Top Hardware Networking interview questions and answers are below

Questions
What are the two types of transmission technology available?
:1
Answers :
(i) Broadcast and (ii) point-to-point
1
   
Questions
What is subnet?
:2
Answers : A generic term for section of a large networks usually separated by a bridge or
2 router.
   
Questions
Difference between the communication and transmission.
:3
Answers : Transmission is a physical movement of information and concern issues like bit
3 polarity, synchronisation, clock etc. Communication means the meaning full
exchange of information between two communication media.
   
Questions
What are the possible ways of data exchange?
:4
Answers :
(i) Simplex (ii) Half-duplex (iii) Full-duplex. .
4
   
Questions
What is SAP?
:5
Answers : Series of interface points that allow other computers to communicate with the other
5 layers of network protocol stack.
   
Questions
What do you meant by "triple X" in Networks?
:6
Answers : The function of PAD (Packet Assembler Disassembler) is described in a document
6 known as X.3. The standard protocol has been defined between the terminal and
the PAD, called X.28; another standard protocol exists between hte PAD and the
network, called X.29. Together, these three recommendations are often called
"triple X"
   
Questions
What is frame relay, in which layer it comes?
:7
Answers :
Frame relay is a packet switching technology. It will operate in the data link layer.
7
   
Questions
What is terminal emulation, in which layer it comes?
:8
Answers :
Telnet is also called as terminal emulation. It belongs to application layer.
8
   
Questions
What is Beaconing?
:9
Answers : The process that allows a network to self-repair networks problems. The stations on
9 the network notify the other stations on the ring when they are not receiving the
transmissions. Beaconing is used in Token ring and FDDI networks.
   
Questions
What is redirector?
: 10
Answers : Redirector is software that intercepts file or prints I/O requests and translates them
10 into network requests. This comes under presentation layer.
   
Questions
What is NETBIOS and NETBEUI?
: 11
Answers : NETBIOS is a programming interface that allows I/O requests to be sent to and
11 received from a remote computer and it hides the networking hardware from
applications. NETBEUI is NetBIOS extended user interface. A transport protocol
designed by microsoft and IBM for the use on small subnets.
   
Questions
What is RAID?
: 12
Answers :
A method for providing fault tolerance by using multiple hard disk drives.
12
   
Questions
What is passive topology?
: 13
Answers : When the computers on the network simply listen and receive the signal, they are
13 referred to as passive because they don’t amplify the signal in any way. Example
for passive topology - linear bus.
   
Questions
What is Brouter?
: 14
Answers : Hybrid devices that combine the features of both bridges and routers.
14
No. minimum spanning tree of a graph give the shortest distance between any 2
specified node Minimal spanning tree assures that the total weight of the tree is
kept at its minimum. But it doesn’t mean that the distance between any two nodes
involved in the minimum-spanning tree is minimum.
   
Questions
What is cladding?
: 15
Answers :
A layer of a glass surrounding the center fiber of glass inside a fiber-optic cable.
15
   
Questions
What is point-to-point protocol ?
: 16
Answers : A communications protocol used to connect computers to remote networking
16 services including Internet service providers.
   
Questions
How Gateway is different from Routers?
: 17
Answers : A gateway operates at the upper levels of the OSI model and translates information
17 between two completely different network architectures or data formats
   
Questions
What is attenuation?
: 18
Answers :
The degeneration of a signal over distance on a network cable is called attenuation.
18
   
Questions What is MAC address?
: 19
Answers : The address for a device as it is identified at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer
19 in the network architecture. MAC address is usually stored in ROM on the network
adapter card and is unique.
   
Questions
Difference between bit rate and baud rate.
: 20
Answers : Bit rate is the number of bits transmitted during one second whereas baud rate
20 refers to the number of signal units per second that are required to represent those
bits. baud rate = bit rate / N where N is no-of-bits represented by each signal shift.
   
Questions
What are the types of Transmission media?
: 21
Answers : Signals are usually transmitted over some transmission media that are broadly
21 classified in to two categories.
a) Guided Media: These are those that provide a conduit from one device to
another that include twisted-pair, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable. A signal
traveling along any of these media is directed and is contained by the physical
limits of the medium. Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic that accept and
transport signals in the form of electrical current. Optical fiber is a glass or plastic
cable that accepts and transports signals in the form of light.
b) Unguided Media:
This is the wireless media that transport electromagnetic waves without using a
physical conductor. Signals are broadcast either through air. This is done through
radio communication, satellite communication and cellular telephony.

What is Symmetric Cryptosystems and Asymmetric Cryptosystems? 

Symmetric Cryptosystems: The same key is used for both encryption and decryption. The key need to be kept as
private key, hence the SC can also be called as private key cryptography. The secure distribution of keys is the major
challenge that is associated with symmetric key cryptosystems. Data Encryption Standard and Advanced Encryption
Standards are the algorithms which uses common cryptosystems.

The reliability of security of exchange is based on the security of the symmetric key. A new cipher text can be created
by an attacker’s interpretation which uses the symmetric key after reading the cipher text.

Asymmetric Cryptosystems: Both private key and public key are used in Asymmetric cryptosystems. One key is
used for data encryption and another for data decryption. Asymmetric cryptography is used in solving the challenge of
secure distribution of the secret keys. Asymmetric cryptography solves the challenge of secure distribution of secret
keys. Authentication is another feature of Asymmetric Cryptosystems. 

Disadvantages of Symmetric Cryptosystems. 

The following are the disadvantages of Symmetric Cryptosystems:

- Key transportation is one disadvantage of Symmetric Cryptosystems. From the sending system to the receiving
system the secret key is to be transmitted before the actual message transmission. Electronic communication, in
every means is insecure as it is not guarantee that no tapping communication channels can be tapped. Personal
exchanging of key exchange is the only source.

- repudiate digital signatures can not be provided 

Disadvantages of Asymmetric Cryptosystems. 

The following are the disadvantages of Asymmetric Cryptosystems:

-The encryption speed is the disadvantage of Asymmetric Cryptosystems. Popular secret-key encryption methods are
available which are significantly faster than public-key encryption

- The sizes of keys must be larger than symmetric cryptosystems for the purpose of achieving the protection of the
same level. 

