Networking Questions
Networking Questions
Networking Questions
In this techy world, there cannot be anyone who has never used the internet. One can easily find an answer/solution to
whatever he/she doesn’t know with the help of internet.
Earlier, when a person who wants to appear for an interview, needs to go through all the concerned books and
materials available page by page carefully. But the internet has made it all so easy. There are several sets of Interview
Questions and Answers available handy nowadays.
Hence, preparing for an interview has become very simpler these days.
In this article, I have listed the most important and frequently asked basic networking interview questions and
answers with pictorial representation for your easy understanding and remembrance. Which, in turn, will strive
you towards success steps in your career.
Q #6) What are the layers in OSI Reference Models? Describe each layer briefly.
Ans: Given below are the seven layers of OSI Reference Models:
#1) Physical Layer (Layer 1): Physical Layer converts data bits into electrical impulse or radio signals. E.g. Ethernet.
#2) Data Link Layer (Layer 2): At Data Link layer, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits and it provides a
node to node data transfer. Data Link Layer also detects the errors occurred at Layer 1.
#3) Network Layer (Layer 3): Network Layer transfers variable length data sequence from one node to another node in
the same network. This variable length data sequence is also known as “Datagrams”.
#4) Transport Layer (Layer 4): It transfers data between nodes and also provides acknowledgment of successful data
transmission. It keeps track of transmission and sends the segments again if the transmission fails.
Hub is least expensive, least intelligent Switches work similarly The router is smartest and most
and least complicated of the three. like Hubs but in a more complicated out of these three. It comes in
It broadcast all data to every port which efficient manner. all shapes and sizes. Routers are similar
may cause serious security and It creates connections like little computers dedicated for routing
reliability concern dynamically and provides network traffic
information only to the
requesting port
In a Network, Hub is a common Switch is a device in a Routers are located at gateway and
connection point for devices connected network which forwards forwards data packets
to the network. Hub contains multiple packets in a network
ports and is used to connect segments
of LAN
Q #8) Explain TCP/IP Model
Ans: The most widely used and available protocol is TCP/IP i.e. Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol.
TCP/IP specifies how data should be packaged, transmitted and routed in their end to end data communication.
There are four layers as shown in the below diagram:
TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol UDP is stands for User Datagram Protocol or Universal
Datagram Protocol
Once the connection is setup, data can be sent UDP is connectionless, simple protocol. Using UDP,
bi-directional i.e. TCP is a connection oriented messages are sent as packets
protocol
The speed of TCP is slower than UDP UDP is faster compared to TCP
TCP is used for the application where time is not UDP is suitable for the applications which require fast
critical part of data transmission transmission of data and time is crucial in this case.
TCP transmission occurs in a sequential manner UDP transmission also occurs in a sequential manner but it
does not maintain the same sequence when it reaches the
destination
TCP tracks the data sent to ensure no data loss UDP does not ensure whether receiver receives packets are
during data transmission not. If packets are misses then they are just lost
Q #12) What is a Firewall?
Ans: Firewall is a network security system that is used to protect computer networks from unauthorized access. It
prevents malicious access from outside to the computer network. A firewall can also be built to grant limited access to
the outside users.
The firewall consists of a hardware device, software program or a combined configuration of both. All the messages that
route through the Firewall are examined by specific security criteria and the messages which meet the criteria are
successfully traversed through the network or else those messages are blocked.
Windows Firewall” is an inbuilt Microsoft Windows application which comes along with the operating system. This
“Windows Firewall” also helps to prevent viruses, worms etc.
There is a “Central Registry” where all the domain names are stored and it gets updated on a periodic basis. All the
internet service providers and different host companies usually interact with this central registry to get the updated DNS
details.
For Example: When you type a website www.softwaretestinghelp.com, then your internet service provider looks for the
DNS associated with this domain name and translates this website command into a machine language – IP address –
151.144.210.59 (note that, this is imaginary IP address and not the actual IP for the given website) so that you will get
redirected to the appropriate destination.
