you're using this interview question sample in your own environment
please drop me a line telling me how it works for you. Also, placing a link to my site and giving
me credit for my work is expected.
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, 64bit. What do you do next to install Exchange 2003? (you have AD in place)
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?
How can you grant access for an administrator to access all mailboxes on a
specific server?
What other management tools are used to manage and control Exchange
2003? Name the tools you'd use.
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 type of groups would you use when configuring distribution groups in a
multiple domain forest?
What's the difference between Exchange 2003 Std. and Ent. editions when
related to storage options and size?
What are System Public Folders? Where would you find them?
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 virtual servers? When would you use more than one?
What is a Mail Relay? Name a few known mail relay software or hardware
options.
What is the Link State Table? How would you view it?
How would you configure mail transfer security between 2 routing groups?
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 DSACCESS?
What is the "issue" with trying to remove email addresses added by recipient
policies? How would you fix that?
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?
How do you re-install Exchange on a server that has crashed but with AD
intact?
How would you plan for, and perform the offline defrag?
What are the issues with connecting Outlook from a remote computer to your
mailbox?
What is RPC over HTTP? What are the requirements to run it?
What are the benefits and "issues" when using cached mode? How would you
tackle those issues?
What are the considerations for obtaining a digital certificate for SSL on
Exchange?
What are the different clustering options in Exchange 2003? Which one would
you choose and why.
Part 4 PC Technician
This article set is targeted at both the interviewer (who needs a pool of valid questions they can
ask) and the candidate (who wants a pool of sample questions they can prepare for). Needless to
say, both MUST know what they're talking about. Also, although I consider these questions as a
thorough verbal test for the candidate's knowledge, in most cases, when he or she passes this
phase, I will also ask them to perform an actual hands-on lab based on my written exercises. As I
said before, I might also include these in a future parts of this series.
I wish to thank Shachaf Cohen of John Bryce Training in Israel who has helped me to compile a
large part of this article's questions.
I have deliberately left out the answers to these questions. I want YOU to research them and take
the time to actually learn these topics, if you don't know them already.
Most sub topics start off with relatively easy questions where the candidate is supposed to
demonstrate their knowledge on that topic. A few sentences will be enough to show their (lack
of) knowledge on the topic.
As always, your comments and feedback are more than welcome. Use the "Comment" form
below to send them in. If you're using this interview question sample in your own environment
please drop me a line telling me how it works for you. Also, placing a link to my site and giving
me credit for my work is expected.
PC Hardware
What is FSB?
What is SMP?
What is the difference between Pentium 4 and Pentium Core 2 Duo? Explain
the new technology.
When should you change your bus-powered USB hub to a self-powered USB
hub?
What is a UPS?
Can you configure two hard disks to use the Master setting on the same PC?
What is SAS?
How would you create an answer file for Windows XP? How would you create
one for Windows Vista?
What is Sysprep?
How can you edit the Registry? Name at least 3 ways of doing that.
What should you do if you receive a message stating: "The following file is
missing or corrupt: 'WINDOWS'SYSTEM32'CONFIG'SYSTEM"?
When should you use each of the fallowing tools: System Restore, LKGC and
Recovery Console?
How can you reset user's passwords if you don't know his current password?
What's the difference between changing a user's password and resetting it?
You want to grant a user the right to perform backups should you add him
to the administrators group?
What is MMC?
What is gpedit.msc?
How would you use the MMC to manage other servers on your network?
You set a local policy for your Stand-alone XP Professional would the local
policy effects the administrators group?
Which permission will you grant a user for a folder he need to be able to
create and delete files in, if you do not want him to be able to change
permissions for the folder?
What is the difference between clearing the "allow" permission and checking
the "deny"?
Networking
What is a NIC?
What is CSMA/CD?
What is multicast?
What is Broadcast?
Describe some of the settings that are added by TCP and by UDP to the
packet's header.
What will happen if you leave the default gateway information empty while
manually configuring TCP/IP?
What will happen if you execute the following command: "arp d *"?
What is ICMP?
When would you use the ping command with the "-t" switch?
What command-line tool would help you discover for which port numbers
your computer is listening?
What would you type in at a command prompt to view the IP settings for the
computer that you are sitting at?
What is CIDR?
How can you access a shared folder from a remote computer? Name at least
3 methods.