Explain the concept of PKI, Public Key Infrastructure. 

Public Key Infrastructure: A set of hardware, software, people, policies and procedures comprises the Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates are revoked. The arrangement of public key binding with respective of
identification of users by means of a Certificate Authority , is done in PKI. Every certificate authority should have a
unique user identity. The registration and issuance process that is depending on the level of assurance is involved in
binding, which may be carried out be software at a CA. The binding assurance portrayed by PKI is known as
Registration Authority. The public key certificates issued by the CA are comprised unforgettable user identity, public
key and their binding, validity conditions and other attributes.  

Explain the different components of PKI - PKI Client, Certification authority (CA), Registration
authority, Certificates, Certification distribution systems. 

PKI Client: PKI Client is software which enables the USB of eToken operation and implementation of eToken
solutions which are PKI based. Certificate-based strong two-factor authentication, encryption and digital signing are
included in eToken solution. It is secure, portable and secure by using PKI client.

Certificate Authority: CA is an entity used for the purpose of issuing digital certificates which are used by the other
parties. Many public key infrastructure schemes are used in characterizing CAs. The matching private key is available
publicly. This key is kept under secret by the end user who is the generator of the key pair.

Registration Authority: A registration Authority verifies the requests of users for a digital certificates and
communicates to the certificate authority to issue the certificate. RA is a part of PKI.

Certificates: Certificates are utilized for authentication of network access as strong security for authentication is
provided by them for users and computers. Less secure password-based authentication methods are eliminated by
the certificates. 

Explain the concepts of digital certificates. 

A digital certificate is a credential which validates the certificate owner’s identity. The information provided by the
digital certificate is known as ‘the subject distinguished name’. Certificate Authority issues the digital certificates to the
users or the organizations. The trust in the certificate as a valid credential is provided as the foundation by the
Certificate Authority.

What is Tunneling? 

A way in which data is transmitted between networks in a secured manner. The complete data is segmented into
packets and then transmitted through the tunnel. Each packet passed through tunnel is encrypted with additional
layer with tunneling encryption and is used for the purpose of routing the data packets to the right direction. The
encapsulation is reverted for decryption at the receiving node.

What is VPN Tunneling Packets? 

VPN Tunneling Packets are packets to transmit over VPN in a specific VPN protocol format. These packets are
encapsulated within some other base or carrier protocol followed by transmission between VPN client and VPN
server. Finally, at the receiving side, de-encapsulation takes place.
Explain the concept of Voluntary and Compulsory Tunnels. 

Voluntary Tunnel: The user creates a voluntary tunnel model. This model is typically uses a L2TP enabled client. An
L2TP packet is sent by user to the Internet Service Provider which will in turn forward them on to LNS. The support of
L2TP support is not needed by ISP. The L2TP tunnel initiator resides on the same system effectively playing as a
remote client.

Compulsory Tunnel: The tunnel creation in compulsory tunnel, no action from the user and without allowing the user
any choice is performed. Internet service provider access concentrator receives a point-to-point protocol packets from
the user. The encapsulation of packets in L2TP and sending them through a tunnel to the L2TP network server is
performed by the ISP. It is mandatory that the ISP is L2TP-capable. 

What are Static and Dynamic Tunnels? 

Static Tunnel: The manually created tunnels are called Static Tunnels. Static tunnels creation is the only choice
when global discovery of hosts and tunnel partners are disabled by enhancing Xpress tunnels into manually created
tunnels. The priority is higher when compared with static tunnel.

Dynamic Tunnel: The tunnels that are auto-discovered are known as dynamic tunnels. Dynamic tunnels are created
quickly and automatically after the Packet Shaper is reset. At the time of preventing automatic tunnel, dynamic
tunnels are allowed to setup the situation. 

What is PPP Protocol? 

Point-to-Point Protocol is known as data link protocol. This protocol is most commonly for establishment of direct
connection among network nodes, usually between 2 nodes. Authentication of connection, privacy for transmission
encryption and compression are provided by Point-to-Point Protocol. It has three fields – Protocol field, to indicate the
type of payload packet. Information field contains the PPP payload, and a Padding field, if at all a particular protocol
can be padded to distinguish information from padding. 

Explain PPP Packet Format. 

The following are the fields in the format of PPP packet. The fields transmission is from left to right.

Code Field: The code field is one octet, which identifies the kind of LCP packet. A code-reject packet is transmitted,
when a packet is received with an unknown code field. In the most recent Assigned Numbers RFC, the LCP code
field’s up-to-date field values are specified.

Identifier: The identifier field supports as an aid for matching requests and responses. When an invalid identifier field
is available in a received packet, the packet discarding occurs without affecting the automation silently.

Length: It has two octets which indicate the length of the LCP packet, including the Code, Identifier, and Data fields.
The length is not supposed to exceed the MRU of the specified link. On reception, the octets outside the range of the
Length field are treated as padding and are ignored.

Data: It has zero or more octets. This was indicated by the Length field. The Code field identifies the format of Data
field. 

Explain Point-To-Point Tunneling Protocol, PPTP. 

PPTP is one of the methods to implement Virtual Private Networks. Confidentiality or encryption does not provided by
PPTP. The reliability of PPTP is being tunneled for the purpose of providing privacy. PPTP works by sending Point-
to-Point Protocol to the peer with the Generic Encapsulation protocol. Because of its easy way of configuration, it is
most popular protocol used in VPNs. It was the first protocol for VPNs and was supported by Dial-up network of
Microsoft. 
What is GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) in PPTP? 

Generic Routing Encapsulation is a protocol for Point-to-Point Protocol. The encapsulation of a variety of network
layer protocol packet types inside IP tunnels is done by GRE. This is done by creating virtual point-to-point link to
routers which are pointed over an IP internetwork. It is completely stateless protocol based. Soon after it is
configured, the GRE tunnel interface comes up and stays up until a valid tunnel resource address or interface is up. 

What is CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication protocol)? 

Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol authenticates to an authenticating entity of a user or network. The

entity can be an Internet access provider. CHAP is used by Point-to-Point Protocol that servers for the validation of
identifying of remote clients. The identity of the client is verified by CHAP periodically with the use of a three-way
handshake. This situation occurs when an initial link is established and maybe repeated after at any time. The shared
secret is the base for verification. CHAP protection to play back attack by the peer. This is done by using an
incrementally changing identifier and of a variable challenge-value. Both client and server need to know about the
plain text of secret which uses CHAP. 

What is PAP (Password Authentication Protocol)? 

Password Authentication Protocol is one of the simple authentication protocols which are used for the purpose of
authenticating a user to a network access server. This is used by Internet service providers. Point-to-Point Protocol
uses PAP. Validating a user is the process of authenticating a user to access the server resources. The remote
servers of network operating system remote servers support PAP. Unencrypted ASCII passwords are transmitted by
Password Authentication Protocol over a network and are treated as insecure. In case of non-supporting a stronger
authentication protocol, like CHAP, the PAP is used for the purpose of authentication.  

What is Authentication header (AH) protocol? 

Data origin authentication, data integrity and replay protection are provided by the Authentication Header protocol.
Data confidentiality is not provided by Authentication Header. Data integrity with checksum which is a message
authentication code is ensured by AH protocol. A secrete shared key is included by AH protocol for the purpose of
ensuring data origin authentication. AH protocol uses a sequence number field for ensuring replays protection, within
the header of AH protocol. 

What is ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload)? 

Encapsulating Security Payload is a protocol for the inter security architecture. It is the key protocol, which is targeted
to provide a mixed service of security in IPv4 and IPv6. The ESP seeks for providing confidentiality and integrity by
implementing protecting data using encryption and places this data in the portion that is assigned for data of IP ESP.
The same mechanism can be used based on the requirements of security of the user. The process can be utilized for
encrypting either a transport-layer segment or an entire IP datagram. The protected data encapsulation is used for
providing necessary confidentiality for the entire original datagram. 

What is NetBIOS Protocol? 

NetBIOS protocol utilizes the 802.2 type 1 mode for the purpose of providing the NetBIOS/NetBEUI name service
and also the datagram service. It uses 802.2 type 2 modes for the purpose of providing the NetBIOS/NetBEUI
session service. Broadcast messages are used widely using NBProtocol which is accountable for its reputation as a
chatty interface.

NB Protocol is unroutable. Only for the purpose of communication with devices in the same broadcast domain, NB
protocol is used. It can be used with network segments connected with each other through bridges. 
Explain the use of IGMP Protocol. 

The transmission of datagram to a host group is done in IP multicasting by setting zero or more hosts that are
identified by a single IP destination address. The IP multicasting needs the implementation of the Internet Group
Management Protocol for allowing a host for creating, joining, and leaving host groups as well as send IP datagram to
the host groups. 

What is Multicasting? Explain the different types of hosts in Multicasting. 

Multicasting is a technology for the purpose of delivering information to a destinations group simultaneously.
Multicasting uses efficient strategies for delivering the messages in the network over each link only once.  

What are Ping and Tracert? 

Ping: Ping is used for verification of IP-Level connectivity. The following are the processes for using ping:

1. To ping the loopback address type ping 127.0.01

2. To ping the IP address of a local computer system to verify whether it is correctly verified or not – ping ipaddress of
local host. Ex: c:\>pint 129.29.3.12
3. To ping the IP address of the gateway that is default for verifying the functionality of the gate way = ping ipaddress
of default gateway.

Tracert: A route-tracing utility that is used for determining the path of a network from source to destination. The
determination of the path that a packet takes on the network tracert is used.  

Explain how Tracert works. 

An ICMP echo packet to the named host is sent by Tracert. It sends packet with a TTL of 1, then TTL of 2 and so on.
Routers send back the message “TTL expired in transit” , after sending the packets by Tracert, until the destination
host computer system is reached. Later, it responds with the standard ICMP “echo reply” packet

Explain the use of RTP and RTCP protocols (Real-Time Transfer Control Protocols). 

Real-time Transport Protocol is a standardized packet format. It is used for delivering audio and video over internet.
RTP was developed by Audio-Video Transport Working Group of the IETF. The communication and entertainment
systems are potential in using RTP , which involves streaming media applications and web based push to talk
features. Media streams are carried by H.323,MGCP, Megaco signaling protocols, for performing the streams to carry
over network.

Real-time Transfer Control Protocol is used along with RTP. RTP carries audio and video, or out of band signaling,
RTCP is utilized for monitoring transmission statistics and quality of service information. With both the protocols
conjunction, RTP is originated and received on port numbers that are even, while RTCP uses the port numbers that
are next higher odd port numbers. 

Explain the concepts of RTP Multiplexing. 

RTP multiplexing is a concept used for carrying multiple voice streams between IP telephony gateways, in one RTP
packet.  

What is RSVP? How it works? 

RSVP allocates resources for signaling messages which traverse the network. RSVP is receiver-initiated. In the
scenarios of multicast, the PATH message is sent out by application server to multiple receiving computers, so that
network bandwidth is conserved. The multiple messages received from receivers are merged by RSVP messages by
using the values requested which are maximum. This process takes place when the multicast traffic flows. RSVP is a
protocol that is soft-state. It means the reservation must be refreshed periodically or it will expire. The reservation
information is called as state. The state is cached in every hop tasked by managing resources. Reservations time out
and are dropped, in the situation where the refresh messages are not received. 

What is TCP/IP protocol? 

The basic communication protocol for internet is TCP/IP. It is also being used as communication protocol in a private
network. One copy of TCP/IP program is provided to the computer system which is set up to access internet directly.  

Explain the architecture of TCP/IP protocol. - Application Layer, Transport and Internet Layer and
Network Interface Layer. 

TCP/IP protocol maps four layers namely Application Layer, Transport and Internet Layer and Network Interface
Layer.

Application Layer:
Accessibility of other services accessibility by applications is provided by the application layer. Protocol definitions
that are used by application for exchanging data is also done by application layer. HTTP, FTP, SMTP, Telnet are
some of the application layer protocols for exchanging information. Domain Name System, Routing Information
Protocol, Simple Network Management Protocols are used for facilitating the use and management of TCP/IP
networks.

