1. Do you know who develop the OSI modal?

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model to describe how information is transferred from one machine to another.

2. Tell us what is Micro segmentation?

Micro segmentation is a term used with switches when each networking device has its own dedicated port on a switch.

3. Do you know what is TIA/EIA?

A cooperative trade association responsible for the "Commercial Building Telecommunication Cabling Standard," also known as EIA/TIA 568, which specifies how network cables should be installed in a commercial site.

4. Explain what is ARP?

ARP, or Address Resolution Protocol can be likened to DNS for MAC Addresses. Standard DNS allows for the mapping of human-friendly URLs to IP addresses, while ARP allows for the mapping of IP addresses to MAC addresses. In this way it lets systems go from a regular domain name down to the actual piece of hardware it resides upon.

5. Explain why would you create logon scripts?

Logon scripts are, surprisingly enough, scripts that run at logon time. These are used most times to allow for the continued access to share and device mapping as well as forcing updates and configuration changes. In this way, it allows for one-step modifications if servers get changed, shares get renamed, or printers get switched out for example.

6. Explain what is Two-Factor Authentication?

The three basic ways to authenticate someone are: something they know (password), something they have (token), and something they are (biometrics). Two-factor authentication is a combination of two of these methods, oftentimes using a password and token setup, although in some cases this can be a PIN and thumbprint.

7. What is EFS?

The Encrypted File System, Microsoft's built-in file encryption utility has been around for quite some time. Files that have been encrypted in such a way can appear in Windows Explorer with a green tint as opposed to the black of normal files or blue for NTFS compressed files. Files that have been encrypted are tied to the specific user, and it can be difficult to decrypt the file without the user's assistance. On top of this, if the user loses their password it can become impossible to decrypt the files as the decryption process is tied to the user's login and password. EFS can only occur on NTFS formatted partitions, and while it is capable of encrypting entire drives it is most often reserved to individual files and folders. For larger purposes, Bitlocker is a better alternative.

8. Explain what is Crosstalk?

A type of signal interference caused by signals transmitted on one pair of wires bleeding over into the other pairs. Crosstalk can cause network signals to degrade, eventually rendering them unviable.

9. Explain what is Boot to LAN?

Boot to LAN is most often used when you are doing a fresh install on a system. What you would do is setup a network-based installer capable of network-booting via PXE. Boot to LAN enables this by allowing a pre-boot environment to look for a DHCP server and connect to the broadcasting network installation server. Environments that have very large numbers of systems more often than not have the capability of pushing out images via the network. This reduces the amount of hands-on time that is required on each system, and keeps the installs more consistent.

10. Tell me what are sticky ports?

Sticky ports are one of the network admin's best friends and worst headaches. They allow you to set up your network so that each port on a switch only permits one (or a number that you specify) computer to connect on that port by locking it to a particular MAC address. If any other computer plugs into that port, the port shuts down and you receive a call that they can't connect anymore. If you were the one that originally ran all the network connections then this isn't a big issue, and likewise if it is a predictable pattern then it also isn't an issue. However if you're working in a hand-me-down network where chaos is the norm then you might end up spending a while toning out exactly what they are connecting to.

Download Interview PDF