Top Most System Administrator Interview Questions
Q – 1 Explain the personal characteristics of a system administrator?
Ans- System administrators are experts at handling hardware and software. They are quick with both their hands and their head. They can work alone, but they know when and how to communicate with others, whether to report problems, learn information needed to fix problems, or instruct employees regarding technical issues.
Q – 2 Define Domain control?
Ans- A domain controller (DC) is a server that handles all the security requests from other computers and servers within the Windows Server domain.
there was a primary domain controller and a backup domain controller. The primary DC focused on domain services only to avoid the possibility of a system slow down or crash due to overtasking from managing other functionality and security requests.
In the event of a primary DC going down, a backup DC could be promoted and become the primary DC to keep the rest of the server systems functioning correctly.
Q – 3 Can you please explain the difference between firewall and antivirus?
Ans- ★ Firewall:
Firewall is in other hand a program which protects your system from outsider/intruder/hacker attacks. These attacks may not be virus type. In some cases hackers can take control of your system remotely and steal your data or important information from system. If your system is directly connected to internet or a large network than you can install a software firewall in your PC to protect your self from unauthorized access. Firewall is available either in software or in hardware form. For a single PC you may need a software firewall while a large corporate implements hardware firewall to protect all of their systems from such attacks.
★ Antivirus:
The prime job of an anivirus is protect your system from computer viruses. Your computer may be standalone or part of network or connected to Internet you need an antivirus program. It actively monitors when you are using your system for any virus threat from different sources. if it found one it tries to clean or quarantine the virus ultimately keeping your system and data safe.
Q – 4 Can you give an example of systems you have been working with as an administrator?
Ans- These typically are: Windows and Linux, which support either Asset Management or GIS. Typical duties include engineering, support and maintenance, and research for the purpose of innovation and upgrading.
Q – 5 What experience you have with hardware components?
Ans- Installation and replacement are some of the most frequently performed operations with hardware. Sometimes a system administrator might need to rebuild a hardware component.
Q – 6 Define tree?
Ans- An Active Directory tree is a collection of Active Directory domains that begins at a single root and branches out into peripheral, child domains. Domains in an Active Directory tree share the same namespace. An Active Directory forest is a collection of Active Directory trees, similar to a real world forest. Catalog Server.
Q – 7 Define virtual machine files?
Ans- The first thing to know is what files are used to create a virtual machine:
★ .XML files
These files contain the virtual machine configuration details. There is one of these for each virtual machine and each snapshot of a virtual machine. They are always named with the GUID used to internally identify the virtual machine or snapshot in question.
★ .BIN files
This file contains the memory of a virtual machine or snapshot that is in a saved state.
★ .VSV files
This file contains the saved state from the devices associated with the virtual machine.
★ .VHD files
These are the virtual hard disk files for the virtual machine
★ .AVHD files
These are the differencing disk files used for virtual machine snapshots
Q – 8 Tell me what role do characteristics such as assertiveness and problem solving play in the career of a system administrator?
Ans- Analytical thinking and problem solving is crucial to be able to analyze software or hardware malfunction. They are also necessary to be able to improve or upgrade systems so that they suit company needs. Assertiveness also plays a role because administrators have to make decisions. They decide on solutions, security measures, and things like system upgrades.
Q – 9 Tell me is team-work part of a system administrator’s typical day?
Ans- Administrators are typically called in to offer technical support for teams working on a project. Support might mean technical troubleshooting or the development and explanation of technological strategy with regards to the project goals and means.
Q – 10 Explain DSRM mode?
Ans- Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) is a special boot mode for repairing or recovering Active Directory. It is used to log on to the computer when Active Directory has failed or needs to be restored.
To manually boot in Directory Services Restore Mode, press the F8 key repeatedly. Do this immediately after BIOS POST screen, before the Windows logo appears. (Timing can be tricky; if the Windows logo appears you waited too long.) A text menu menu will appear.
Use the up/down arrow keys to select Directory Services Restore Mode or DS Restore Mode. Then press the Enter key.
Q – 11 Explain the difference between host, guest, and virtual machine?