Transport Layer:
Session and datagram communications services are provided by transport layer to the application layer. The
protocols used for data transmission are TCP and UDP. TCP provides a reliable one-to-one communication service.
Establishing TCP connection, sequencing and acknowledgement of sent packets are the responsibilities of TCP.
UDP provides one-to-one, one-to-many, connectionless, unreliable communication services. UDP is recommended
when the amount of data is small and fit into single packet.

The responsibilities of the OSI Transport layer and some of the responsibilities of OSI session layer are
encompassed in the Transport layer.

Internet Layer
The responsibility of addressing, packaging, and routing functions are held by the Internet Layer. The protocols for
this layer are IP, ARP, ICMP, and IGMP.

IP addressing, routing and fragmentation and assembling of packets are the responsibilities of IP
protocol.Resolution of the Internet layer address to the network interface layer is the responsibility of ARP. Providing
diagnostic functions and reporting errors due to the unsuccessful delivery of IP packets is dealt by ICMP. The
management of IP multicast groups is the responsibility of IGMP.

Network Interface Layer

Placing TCP/IP packets on the medium of network and receiving TCP/IP packets off the network medium is the
responsibility of Network Interface Layer. It was designed as independent of network access method, frame format,
and medium. LAN technologies which use Ethernet and Token ring and WAN technologies such as x.25 are
connected among them using Network Interface Layer. 

Explain TCP header in detail. 

TCP headers should perform various tasks. The tasks are performed by various ports as follows:

Source Port: On the sending system, a process is being bounded by the source port. A hash between the IP
addresses and destination and source ports is used for uniqueness for binding single application or program.
Destination Port: Destination port was directly bounded to a process at the receiving system.

Sequence Number: A number on every packet of TCP which facilitates the TCP stream properly sequenced. The
port can then return an acknowledgement after the packet was properly received.

Acknowledge Number: This number is used when a packet at the host is received.

Data offset: The distance of the TCP header and the location of data part of the packet is indicated by data offset.

Reserved bit: The reserved bits are reserved for future usage.

CWR bit: An added bit to RFC 3268 which is used by ECN. CWR bit is used for sending data to inform the receiving
part when the congestion window reduced.

ECE bit: An added bit to RFC 3268 which is used by ECN. TCP/IP stack uses this bit on the receiver host for sending
the host that is has received a CE packet.

URG bit: To determine the usage of Urgent Pointer Field, this bit is used. 1 is set as to use Urgent pointer and 0 is
set not to use Urgent pointer.

ACK bit: A packet is set by this bit that indicates the reply to another packet that data is received.

PSH bit: To communicate any intermediate hosts for sending data on to the actual user.

RST bit: To indicate to the other end for tearing down the TCP connection, Reset bit is used.

SYN bit: When the connection is initially established, SYN is used. The initial packet and the reply SYN are the two
instances of the connection.

FIN bit: The host sends FIN bit which indicates that no more data is left for sending. The other end will respond a FIN
when there is no data left.

Window bit: Window bit information is used by the host for informing the sender the volume of data the receiver
permits a given point of time.

Checksum bit: It is bit for performing checksum on the whole TCP header. It is a one’s complement of the one’s
complement sum of every 16 bit word available in the header. The checksum field is set to zero.

Urgent Pointer bit: A pointer bit that point to the end of the data which is considered as urgent.

Options bit: A variable length field which contains optional headers which may be used. It contains an initial field –
the length of options field, second field - informs which options are used.

Padding bit: Until the header ends at a 32-bit boundary, the padding of TCP header takes place. The padding
always consists of only zeros to ensure the data part of the packet is not lost. 

Explain the concept of CDMA. 

CDMA is communication technique which is based on multiple-access scheme. The signal spreads to a wide
bandwidth with using unique code which reduces interference and enhances system processing. Time division or
frequency for multiple accesses is not required by CDMA. This results in improving the capacity of the communication
system. 
Describe the concept of DHCP. 

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is one of the communication protocol which lets the network administrators
manage and assignment of internet protocol addresses of an enterprise automatically. The IP addresses are
assigned uniquely for a specific computer when connected to the internet. In the absence of DHCP, the ip addresses
are to be entered manually when the computer system moves to a new location on the network.  

xplain the difference between Domain and Workgroup. 

In a workgroup:
-All computer systems are peers and no computer can not control another computer
-Every computer sets user accounts. To make use of any system, one must have an account on that computer.
-The numbers of computer systems are limited to ten or twenty.
-Every computer must be part of the same LAN or subnet.

In a domain:
-There will be one or computers are the servers. The security and permissions are controlled by network
administrators.
-A user with an account on the domain can log onto any computer system, without having the account on that
computer.
-The number of computer systems can be hundreds or thousands of computers.
-The computers can be connected to different local networks. 

Explain the difference between baseband and broadband. 

Baseband:
Digital signals are used
Frequency division multiplexing is not possible
Baseband is bi-directional transmission
Short distance signal travelling
Entire bandwidth of the cable is consumed by a single signal in a baseband transmission.

Broadband:
Analog signals are used
Transmission of data is unidirectional
Signal travelling distance is long
Frequency division multiplexing is possible
The signals are sent on multiple frequencies and allow all the multiple signals are sent simultaneously in broadband
transmission

What is RAID? 

The core concept of Redundant Array of Independent Disks is two or more drives are combined together for
improvement of performance and fault tolerance. Improved reliability and large data volumes are offered by
combining two or more drives. Data spreads across many disks by RAID and operating system treats this array as a
single disk

Difference between terminal services and remote desktop. 

Terminal service is a client-server environment. In this environment, one computer acts as a server which receives
requests from the clients. The servers can serve in two modes – Application Server mode and Remote Administration
mode. The applications on the server are accessed by the former and the later is utilized for remote administration.

Remote desktop simulates the terminal services of Remote Administration Mode. The difference is there is no client-
server environment. Remote desktop is simply used for the purpose of sharing one computer’s desktop in a network. 
Explain the problems associated with operating a switched LAN. 

The following are the problems in brief in a switched LAN.

Packet sniffing – the ports need to be picked by one and replicate them for monitoring port. All the interfaces and all
packets are not segregates actively in the LAN. Replication of packets is seriously monitors ports which causes
inactive watch on all ports without serious switch resource degradation

How do we monitor data in Sockets? 