This is shortly explained in the below diagram:
Workgroup Domain
All computers are peers and no computer has Network admin uses one or more computer as a server
control over another computer and provide all accesses, security permission to all other
computers in a network
In a Workgroup, each computer maintains their own The domain is a form of a computer network in which
database computers, printers, and user accounts are registered in a
central database.
Each computer has their own authentication rule for It has centralized authentication servers which set the rule
every user account of authentication
Each computer has set of user account. If user has If user has an account in a domain then user can login to
account on that computer then only user able to any computer in a domain
access the computer
Workgroup does not bind to any security permission Domain user has to provide security credentials whenever
or does not require any password they are accessing the domain network
Computer settings need to change manually for In a domain, changes made in one computer
each computer in a Workgroup automatically made same changes to all other computers
in a network
All computers must be on same local area network In a domain, computers can be on a different local
network
In a Workgroup, there can be only 20 computers In a domain, thousands of computers can be connected
connected
Q #15) What is a Proxy Server and how do they protect the computer network?
Ans: For data transmission, IP addresses are required and even DNS uses IP addresses to route to the correct
website. It means without the knowledge of correct and actual IP addresses it is not possible to identify the physical
location of the network.
Proxy Servers prevent external users who are unauthorized to access such IP addresses of the internal network. The
Proxy Server makes the computer network virtually invisible to the external users.
image source: Proxy Server
Proxy Server also maintains the list of blacklisted websites so that the internal user is automatically prevented from
getting easily infected by the viruses, worms etc.
Q #16) What are IP classes and how can you identify the IP class of given a IP address?
Ans: An IP address has 4 sets (octets) of numbers each with a value up to 255.
For Example, the range of the home or commercial connection started primarily between 190 x or 10 x. IP classes are
differentiated based on the number of hosts it supports on a single network. If IP classes support more networks then
very few IP addresses are available for each network.
There are three types of IP classes and are based on the first octet of IP addresses which are classified as Class A, B
or C. If the first octet begins with 0 bit then it is of type Class A.
Class A type has a range up to 127.x.x.x (except 127.0.0.1). If it starts with bits 10 then it belongs to Class B. Class B
having a range from 128.x to 191.x. IP class belongs to Class C if octet starts with bits 110. Class C has a range from
192.x to 223.x.
127.0.0.1 and local host are the same things in most of the computer network functioning.
Ifconfig (Interface Configuration) is a command that is used on Linux, Mac, and UNIX operating system. It is used to
configure, control the TCP/IP network interface parameters from CLI i.e. Command Line Interface. It allows you to see
the IP addresses of these network interfaces.
Q #23) Explain DHCP briefly?
Ans: DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and it automatically assigns IP addresses to the network
devices. It completely removes the process of manual allocation of IP addresses and reduces the errors caused due to
this.
This entire process is centralized so that TCP/IP configuration can also be completed from a central location. DHCP has
“pool of IP addresses” from which it allocates the IP address to the network devices. DHCP cannot recognize if any
device is configured manually and assigned with the same IP address from the DHCP pool.
Q #25) What are the different types of a network? Explain each briefly.
Ans: There are 4 major types of network.
Let’s take a look at each of them in detail.
Personal Area Network (PAN): It is a smallest and basic network type that is often used at home. It is a
connection between the computer and another device such as phone, printer, modem tablets etc
Local Area Network (LAN): LAN is used in small offices and internet cafe to connect a small group of
computers to each other. Usually, they are used to transfer a file or for playing the game in a network.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): It is a powerful network type than LAN. The area covered by MAN is a
small town, city etc. A huge server is used to cover such a large span of area for connection.
Wide Area Network (WAN): It is more complex than LAN and covers a large span of area typically a large
physical distance. The Internet is the largest WAN which is spread across the world. WAN is not owned by any
single organization but it has distributed ownership.
There are some other types of network as well:
Storage Area Network (SAN)
System Area Network (SAN)
Enterprise Private Network (EPN)
Passive Optical Local Area Network (POLAN)
********************************
Local Area Network (LAN): A network with a minimum of two computers to a maximum of thousands of
computers within an office or a building is termed as LAN.Generally, it works for a single site where people
can share resources like printers, data storage etc.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): It is larger than LAN and used to connect various LAN’s across small
regions, a city, campus of colleges or universities etc which in turn forms a bigger network.