Ans- ★ A host system (host operating system) would be the primary & first installed operating system. If you are using a bare metal Virtualization platform like Hyper-V or ESX, there really isn’t a host operating system besides the Hypervisor. If you are using a Type-2 Hypervisor like VMware Server or Virtual Server, the host operating system is whatever operating system those applications are installed into.
★ A guest system (guest operating system) is a virtual guest or virtual machine (VM) that is installed under the host operating system. The guests are the VMs that you run in your virtualization platform.
Some admins also call the host & guest the parent and child.
Q – 12 Explain Hyper-visor?
Ans- You can think of a Hyper-visor as the kernel or the core of a virtualization platform. The Hyper-visor is also called the Virtual Machine Monitor. The Hyper-visor has access to the physical host hardware.
Q – 13 How to setting file permissions on a folder using group policy?
Ans- The setting is located under Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, File System. Here’s the procedure:
Go to the location in the Group Policy listed above.
Right-click File System.
Click Add File.
In the “Add a file or folder” window, select the folder (or file) for which you want the permissions to be set, and click OK.
In the security box that pops up, you can add a user or a group that needs permission to the folder.
Q – 14 What is the Command to add client to Domain?
Ans- NETDOM /Domain:MYDOMAIN /user:adminuser /password:apassword MEMBER MYCOMPUTER /JOINDOMAIN
Q – 15 What are the benefits of using GPMC?
Ans- Easy administration of all GPOs across the entire Active Directory Forest View of all GPOs in one single list.
Backup and restore of GPOs Migration of GPOs across different domains and forest.
Q – 16 Explain NSlookup?
Ans- Nslookup.exe is a command-line administrative tool for testing and troubleshooting DNS servers. This tool is installed along with the TCP/IP protocol through Control Panel.
MS-DOS utility that enables a user to look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
Q – 17 Explain group nesting?
Ans- Adding one group as a member of another group is called ‘group nesting’. This will help for easy administration and reduced replication traffic.
Q – 18 Explain the difference between local, global and universal groups?
Ans- Domain local groups assign access permissions to global domain groups for local domain resources. Global groups provide access to resources in other trusted domains. Universal groups grant access to resources in all trusted domains.
Q – 19 Define global catalog?
Ans- The Global Catalog is a database that contains all of the information pertaining to objects within all domains in the Active Directory environment.
Q – 20 Explain group policy backup?
Ans- To backup a single GPO, right-click the GPO, and then click Back Up.
To backup all GPOs in the domain, right-click Group Policy Objects and click Back Up All.
Q – 21 Where are the group policies stored?
Ans- C:WindowsSystem32GroupPolicy.
Q – 22 How frequently is the client policy refreshed?
Ans- 90 minutes give or take.
Q – 23 Which GPO settings in the computer and user parts?
Ans- Computer Configuration, User ConfigurationName.
Q – 24 Can I deploy non-MSI software with GPO?
Ans- Create the file in .zap extension.
Q – 25 Define LDAP?
Ans- LDAP is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Its an active directory protocal ,Basically, it’s a protocol used to access data from a database.
Q – 26 Which protocol and port does DHCP use?
Ans- UDP protocol and 67 port in client and 68 port in server.
Q – 27 How to backup and restore DHCP in Windows server 2008?
Ans- In Windows Server 2008, backup of DHCP database and settings has gotten simpler. You may want to backup your DHCP server from time to time to prepare for disaster recovery scenarios or when migrating DHCP server role to a new hardware.
★ Backup DHCP Server:
A) Open Server Manager > DHCP role
B) Right click server name, choose Backup..
C) Choose a location for backup, click OK
★ Restore DHCP Server:
A) Open Server Manager > DHCP role
B) Right Click server name, choose Restore
C) Choose the location of the backup, click OK
D) Restart the DHCP Service
Q – 28 Describe authorizing DHCP servers in active directory?
Ans- If a DHCP server is to operate within an Active Directory domain (and is not running on a domain controller) it must first be authorized to Active directory.
Q – 29 Define Dora process & why it is used?
Ans- Discover, Offer, request and acknowledgement. It is used to assign ip address automatically to client systems.