Socket activities are monitored by IP and Socket Monitor tool. Socket monitor is designed for programming using IP
and Sockets. Socket monitor persists and display the socket API calls which are made by the application, like,
accept, connect etc. The socket will remain open to handle the data streamlined to and from terminals. 

Difference between MUTEX and Semaphore. 

Mutex:
A mutex object allows only one thread among the threads concurrently executed, into a controlled section in a
serialized fashion, forcing other threads to wait until the exiting of the first thread from that section.

Semaphore:
The restriction of the number of simultaneous users of a shared resource is performed by a semaphore. Semaphore
allows threads to request to the resource and signals the completion of using resources to threads.

Explain Priority Inversion. 

Priority inversion is the scenario in scheduling where a task holds shared resources which have lower priority for the
higher priority resource, which results in high priority task to be blocked until the lower priority task has released the
resources. This results in effectively inverting the relative priorities of the two tasks.

In case, some other task with medium priority, which does not depend on the shared resource, attempts for running in
the interim, that task take the precedence over both the lower priority task and the high priority task. Priority inversion
causes the reduction of perceived performance of the system. 

Explain MSMQ. 

Microsoft Message Queue is a protocol for messaging. Applications are allowed for running on disparate servers for
communicating in a fail-safe manner. A queue is referred as a temporary storage location. From this location
messages are sent based on certain conditions permission. The process enables the communication across
heterogeneous networks and among computers in which they are not always being connected. MSMQ is available to
developers who works on Microsoft platforms and commonly used in enterprise software, which built with Visual
Studio. Windows Communication Foundation framework uses MSMQ. Under WCF, MSMQ provides secure, reliable
transport with a unified programming model which is compatible with other communication standards. 

What are Passive and Active FTPs? 

Active FTP: A Client connects from a random unprivileged port to the FTP server port 21, using Active FTP. Later
the client listens to the port N+1 and sends the FTP command port N+1 to the FTP server. Then the server connects
back to the client’s specified data port from its local data port, 20.

Passive FTP: The client initiates the connections to the server and solving the problem of firewalls filtering the
incoming data port connection to the client from the server is done in passive FTP mode. The client opens two
random unprivileged ports locally on opening an FTP connection. The server is contacted on the first port, 21. Instead
issuing a PORT command and allowing the server for connecting back to its data port, the command PASV is issued
by the client. The server opens a random unprivileged port and sends the PORT P command back to the client. The
connection from port N+1 to port P on server to transfer data is initiated by the client.  

What is Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)? 

Maximum Transmission Unit is the size of a layer of communication protocols of the largest protocol data unit which it
can pass onwards. In association with a communications interface such as NIC, serial port etc., MTU parameters
usually appears. The fixation of MTU can be done by standards like Ethernet or decided at the time of connection
(usually in the case of point-to-point serial links). Greater efficiency is brought by higher MTU as more user data is
carried by each packet while protocol overheads remain fixed. Bulk protocol throughput improvement is referred as
high efficiency. However, large packets can occupy a link that is slow for some time, which causes greater delays for
the following packets and increases lag and minimum latency. 

What is the Ethernet technology? 

Ethernet is a LAN architecture, which was developed by Xerox Corporation in cooperation with DEC and Intel. Bus or
star topology is used by Ethernet and supports 10 MBPS data transfer rate. Ethernet specification is the basis for the
IEEE 802.3 standard, which specifies physical and software layers. CSMA/CD access method is used by Ethernet for
handling simultaneous demands. Ethernet is a popular LAN standard most widely implemented.

A new version by name 100Base-T or Fast Ethernet will support data transfer rates of 100MBPS. Another newest
version, Gigabit Ethernet supports 1 GBPS data transfer rate. 

What is Ethernet Access Scheme? 

Ethernet Access Scheme is called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detect (CSMA/CD). The presence of
wave in the network is determined by accessing Ethernet by multiple systems using CSMA. CSMA listens for a
message is being transmitted when the interface of has a packet to transmit. When no transmission is sensed,
transmission is started by the host. Each transmission is limited in duration as there is maximum packet size.

Multiple systems can access Ethernet simultaneously and each machine determines whether the network is idle by
sensing whether the wave is present

What is the token ring technology? 

Token ring is a LAN technology that resides at the Data Link Layer of the OSI model. Special three-byte frame is
used to travels around the ring. The token ring frames travel around the loop completely. Token Ring technology was
developed by IBM. Token Ring and IEEE 802.5 networks are compatible, even though minor differences existed in
specifications. Token Ring network specifies a star, with all end stations attached to a device called a multi station
access unit. IEEE 802.5 virtually implements the base as a star topology. 

What is the network segmentation? What is Collision Domain? 

Network segment is a portion in a computer network where communication among every device is done using the
same physical layer. The networking segmentation can be either logical or physical.

A collision domain is a logical network segment. In this segment, data packets can collide to each other. Ethernet is
the common protocol used when referring to a collision domain. Collision segment is a group of Ethernet devices in
LAN, which runs on CSMA/CD, and is connected through repeaters for the purpose of competing network access. As
data can be transmitted through one device in the same collision domain, the other devices simply listens in the
network in order to avoid data collisions. Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CDMA/CD) is an efficient
way for avoiding network collisions. 
Explain the functionality of a hub, a bridge and switch. 

Hub: Hub is a device in a network, Data packet from one port is sent to all other ports in a network. The data packet
passes through a hub. Hub transmits the data packet to the destination. Hubs are typically used on small networks
where the data transmission is never high.

Bridge: A bridge is similar to hub but one step ahead. It looks for the destination of the packet before transmission of
data. A bridge has only one incoming and one outgoing port. A bridge is used to decide if the message should
continue. Bridges are typically used for separating parts of the network which need not communicate regularly, but
obviously needs to be connected.

Switch: A switch is similar to bridge but one step ahead. A packet is determined to which computer the packet is
sent. Efficiency is increased in this way of data packet transmission only to the destined computers but not all. Large
networks use switches to connect computers within in the same subnet

Explain the functionality of a Router. 