Wide Area Network (WAN): Multiple LAN’s and MAN’s connected together form a WAN. It covers a wider
area like a whole country or world.
Q #29) Define various types of internet connections?
Ans) There are three types of internet connections. They are listed below
1) Broadband Connection – This type of connection gives continuous high-speed internet. In this type, if we log off
from the internet for any reason then there is no need to log in again.
Eg: Modems of cables, Fibres, wireless connection, satellite connection etc.
2) Wi-Fi – It is a wireless internet connection between the devices. It uses radio waves to connect to the devices or
gadgets.
3) WiMAX – It is the most advanced type of internet connection which is more featured than Wi-Fi. It is nothing but the
high-speed and advanced type of broadband connection.
Q #30) Few important terminology we come across networking concepts?
Ans) Below are few important terms we need to know in networking
Network – A set of computers or devices connected together with a communication path to share data.
Networking – The design and construction of a network are termed as networking.
Link – The physical medium or the communication path through which the devices are connected in a network
is called as a Link.
Node – The devices or the computers connected to the links are named as nodes.
Router / Gateway – A device/computer/node that is connected to different networks is termed as a Gateway
or Router. The basic difference between these two is that Gateway is used to control the traffic of two
contradictory networks whereas router controls the traffic of similar networks.
The router is nothing but a switch which processes the signal/traffic using routing protocols.
Protocol – A set of instructions or rules or guidelines that are used in establishing communications between
computers of a network is called as Protocol.
Unicasting – When a piece of information or a packet is sent from a particular source to a specified
destination then it is called as Unicasting.
Anycasting – Sending the datagrams from a source to the nearest device among the group of servers which
provide the same service as the source is termed as Anycasting.
Multicasting – Sending one copy of data from a single sender to multiple clients or receivers (selected clients)
of the networks which are in need of such data.
Broadcasting – Sending a packet to each device of the network is termed as broadcasting.
Q #31) Explain the characteristics of networking?
Ans) The main characteristics of networking are mentioned below,
Topology: This deals with how the computers or nodes are arranged in the network. The computers are
arranged physically or logically.
Protocols: Deals with the process how the computers communicate with one another.
Medium: This is nothing but the medium used by the computers for communication.
Q #32) How many types of modes are used in data transferring through networks?
Ans) Data transferring modes in computer networks are of three types. They are listed below,
1) Simplex: Data transferring which takes place only in one direction is called Simplex. In Simplex mode, the data gets
transferred either from sender to receiver or from receiver to sender.
Eg: Radio signal, the print signal given from computer to printer etc.
2) Half Duplex: Data transferring can happen in both directions but not at the same time. Alternatively, the data is sent
and received.
Eg: Browsing through the internet, a user sends the request to the server and later the server processes the request
and sends back the web page.
3) Full Duplex: Data transferring happens in both directions that too simultaneously.
Eg: Two lane road where traffic flows in both the directions, communication through telephone etc.
Q #33) Name the different types of network topologies and brief its advantages?
Ans) Network Topology is nothing but the physical or logical way in which the devices (like nodes, links, and computers)
of a network are arranged. Physical Topology means the actual place where the elements of a network are located.
Logical Topology deals with the flow of data over the networks. A Link is used to connect more than two devices of a
network. And more than two links located nearby forms a topology.
The advantage of bus topology is that it can be installed easily. And the disadvantage is that if the backbone cable
breaks then the whole network will be down.
2) Star Topology: In Star Topology, there is a central controller or hub to which every node or device is connected
through a cable. In this topology, the devices are not linked to each other. If a device needs to communicate with the
other, then it has to send the signal or data to the central hub. And then the hub sends the same data to the destination
device.
The advantage of the star topology is that if a link breaks then only that particular link is affected. The whole network
remains undisturbed. The main disadvantage of the star topology is that all the devices of the network are dependent on
a single point (hub). If the central hub gets failed, then the whole network gets down.
3) Ring Topology: In Ring Topology, each device of the network is connected to two other devices on either side which
in turn forms a loop. Data or Signal in ring topology flow only in a single direction from one device to another and
reaches the destination node.