Q – 30 Can DHCP support statically defined addresses?
Ans- Yes.
Q – 31 Explain DHCP lease?
Ans- A DHCP lease is the amount of time that the DHCP server grants to the DHCP client permission to use a particular IP address. A typical server allows its administrator to set the lease time.
Q – 32 Described DHCP scope?
Ans- A range of IP address that the DHCP server can assign to clients that are on one subnet.
Q – 33 How DHCP work?
Ans- DHCP Stands for Dynamic host configuration protocol.
DHCP is a protocol used for automatic configuration IP address in client computers connected to IP networks. DHCP operates on a client server model in four phases.
★ Discover:
A client broadcasts DHCP Discover message when it comes alive on the network.
★ Offer:
When a DHCP server receives the DHCP Discover message from the client, it reserves an I P address for the client and sends a DHCP Offer message to the client offering the reserved IP address.
★ Request:
The client receives the DHCP offer message and broadcasts a DHCP request message to show its consent to accept the offered IP address.
★ Acknowledge:
When the DHCP server receives the DHCP Request message from the client, it sends a DHCP Ack packet to the client. At this point the IP configuration process is complete.
Q – 34 Do you know what happens when we type URL in browser?
Ans- First the computer looks up the destination host. If it exists in local DNS cache, it uses that information. Otherwise, DNS querying is performed until the IP address is found.
Then, your browser opens a TCP connection to the destination host and sends the request according to HTTP 1.1 (or might use HTTP 1.0, but normal browsers don’t do it any more).
The server looks up the required resource (if it exists) and responds using HTTP protocol, sends the data to the client (=your browser)
The browser then uses HTML parser to re-create document structure which is later presented to you on screen. If it finds references to external resources, such as pictures, css files, javascript files, these are is delivered the same way as the HTML document itself.
Q – 35 How to manage multiple, remote servers with server manager?
Ans- Server Manager is a management console in Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview and Windows Server 2012 that helps IT professionals provision and manage both local and remote Windows-based servers from their desktops, without requiring either physical access to servers, or the need to enable Remote Desktop protocol (RDP) connections to each server.
Although Server Manager is available in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008, Server Manager was updated in Windows Server 2012, to support remote, multi-server management, and help increase the number of servers an administrator can manage.
Q – 36 Explain event viewer in Windows server?
Ans- Control panel > Administrative tools > Computer Management > event Viewer
Three types of events:
★ Error.
★ Warning.
★ Information.
Q – 37 How to know that how long My computer has been running?
Ans- Start > Task manager, and select Performance tab.
In performance tab we can see system up time
Method 2: By typing systeminfo in command prompt we can find out up time of your server In system boot time.
Q – 38 Explain wins server?
Ans- Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) servers dynamically map IP addresses to computer names (NetBIOS names). This allows users to access resources by computer name instead of by IP address. If you want this computer to keep track of the names and IP addresses of other computers in your network, configure this computer as a WINS server.
If you do not use WINS in such a network, you cannot connect to a remote network resource by using its NetBIOS name.
Q – 39 Explain the difference between Windows server 2008 and 2012?
Ans- ★ New Server Manager: Create, Manage Server Groups
★ Hyper-V Replication : The Hyper-V Replica feature allows you to replicate a virtual machine from one location to another with Hyper-V and a network connection-and without any shared storage required. This is a big deal in the Microsoft world for disaster recovery, high availability and more. VMware does this, too, but the vendor charges new licensees extra for the capability.
★ Expanded PowerShell Capabilities
★ IIS 8.0 and IIS 7 in 2008
★ Hyper-V 3.0
★ PowerShell 3.0
Q – 40 Explain the difference between sata and IDE?
Ans- IDE and SATA are different types of interfaces to connect storage devices (like hard drives) to a computer’s system bus. SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (or Serial ATA) and IDE is also called Parallel ATA or PATA. SATA is the newer standard and SATA drives are faster than PATA (IDE) drives.
For many years ATA provided the most common and the least expensive interface for this application. But by the beginning of 2007, SATA had largely replaced IDE in all new systems.
Q – 41 Described Bit Locker?