A packet is like a device or in some cases, a software. A router determines the next network point to which the data
packet should be sent towards its destination. Router is connected to at least 2 networks and determines the way for
sending every information packet based on its current understanding of the network state. A router is treated as part
of a network switch. The router bounces the packet back, if the packet is going to the LAN. Otherwise, the packet will
be toured based on the routing table. It is usually means out to the internet in a home network.

Explain the functionality of a Gateway. 

- A set of data rates are advertised by any gateway server. Some streams can be blocked by a gateway server from
reaching the SP, in case the SP is opted for this service.
- The gateway is associated with a multicast (non-gateway) channel. The gateway needs to listen to the non-gateway
channel, and any other SP that is currently serviced by it.
- A pass-through service is offered by the gateway server in the case of non-crucial data rate control, and a tunnel is
established by it and provides the forwarding service. 

What is a MAC address? 

A Media Access Control address is a unique identifier that is assigned to the network adapters or NICs by the
manufacturers for the purpose of identification and used in the Media Access Control protocol sub layer. It is a 12
digit hexadecimal number. A MAC address usually encodes the registered identification of the manufacturer, if the
address is assigned by the manufacturer. It some times also called as Ethernet Hardware Address / physical
address/ adapter address

Explain Spanning-Tree protocols. 

Spanning Trees are a standard technique implemented in LAN connections. On a mesh topology, a set of spanning
tree algorithms were developed for prevention of redundant transmission of data along intermediate hops between a
source and a destination host. In the absence of spanning trees, a mesh network is flooded and rendered unusable
by messages by circulating within a loop that is infinite, between hosts. An algorithm used in transparent bridges
which determines the best path from source to destination to avoid bridge loops.

At the time of STP initialization in a network, its first action is to utilize the Spanning Tree Algorithm for selection of a
root bridge and a root port. The root bridge is the ne which has lowest-value bridge identifier. All the switches on the
network use Bridge Protocol Data Units to broadcast the bridge IDs to the other switches in that network. Soon after
selection of the root bridge, determination of the root ports on all other bridges is done.
ATM technology vs. Ethernet technology. 

Ethernet technology:

- Delivers high bandwidth to high-speed server connections.

- Familiar technology and relatively inexpensive
- The traffic to deliver an effective Class of service cannot be prioritized
- It limits jitter to deliver Quality of Service can not be delivered

ATM technology:

- Designed for the purpose of integrating telephony, data, voice and video traffic on a single network for both LANs
and WANs
- ATM technology accommodates a variety of different bit rates.
- Real-time traffic is supported by limiting jitter and latency across the networks.
- End-to-End congestion and flow control are provided by using indictors which are able to inform a transmitting
station for slowing down its transmission due to a congested path.
- It is high cost compared to Ethernet. 

What is the use of VPN technology? 

A Virtual Private Network is a private data network which is used for public telecommunication infrastructure, privacy
maintenance through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures. A VPN can be used by private
community / company with owned or leased lines which can only be used by one company. The purpose of VPN is to
provide the facilities and capabilities to the company as private leased lines with much lower cost with the help of
public infrastructure. Because of these advantages, companies are looking to use VPNs for both extranets and wide-
area intranets.

Public vs. Private IP addresses. 

Private IP Address: An IP address is private if the number is within a specific range which is reserved for private
uses by Internet Standards group. The range is 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255.

Public IP address: With a pubic IP address, other users can know about and access one’s computer system /
server, like a website.  

MAC address vs. IP address. 

MAC Address: A MAC address is a digital name of interface. Each and every network interface has a unique MAC
address with unique ones. It is a hexadecimal number of 12 or 16 digits length. These addresses uniquely identify
Ethernet network cards. Although all the computers in the network use Ethernet, not all connections are made over
Ethernet.

IP Address: An address that is assigned for connecting the PC or Laptop to the router or to the default gateway of
network. Computer systems on the same local subnet, share part of their IP addresses. Like 192.168.6.121 and
192.168.6.130.  

What is the use of Address Resolution Protocol? 

Address Resolution Protocol is used for networks that support hardware broadcast. An ARP will not work on x.25
network. The ARP’s responsibility is to convert the higher-level protocol addresses to physical network addresses.
ARP functionality is broadcasting a packet to the hosts that are attached to an Ethernet. The packet has IP address
of the sender. The target machine identifies and recognizes that the IP address in the data packet matches its own,
and returns an answer. 
What is the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP)? 

Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) is a link layer networking protocol that is used by a host computer
system which obtain its IP address once it has available its link-layer address, like Ethernet address. RARP needs
one or more servers to host for maintaining a database or mappings from link layer address to protocol address.
Serving only IP address was the limitation of RARP. An RARP can be used at startup of a diskless machine for
finding its IP address. 

What is the TTL (Time to Live)? Why is it required? 

TTL is a value in data packet of Internet Protocol. It communicates to the network router whether or not the packet
should be in the network for too long or discarded. Usually, data packets might not be transmitted to their intended
destination within a stipulated period of time. The TTL value is set by a system default value which is an 8-bit binary
digit field in the header of the packet. The purpose of TTL is, it would specify certain time limit in seconds, for
transmitting the packet header. When the time is exhausted, the packet would be discarded. Each router receives the
subtracts count, when the packet is discarded, and when it becomes zero, the router detects the discarded packets
and sends a message, Internet Control Message Protocol message back to the originating host.

Explain the use of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). 

Internet Control Message Protocol is one of the important protocols in the Internet Protocol suite. It is mainly used in
operating system of networked computers, for the purpose of sending error messages, for example, a requested
service is unavailable or the host could not be reached. It is not directed by the network applications. ICMPs are
utilized by routers, hosts for communicating the updates or error information to other routers. 

Explain the services provided by IP (Internet Protocol) - Addressing, Fragmentation, Packet timeouts and
options. 

1. Addressing: For the purpose of delivering datagram packets, IP needs to know about the address of the
destination. By including the host addressing, this task is carried out by IP. As IP operates in an internet, its systems
are designed to accept the addressing of devices which are unique.

2. Fragmenting: The datagram packets are sent to the data link layer for the purpose of transmission on the network.
The physical network frame size that uses IP may be different. To resolve this, IP fragments the datagram into certain
pieces. So that, each piece can be carried on the network. The receiving systems use these pieces and reassemble
the whole IP datagram again.

