Latest Windows Server Administrator Interview Questions and Answers
1) Differentiate between NTFS & FAT.
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.
2) What Is VOIP.
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.
3) What is loop back.
Loopback address is 127.0.0.1,
An address that sends outgoing signals back to the same computer for testing.
4) What is Proxy Server.
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 largerscale network such as the Internet. Proxy servers
provide increased performance and security. In some cases, they monitor employees’ use of outside
resources.
5) Differentiate between FIREWALL/ANTIVIRUS.
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.
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.
6) Differentiate between Frond end & Back End Server.
Backend 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.
Frontend server:
A frontend server is a computer resources that has exposed to the internet.
7) What is 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 nonfunctional.
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
169.254.255.254.
8) How Release and renew IP address from Command prompt.
Ipconfig / release
ipconfig / renew
9) What is wins server.
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.
10)What is the Windows Registry.
The Windows Registry, usually referred to as “the registry,” is a collection of databases of
configuration settings in Microsoft Windows operating systems
Latest Windows Server Administrator Interview Questions and Answers
11) System Volume Information (SVI) Folder.
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.”
12 ) What is MBR.
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
13) What is Bit Locker.
BitLocker is an encryption feature available in Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7 and
Vista,
To encrypt an entire drive, simply rightclick on the drive and select Turn on BitLocker from the
context menu.
14) Difference b/w sata and IDE.
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.
15)Main Difference Between Windows server 2008 and 2012
1) New Server Manager: Create, Manage Server Groups
2) HyperV Replication : The HyperV Replica feature allows you to replicate a virtual machine from
one location to another with HyperV 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.
3) Expanded PowerShell Capabilities
4)IIS 8.0 and IIS 7 in 2008
5)HyperV 3.0
6)PowerShell 3.0
16)How Long My Computer Has Been Running? Get to Know My Computer’s Uptime.
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.
17)Event viewer in Windows server
Control panel Administrative tools Computer Management event Viewer
Three types events
Error.
Warning.
Information.
18) Manage Multiple, Remote Servers with Server Manager.
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 Windowsbased 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, multiserver management, and help increase the number of servers an administrator
can manage.
19) What happens when we type URL in browser.
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 recreate 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.
Latest Windows Server Administrator Interview Questions and Answers
DNS:-
1) Define DNS .
Domain Name System, DNS is an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses.
Because domain names are alphabetic, they’re easier to remember.
Two types of lookup in DNS.
Forward lookup : it converts Domain name to ip address.
Reverse lookup: it converts ip address to Domain name.
Three types of zone.
Primary zone
secandary zone and stub zone.
what is the port no of DNS.
UDP and port number 53
What is NSlookup.
Nslookup.exe is a commandline administrative tool for testing and troubleshooting DNS servers.
This tool is installed along with the TCP/IP protocol through Control Panel.
MSDOS utility that enables a user to look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.
AD ( Active Directory ):-
1) What is LDAP? Why it is used.
LDAP is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Its an active directory protocal ,Basically, it’s a
protocol used to access data from a database
2) What is Active Directory? Why it used.
Active Directory is a Directory Service created by Microsoft. It is included with most Windows
Server operating systems.
Active Directory is primarily used to store directory objects like users and groups and computers
printers.
Using Active Directory brings a number of advantages to your network,
Centralized user account management
Centralized policy management (group policy)
Better security management
3) What Is Group Policy.
Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that control the
working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group Policy provides the centralized
management and configuration of operating systems, applications, and users’ settings in an Active
Directory environment.
4) What is the order in which GPOs are applied .
Local Group Policy object
site ,
Domain and
organizational units.
5) What is the difference between software publishing and assigning.
Assign Users : The software application is advertised when the user logs on. It is installed when the
user clicks on the software application icon via the start menu, or accesses a file that has been
associated with the software application.
Assign Computers :The software application is advertised and installed when it is safe to do so, s
uch as when the computer is next restarted.