Ans- BitLocker is an encryption feature available in Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7 and Vista,
To encrypt an entire drive, simply right-click on the drive and select Turn on BitLocker from the context menu.
Q – 42 Define MBR?
Ans- Short form Master Boot Record, a small program that is executed when a computer boots up. Typically, the MBR resides on the first sector of the hard disk. The program begins the boot process by looking up the partition table to determine which partition to use for booting.
Q – 43 What is system volume information (SVI) folder?
Ans- Windows XP includes a folder named System Volume Information on the root of each drive that remains hidden from view even when you choose to show system files. It remains hidden because it is not a normally hidden folder you can say it is a Super Hidden Folder. Windows does not shows Super Hidden Folders even when you select “Show Hidden Files.”
Q – 44 Explain Windows Registry?
Ans- The Windows Registry, usually referred to as “the registry,” is a collection of databases of configuration settings in Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Q – 45 How to release and renew IP address from Command prompt?
Ans- Ipconfig / release
ipconfig / renew
Q – 46 Explain APIPA?
Ans- APIPA stands for Automatic Private IP Addressing:
APIPA is a DHCP fail over mechanism for local networks. With APIPA, DHCP clients can obtain IP addresses when DHCP servers are non-functional.
APIPA exists in all modern versions of Windows except Windows NT.
When a DHCP server fails, APIPA allocates IP addresses in the private range 169.254.0.1 to 162.254.215.194.
Q – 47 Explain the difference between frond-end & back-end server?
Ans- ★ Back-end server:
A back-end server is a computer resource that has not been exposed to the internet. In this regard the computing resource does not directly interact with the internet user. It can also be described as a server whose main function is to store and retrieve email messages.
★ Front-end server:
A front-end server is a computer resources that has exposed to the internet.
Q – 48 Explain loop back?
Ans- Loopback address is 127.0.0.1,
An address that sends outgoing signals back to the same computer for testing.
Q – 49 How to backup AD?
Ans- Backing up Active Directory is essential to maintain the proper health of the AD database.
Q – 50 Explain Proxy Server?
Ans- A proxy server is a computer that acts as a gateway between a local network (e.g., all the computers at one company or in one building) and a larger-scale network such as the Internet. Proxy servers provide increased performance and security. In some cases, they monitor employees’ use of outside resources.
Q – 51 Can you please explain the difference between NTFS & FAT?
Ans- ★ NTFS is the current file system used by Windows. It offers features like security permissions (to limit other users’ access to folders), quotas (so one user can’t fill up the disk), shadowing (backing up) and many other features that help Windows.
★ FAT32 is the older Microsoft filesystem, primarily used by the Windows 9X line and Window could be installed on a FAT32 parition up to XP. In comparision, FAT32 offers none of what was mentioned above, and also has a maximum FILE (not folder) size of 4GB, which is kind of small these days, especially in regards to HD video.
Q – 52 Define VOIP?
Ans- VOIP – Short for Voice Over Internet Protocol, a category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using IP rather than by traditional circuit transmissions.
Q – 53 Do you know why should you not restore a DC that was backed up 6 months ago?
Ans- When restoring a backup file, Active Directory generally requires that the backup file be no more than 180 days old. If you attempt to restore a backup that is expired, you may face problems due to lingering objects.
Q – 54 How to remove lingering objects?
Ans- Windows Server 2003 and 2008 have the ability to manually remove lingering objects using the console utility command REPADMIN.EXE.
Q – 55 Why we use DHCP?
Ans- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol assigns dynamic IP addresses to network devices allowing them to have a different IP address each time they are connected to the network.
Q – 56 When we use WDS?
Ans- Windows Deployment Services is a server role used to deploy Windows operating systems remotely. WDS is mainly used for network-based OS installations to set up new computers.
Q – 57 Define AD database stored?
Ans- The AD database is stored in C:WindowsNTDSNTDS.DIT.
Q – 58 What domain controller allow?
Ans- A domain controller allows system administrators to grant or deny users access to system resources, such as printers, documents, folders, network locations, etc., via a single username and password.
Q – 59 Explain lingering objects?