3. Packet timeouts: A timeout packet is the time for waiting next instruction from the command station. If the
command is not sent by the station, it shuts down. 

Explain the classes of IP address. 

IP addresses are organized into classes. For convenience of humans, IP addresses are expressed in the decimal
format. Every number in each class is represented as binary to computers.

The four numbers in an IP address are known as ‘octets’. Each of them has eight bit positions. The octets are divided
into two sections: Net and Host. The first octet represents Net for identifying the network and the Host contains the
last octet. There are five IP classes.

Class A: The class A is used for very large networks. There are 1 to 126 are part of this class. That means there are
126 Class A networks. Class A networks accounts for half of the total available IP addresses.

Class B: It is used for medium size networks. The IP address with a first octet from 128 to 191 is part of this class.
Class B networks have a first bit value of 1 and a second bit value of 0 in the first octet.
Class C: Class C is used for small to middle size networks. IP address with a first octet starts from 102-223. Class C
networks have a first bit value of 1, second bit value of 1 and a third bit value of 0 in the first octet.

Class D: It has first, second and third bit value as 1 and the fourth bit as 0. The other 28 bits are used for identifying
the group of computers which is intended for multicast messages.

Class E: Class E is used for identification purpose. The four bits value is 1. The other 28 bits are used for identifying
the group of computers which is intended for multicast messages. 

Define Broadcast, Unicast and Multicast. 

Unicast: A term used in communication to describe a piece of information to send from one point to another. There
are only sender and receiver. All LANs support unicast transfer mode and most applications that employ TCP
transport protocol uses unicast messaging.

Broadcast: A term used for describing communication that is sent a piece of information from one point to all other
points. There is one sender and multiple receivers. All LANs support broadcast transmission.

Multicast: A term described in communicating a piece of information sent from one or more points to a set of other
points. The senders and receivers are one or more. 

What is Network Mask? 

A network mask is used for determination of what subnet an IP address belongs to. An IP address has network
address and the host address. The first two numbers represents the network address and the second two numbers
represents the host of the network. 

Define Subnetting. 

A subnet describes a set of networked computers which have common IP address routing prefix.

Breaking the networking into smaller and more efficient subnets is known as subnets. Subnetting prevents Ethernet
packet collision which has excessive rates in a large network. Routers are used to manage the traffic and constitute
borders among subnets. 

What is the User Datagram Protocol (UDP)? 

User datagram protocol allows computer applications to send messages as datagram packets from source to
destination on an Internet Protocol, with out using prior communications for setting up special transmission paths. An
unreliable service is provided by UDP which makes the datagram packets may arrive irrespective of order. UDP is a
better solution for time-sensitive applications due to the reason ‘dropping packets is preferable to use delayed
packets’. Its stateless nature makes the server to answer smaller queries to huge number of clients. 

Explain TCP Windowing concept. 

TCP Windowing is a concept that is used for avoiding congestion in the network traffic. Unacknowledged amount of
data that is sent by the sender before the data gets acknowledgment back from the receiver that it has received it is
controlled. 

What is the Domain Name System (DNS)? What are the advantages of it? 

A hierarchical naming system for computer systems, services or for that matter any resource participating in the
internet. Various information with domain names is assigned to each of the participants. DNS translates the names of
domain into meaningful to humans into binary identifiers that are associated with the equipment of network to locate
and address these devices.

Advantages:
More Reliable: Delivers messages to the users with zero downtime.

Faster: DNS are connected well at intersections of internet. Anycast technology enables requests are answered to
the next closest node in the case of maintenance or downtime.

Smarter: Automatic corrections of typos. 

What are data encoding and modulation? How do they differ from one another? 

Data Encoding: A technique that requires the polar change in the line level after each bit. To gain the control circuitry
that ensures consistent level discrimination, a level is used. The encoding is involved in inverting the polarity of
alternating bits, filtering al odd harmonics, transmitting and receiving the waveform, and decoding the demodulated
wave form. This is done by comparing absolute value of the halt-cycle peak-to-peak voltage gain to a predetermined
table.

Modulation: Character varying process of a periodic wave with external signals is known as modulation. Information
bearing signal over distances is sent by modulation.

Differences: Encoding is the way in which the data is represented and modulation is to alter the characteristic of a
message signal. 

Explain What is Packet Switched, Cell Switched and Circuit Switched Technology. 

Packet Switching: A method of transmitting data group with the concern of content, type or structure into suitably-
sized blocks. Data packets are shared in a shared network which route each packet independently from others. The
core objective of packet switching is to optimize the usage of available link capacity and robustness of communication
improvement.

Cell Switching: The process of packet switching is resembles in cell switching. The difference is the packets length
is fixed. ATM technology is popular for packet switching.

Circuit Switching: Resembles the same process that of cell switching and difference is the process of setting up the
circuit itself is the part of the process. Between two parties, the channel is setup, through which the data is
transmitted and the channel is torn down soon after the data transmission. Circuit switching technology is familiar to
use in CCNA candidates in ISDN. 

Explain what POP3 is. How does is differ from POP? 

POP3 is a protocol that is used for downloading email from an ISP to the recipient mail program. POP3 allows mail
retrieval by a workstation for receiving mail which is held by the server. Among stations, POP3 transmissions appear
as data messages.

POP was designed for the purpose of supporting ‘offline’ mail processing. Mail is delivered to a server. A PC uses
invokes the ail client program periodically which connects to the server and all pending mails is delivered to users
own machine. 

Why we need IP address over Mac address? 

IP address is a logical address of a computer system, where as MAC address is the physical address of a computer
system that is usually persisted in network card.
The data link layer creates frames by writing MAC address in to the header of the message. This process ensures the
exact destination receives the message.

IP address is used for transferring information over the networks, where as MAC address is used for information
distribution. 

What is a hardware loopback plug? 

A hardware loopback pug is a simple device for redirecting the outgoing transmissions from a system directly back
into it. They are used in conjunction with software that diagnoses transmission problems. Loop back plugs are
available both as serial ports and parallel ports. A hardware loop back plug loops the outgoing data signal wires back
into the system on the signal line which has incoming signal. 