Publish to users : The software application does not appear on the start menu or desktop. This
means the user may not know that the software is available. The software application is made
available via the Add/Remove Programs option in control panel, or by clicking on a file that has been
associated with the application. Published applications do not reinstall themselves in the event of
accidental deletion, and it is not possible to publish to computers.
6) Can I deploy nonMSI software with GPO.
create the fiile in .zap extension.
7) Name some GPO settings in the computer and user parts.
Computer Configuration, User ConfigurationName
8) Name a few benefits of using GPMC.
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.
9) How frequently is the client policy refreshed ?
90 minutes give or take.
10) Where are group policies stored ?
C:\Windows\System32\GroupPolicy.
11) Group policy backup
To backup a single GPO, rightclick the GPO, and then click Back Up.
To backup all GPOs in the domain, rightclick Group Policy Objects and click Back Up All.
12) Define DSRM Mode?
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.
13) Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
The AD data base is stored in c:\windows\ntds\NTDS.DIT.
14 ) Have you ever Installed AD?
To Install Microsoft Active Directory:
Ensure that you log on to the computer with an administrator account to perform installation.
Click electing Start > Administration Tools > Server manager > Configure your Server.
In the Welcome page, click Next.
In the Operating system compatibility panel, click Next.
On the Domain Controller Type panel, select Domain controller for a new domain and click
Next.
On the Create New Domain panel, select Domain in a new forest and click Next.
On the New Domain Name panel, enter the DNS suffix for your new Active Directory. This
name will be used during Tivoli Provisioning Manager installation, so make a note of it. Click Next.
On the NetBIOS Domain Name panel, enter the NetBIOS name of the domain. The first part of
the DNS name is usually sufficient. Click Next.
On the Database and Logs panel, select the desired folders for the Database and Logs.
C:\Windows\NTDS is the default. Click Next.
On the Shared System Volume panel, enter a valid directory for the system volume.
C:\Windows\Sysvol is the default. Click Next to continue.
If you configured DNS successfully, the Permissions setting panel is displayed. Select Permissions
compatible only with Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003. Click Next.
On the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password panel, enter a valid password to be
used when running the Directory Services in Restore Mode. Click Next
Verify the settings and Click Next to begin the Active Directory configuration. The server will be
rebooted as part of the process.
15) What is the use of SYSVOL folder
All active directory data base security related information store in SYSVOL folder and it’s only
created on NTFS partition.
16) What is global catalog
The Global Catalog is a database that contains all of the information pertaining to objects within all
domains in the Active Directory environment
17) What is the difference between local, global and universal groups
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
resoures in all trusted domains.
18) What is group nesting.
Adding one group as a member of another group is called ‘group nesting’. This will help for easy
administration and reduced replication traffic
19) What is Domain control?
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
20) What is domain?
A domain is a set of network resources (applications, printers, and so forth) for a group of users. The
user needs only to log in to the domain to gain access to the resources, which may be located on a
number of different servers in the network. The ‘domain’ is simply your computer address not to
confuse with an URL. A domain address might look something like 211.170.469.
21) What is Forest?
A collection of one or more Active Directory domains that share a common schema, configuration,
and global catalog.
22) What is global catalog.
The Active Directory Global Catalog is the central storage of information about objects in an Active
Directory forest. A Global Catalog is created automatically on the first domain controller in the first
domain in the forest. The Domain Controller which is hosting the Global Catalog is known as a
Global catalog server.
23) What is tree.
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.
24) What is site.
A Site object in Active Directory represents a geographic location that hosts networks.
25) Flexable Single Master Operation Roles (FSMO)
The 5 FSMO server roles:
Schema Master I Forest Level | One per forest
Domain Naming Master Forest Level One per forest
PDC Emulator Domain Level One per domain
RID Master Domain Level One per domain
Infrastructure Master Domain Level One per domain
26) Command to Add client to Domain
NETDOM /Domain:MYDOMAIN /user:adminuser /password:apassword MEMBER MYCOMPUTER
/JOINDOMAIN
27) Setting File Permissions on a Folder Using Group Policy
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.
Rightclick 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.