Ans- A lingering object is a deleted AD object that still remains on the restored domain controller in its local copy of Active Directory. They can occur when changes are made to directories after system backups are created.
When restoring a backup file, Active Directory generally requires that the backup file be no more than 180 days old. This can happen if, after the backup was made, the object was deleted on another DC more than 180 days ago.
Q – 60 Explain Forests, Trees, and Domains mean?
Ans- Forests, trees, and domains are the logical divisions in an Active Directory network.
★ A domain is defined as a logical group of network objects (computers, users, devices) that share the same active directory database.
★ A tree is a collection of one or more domains and domain trees in a contiguous namespace linked in a transitive trust hierarchy.
★ At the top of the structure is the forest. A forest is a collection of trees that share a common global catalog, directory schema, logical structure, and directory configuration. The forest represents the security boundary within which users, computers, groups, and other objects are accessible.
Q – 61 What are the main email ports?
Ans- ★ POP3 – port 110
★ IMAP – port 143
★ SMTP – port 25
★ HTTP – port 80
★ Secure SMTP (SSMTP) – port 465
★ Secure IMAP (IMAP4-SSL) – port 585
★ IMAP4 over SSL (IMAPS) – port 993
★ Secure POP3 (SSL-POP) – port 995
Q – 62 What are main email servers?
Ans- Email servers can be of two types:
★ Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)
Most outgoing mail servers use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for sending emails. The outgoing mail server can belong to your ISP or to the server where you setup your email account.
★ Incoming Mail Server (POP3, IMAP, HTTP)
The incoming mail server is the server associated with an email address account. There cannot be more than one incoming mail server for an email account. In order to download your emails, you must have the correct settings configured in your email client program.
Q – 63 What is DNS and which port number is used by DNS?
Ans- The Domain Name System (DNS) is used to resolve human-readable hostnames like www.golbalguideline.com into machine-readable IP addresses like 69.173.221.64.
DNS servers use UDP port 53 but DNS queries can also use TCP port 53 if the former is not accepted.
Q – 64 Define Domain?
Ans- A domain is defined as a logical group of network objects (computers, users, devices) that share the same Active Directory database. A tree can have multiple domains.
Q – 65 Define garbage collection?
Ans- Garbage collection is the online defragmentation of the Active Directory which happens every 12 hours.
Q – 66 Define SYSVOL folder?
Ans- The SYSVOL folder stores the server copy of the domain’s public files that must be shared for common access and replication throughout a domain.
All AD databases are stored in a SYSVOL folder and it’s only created in an NTFS partition. The Active Directory Database is stored in the %SYSTEM ROOT%NDTS folder.
Q – 67 Define GPOs (Group Policy Objects)?
Ans- A Group Policy Object (GPO) is a collection of settings that control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. GPOs define registry-based policies, security options, software installation and maintenance options, script options, and folder redirection options.
Q – 68 Define LDAP?
Ans- LDAP (Light-Weight Directory Access Protocol) determines how an object in an Active Directory should be named. LDAP is the industry standard directory access protocol, making Active Directory widely accessible to management and query applications. Active Directory supports LDAPv2 and LDAPv3.
Q – 69 List the different kinds of group policy objects?
Ans- There are two kinds of Group Policy objects:
★ Local Group Policy objects, are stored on individual computers.
★ Non-local Group Policy objects, which are stored on a domain controller, are available only in an Active Directory environment.
Q – 70 Explain Group Policy?
Ans- Group Policy allows you to implement specific configurations for users and computers. Group Policy settings are contained in Group Policy objects (GPOs), which are linked to the following Active Directory service containers: sites, domains, or organizational units (OUs).
Q – 71 Define Domain Controller?
Ans- A domain controller (DC) or network domain controller is a Windows-based computer system that is used for storing user account data in a central database. It is the centerpiece of the Windows Active Directory service that authenticates users, stores user account information and enforces security policy for a Windows domain.
Q – 72 Explain Active Directory?
Ans- Active Directory provides a centralized control for network administration and security. Server computers configured with Active Directory are known as domain controllers. Active Directory stores all information and settings for a deployment in a central database, and allows administrators to assign policies and deploy and update software.