What is pulse code modulation? 

Pulse Code Modulation: A digital representation of an analog signal. Signal sampling is done with the magnitude of
the signal regularly at uniform intervals. Later quantized to a series of symbols in binary form.

PCM is used in digital telephone systems and electronic musical keyboards. It is the standard form for digital audio in
computer systems 

Why do we use Subnet mask? What are its uses? 

Subnet mask is utilized for isolating the network id and host ids. This is to reduce the broadcast domain or to reduce
heavy network traffic. 

What do you mean by Twisted-pair Cabling? 

A twisted pair is a cable in which the cables are twisted at regular distances. Twisted pairs are used for transferring
signals with high frequency, instead of coax cable. The twisted pair is a balanced system, which anti phase signals
are being transmitted on a pair of wires. Certain sophisticated twisted pairs allow the transferring of certain signals,
like audio and 2 video channels. 

What is the use of Kerberos protocol? 

Kerberos is an authentication protocol in a compute network that makes the nodes communicates over a non-secure
network for providing their identification to one another in most secure manner. The protocol design is aimed at a
client-server model, which provides the mutual authentication – the identification of both users and the client verifies
each other’s identity. The messages that are handled by Kerberos protocol are protected against ‘eavesdropping’ and
‘replay attacks’. Kerberos was built on symmetric key cryptography and it needs a trusted third party. 

Difference between ISDN and ATM. 

- ISDN uses circuit switching where as ATM uses packet switching communication
- ISDN is a point to point fixed bandwidth communication, where as ATM is a variable bandwidth communication
- ISDN delivers at minimum two simultaneous connections.

ATM is connection-oriented which establishes a logical connection between 2 end points before the commencement
of data exchange. 
What is MAC address? 

Media Access Control address is an identifier for assigned to most network adapters or Network Interface Cards by
the manufacturer for the purpose of identification. MAC address is used in MAC protocol sub layer. MAC address is
usually encodes the registered identification number that is registered by the manufacturer. The numbering spaces
managed by the IEEE, which are common for formulating a MAC address: MAC-48, EUI-48 and EUI-64

Difference between the communication and transmission. 

The differences between the communication and transmission are:

Physical movement of information and concerning about bit priority, synchronization, clock etc
is referred as transmission, where as full exchange of information among media of
communication is referred as communication.

Transmission is all about transmitting of data to the destination, where as the dialogue between
the source and destination is all about communication. 

What is the difference between TFTP and FTP application layer protocols? 

The differences between FTP and TFTP:

FTP is connection oriented, where as TFTP is not.

TFTP uses error checking and flow control, where as TFTP does not cause error checking.

FTP uses TCP as transport protocol, where as TFTP uses UDP as transport protocol.
Authentication is mandatory in FTP, where as authentication is not needed in TFTP. 

Just getting and putting application effectively is the design concern of TFTP, where as FTP provides more control
and data connection aspects. 

Difference between bit rate and baud rate. 

The differences between bit rate and baud rate:

Bit rate is measured as number of data bits transmitted / second in communication channel.

Baud rate is measured as number of times a signal state is changed in a communication channel.

One change of state can transmit one bit or less than one bit which depends on modulation technique used. The bit
and baud rate have the connection:

bps = baud / second x the number of bits / per baud 

What are NETBIOS and NETBEUI? 

Network Basic Input Output System provides session layer of OSI model related services which allows the
applications on different computers for communicating over a LAN. NetBIOS runs over TCP/IP through NetBIOS over
TCP/IP (NBT) protocol. This process results in every computer in the network with NetBIOS name and an IP address
that corresponds to a host name.
NetBIOS Extended User Interface is an extended version of NetBIOS. It is a program that allows computers to
communicate within a local area network. NetBEUI forms the frame format which was not a specification of NetBIOS.
NetBEUI is the best choice for performing communication within a LAN. 

Difference between ARP and RARP. 

The differences between ARP and RARP:

Address Resolution Protocol is utilized for mapping IP network address to the hardware address that uses data link
protocol. 

Reverse Address Resolution Protocol is a protocol using which a physical machine in a LAN could request to find its
IP address from ARP table or cache from a gateway server. 

IP address of destination to physical address conversion is done by ARP, by broadcasting in LAN.

Physical address of source to IP address conversion is done by RARP. 

ARP associates 32 bit IP address with 48 bit physical address.

Allowing a host to discover its internet address after knowing only its physical address is done by RARP. 

What is the difference between POP3 and IMAP Mail Server? 

POP3: 

All emails are to be downloaded again if used by another desktop PC for checking the email.
May leads to confusion if used for checking email in office and at home pc.
Attachments will be down loaded into desktop while the ‘check new email’ process is in progress.
Mailboxes can be created only on desktop and one mail box exists on the server.

IMAP:

There is no need for downloading all email while using another desktop PC for checking email.
Unread mail identification is easier. 
Message downloading is possible only when opened for display from its contents. 
Multiple mailboxes creation is possible on the desktop PC and also on the server. 

What is a Transaction server? 

A transaction server is software that is used for implementing transactions.

A transaction comprises of multiple steps that must automatically be completed. A transaction server consists of a
safety providing system and environment where the programs can be written for making use of the features of
guaranteed transactions. 

What is Message Oriented Middleware (MOM)? 

An infrastructure focuses on sending and receiving messages to increment interoperability, flexibility and flexibility of
an application. MOM performs this by allowing an application to be distributed over platforms of different kind. MOM
reduces the application development complexity which spans multiple operating systems and network protocols. This
process insulates the application developer from the operating systems details and network interfaces. Various APIs
across diverse platforms and networks are provided by MOM. 
What is Groupware server? 

Groupware server is software that allows the collaboration of users, irrespective of location through the internet or
intranet to work together in an atmosphere which is virtual. 

What are TP-Lite and TP-Heavy Monitors? 

TP-Lite Monitor: The integration of TP monitors functions in a database engines is called as TP-Lite monitor.

TP-Heavy Monitor: A TP monitor that supports the client/server architecture and allows PC for initiating very
complex multiserver transaction from the desktop.