The advantage of ring topology is that it can be installed easily. Adding or deleting devices to the network is also easy.
The main disadvantage of ring topology is the data flows only in one direction. And a break at a node in the network can
affect the whole network.
4) Mesh Topology: In a Mesh Topology, each device of the network is connected to all other devices of the network.
Mesh Topology uses Routing and Flooding techniques for data transmission.
The advantage of mesh topology is if one link breaks then it does not affect the whole network. And the disadvantage is,
huge cabling is required and it is expensive.
Q #34) What is the full form of IDEA?
Ans) IDEA stands for International Data Encryption Algorithm.
Q #35) Define Piggybacking?
Ans) In data transmission if the sender sends any data frame to the receiver then the receiver should send the
acknowledgment to the sender. The receiver will temporarily delay (waits for the network layer to send the next data
packet) the acknowledgment and hooks it to the next outgoing data frame, this process is called as Piggybacking
Q #36) In how many ways the data is represented and what are they?
Ans) Data transmitted through the networks’ comes in different ways like text, audio, video, images, numbers etc.
Audio: It is nothing but the continuous sound which is different from text and numbers.
Video: Continuous visual images or a combination of images.
Images: Every image is divided into pixels. And the pixels are represented using bits. Pixels may vary in size
based on the image resolution.
Numbers: These are converted into binary numbers and are represented using bits.
Text: Text is also represented as bits.
Q #37) What is the full form of ASCII?
Ans) ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
Q #38) How a Switch is different from a Hub?
Ans) Below are the differences between a Switch and a Hub,
Below given snapshot clearly, explains the difference between a switch and a hub,
Note: A Firewall cannot protect the system from virus, spyware, adware etc.
Q #44) Explain Beaconing?
Ans) If a network self-repair its problem then it is termed as Beaconing. Mainly it is used in token ring and FDDI (Fiber
Distributed Data Interface) networks. If a device in the network is facing any problem, then it notifies the other devices
that they are not receiving any signal. Likewise, the problem gets repaired within the network.
Q #45) Why the standard of an OSI model is termed as 802.xx?
Ans) OSI model was started in the month of February in 1980. So it is standardized as 802.XX. In this ‘80’ stands for
the year 1980 and ‘2’ represents the month February.
Q #46) Expand DHCP and describe how it works?
Ans) DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.
DHCP is used to assign IP addresses automatically to the devices over the network. When a new device is added to the
network, it broadcasts a message stating that it is new to the network. Then the message is transmitted to all the
devices of the network. Only the DHCP server will react to the message and assigns a new IP address to the newly
added device of the network.With the help of the DHCP, the IP management became very easy.
With the help of the DHCP, the IP management became very easy.
Q #47) How can a network be certified as an effective network? What are the factors affecting them?
Ans) A network can be certified as an effective network based on below-mentioned points,
Performance: A network’s performance is based on its transmitted time and response time. The factors
affecting the performance of a network are hardware, software, transmission medium types and the number of
users using the network.
Reliability: Reliability is nothing but measuring the probability of failures occurred in a network and the time
taken by it to recover from it. The factors affecting the same are the frequency of failure and recovery time
from failure.
Security: Protecting the data from viruses and unauthorized users. The factors affecting the security are
viruses and users who do not have permission to access the network.
Q #48) Explain DNS?
Ans) DNS stands for Domain Naming Server. DNS acts as a translator between domain names and IP address. As
humans remember names, the computer understands only numbers. Generally, we assign names to websites and
computers like gmail.com, Hotmail etc. When we type such names the DNS translates it into numbers and execute our
requests.
Translating the names into numbers or IP address is named as a Forward lookup.
The main difference between Internet and Ethernet is security. Ethernet is safer than the internet as Ethernet is a closed
loop and has only limited access.
If you go through the interview questions on networking of this article, you can easily face the interview.
I hope I have covered almost all the important networking interview questions in this article.
Meanwhile, there are several other interview questions that available on the internet which you can dig out as well.
However, I’m sure that if you have a clear understanding of the questions given here, then you can confidently clear any
Networking Interview.