Windows Networking Interview Questions and

Answers

1. Define Computer Networks.

Computer Network can be defined as a set of computers connected with each other to
communicate and share resources such as software, hardware, and data.

2. What is the use of NIC? Can a computer work without NIC in-network?

NIC stands for Network Interface Card. NIC is the bridge between computer and network.
Without NIC Card, the computer cannot connect to any network. It can also be called an
Ethernet card or Network Adaptor.

3. Explain Network Topology

Network topology is the physical structure of computers. It states the way computers, cables,
devices, etc. are connected with each other.

4. Define Node and Routers.

Node: Node can be described as a point or joint where the connection is built. Any device
connected in-network is considered a node. To establish a network, two or more nodes are
required.

Router: Routers can be termed as a device through which network segments are connected.
These network devices save information like routing tables, hops, etc. By using this
information, routers can determine the best path available to transfer the data from source
to
destination.

5. Tell me different types of networks along with their area of usage.

PAN: Personal Area Network - mostly used in home

LAN: Local Area Network - used in small cafes or offices
MAN: Metropolitan Area Network - used in city or town
WAN: Wide Area Network - spread across the world
6. Can you tell me the most basic use of a switch in networking

The switch can connect various computers together. For instance, 7 port switch can join 7
computers in a single network

7. In which topology centralized device is used for connectivity?

Star topology utilizes a hub or switches as a centralized device for connectivity.

8. Name a topology that uses coaxial Cable and terminators

Bus Topology

9. Explain the mechanism in a ring topology

In a ring topology, every computer is connected with two more computers and this is how
the loop will be formed. Here the data will be flown only in a single direction.

Source computer transmits the data in a circle. Each computer will checks whether data has
been intended for them and if yes, they will pick up the data packet from the ring. If it is not
then they will pass the data packet to the next computer. This is how the data packet will
reach the destination computer.

10. Explain the mechanism used in a mesh topology

In Mesh topology, each device is connected with all the rest of the devices residing in-
network,
To connect n nodes, n(n-1)/2 connections are required in a mesh topology. So to connect 4
devices, 6 connections will be required in a mesh network.

11. Describe the pros and cons of Bus topology.

Pros: Bus topology incurs the lowest cost amongst all the topologies available.
Cons: In a Bus topology, all the devices are connected with a single cable. So if the main cable
breaks then the whole network will be affected.

12. Explain Hybrid topology.

The hybrid topology consists of more than one topology in the same network. For example,
hybrid star-bus topology, here multiple star topologies are joined with single bus
topology.
13. Please explain the potential difference between the Internet, Intranet,
and Extranet.

These terms can be described as a way network applications are being accessed.

Internet - Everyone and anyone around the world can access the applications
Intranet - Only authorized users from the organization can access the application for which
it has been built.
Extranet - Selected external users are allowed to use the application which was built for the
Internet

14. Explain OSI Reference Model.

OSI -Open System Interconnection. OSI Model describes the way application interacts with
each other over a network.

15. What is TCP/IP model.

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol - It is the most widely used
protocol.

It describes how data should be packaged, transferred, and routed in the network.

16. Explain HTTP and HTTPS.

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol is used to transmit web content. It uses TCP port 80
HTTPS: It is a secure HTTP. To avoid tampering with data, HTTPS encrypts data packets
transmitted in the network. It uses TCP port 443.

17. Explain the difference between transmission and communication.

Transmission: Data is transferred from source to destination. This involves the physical
movement of data
Communication: Data is transmitted between source and destination. This involves sending
and receiving data packets between source and destination.

18. What are the data transmission modes available to transfer data over a
network?

There are 3 data transmission modes available to transmit the data

1. Simplex: Data transfer can be established only in one direction. For example radio signal
2. Half Duplex: Data transfer can be established in both directions but not at the same time.
For example internet browsing, once we send a request to the server then the server will
process it and show us the results
3. Full Duplex: Data transfer can be established in both directions simultaneously. For
example phone communication.

19. Full form of IDEA and ASCII

IDEA: International Data Encryption Algorithm

ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange

20. What is DNS?

DNS is Domain Naming Server. It is the bridge between domain names and IP addresses. The
computer only gets numbers whereas humans only remember names. For example,
gmail.com is the name given by humans but when we hit gmail.com, DNS translated it to
numbers and process our requests.

21. What is Piggybacking?

For any sent data frame, the receiver must acknowledge to sender. Instead of sending
acknowledgment stand-alone, the receiver will wait and send acknowledgment along with
the next data frame. This process is termed piggybacking.

22. Explain ipconfig and ifconfig

Ipconfig: Internet Protocol Configuration. This command is used for viewing and configuring
the network interface on Microsoft Windows. It is also used to identify DHCP protocol and
DNS settings.
Ifconfig: Interface Configuration. This command is for Linux, Mac, and Unix OS. Through this
command, we can configure and control the TCP/IP network interface from the command
line. We can see the IPs of these networks using this command.

23. What is Round Trip Time?

Round Trip Time can also be known as Round Trip Delay. It is the total time taken by a signal
to reach the destination node and come back to the sender node with acknowledgment.

24. Define Beaconing

If any problem in the network is identified and repaired by the network itself then it is known
as beaconing. FDDI and token ring use this mainly.
 25. Is there any way to recover the data of a system that is infected by a
virus?

Yes.

 Prepare a new system with OS and antivirus.

 Connect the HDD of the infected system with the new system as a secondary drive
 Scan it and clean it
 Once cleaned, transfer the data from the secondary drive to the new system

26. Differentiate between baseband and broadband transmission

In baseband transmission, the full bandwidth of the cable will be taken by a single signal.
Whereas in broadband transmission, multiple signals with multiple frequencies can be sent
simultaneously.

27. Define Crosstalk

Crosstalk is the disturbance generated by adjacent wires.

28. Explain the use of tracert

Tracert is a tool used to list the path taken by a data packet from the router to the destination
node. It also mentions the count of total hops taken in the entire route.

29. What is the use of netstat?

Netstat is a command-line tool. It is used to list out all important TCP/IP settings of a
connection.

30. If you use longer cables than the preferred ones, will it make any
difference?

If we use longer cables than the preferred ones, it will cause a signal loss in transmission.