General Network Engineer Interview Questions - Part 5 - 5 General Knowledge Questions - Syed Jahanzaib Personnel Blog To Share Knowledge !

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February22,2010
GeneralNetworkEngineerInterviewQuestions/Part5/5
GeneralKnowledgeQuestions
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GeneralNetworkEngineerInterviewQuestions
GeneralKnowledgeQuestions
~SyedJahanzaib~
DescribetheOSImodel.
(pronouncedasseparateletters)ShortforOpenSystemInterconnection,anISOstandardfor
worldwidecommunicationsthatdefinesanetworkingframeworkforimplementingprotocols
insevenlayers.Controlispassedfromonelayertothenext,startingattheapplicationlayerin
onestation,proceedingtothebottomlayer,overthechanneltothenextstationandbackup
thehierarchy.
Atonetime,mostvendorsagreedtosupportOSIinoneformoranother,butOSIwastoo
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Atonetime,mostvendorsagreedtosupportOSIinoneformoranother,butOSIwastoo
looselydefinedandproprietarystandardsweretooentrenched.ExceptfortheOSIcompliant
X.400andX.500emailanddirectorystandards,whicharewidelyused,whatwasonce
thoughttobecometheuniversalcommunicationsstandardnowservesastheteachingmodel
forallotherprotocols.
MostofthefunctionalityintheOSImodelexistsinallcommunicationssystems,althoughtwo
orthreeOSIlayersmaybeincorporatedintoone.
OSIisalsoreferredtoastheOSIReferenceModelorjusttheOSIModel.
OpenSystemInterconnectionanISOstandardforworldwidecommunicationsthatdefinesa
networkingframeworkforimplementingprotocolsinsevenlayers.Thesevenlayers&
Functionsare:
Application
(Layer7)Thislayersupportsapplicationandenduserprocesses.Communicationpartnersare
identified,qualityofserviceisidentified,userauthenticationandprivacyareconsidered,and
anyconstraintsondatasyntaxareidentified.Everythingatthislayerisapplicationspecific.
Thislayerprovidesapplicationservicesforfiletransfers,email,andothernetworksoftware
services.TelnetandFTPareapplicationsthatexistentirelyintheapplicationlevel.Tiered
applicationarchitecturesarepartofthislayer.
Presentation
(Layer6)Thislayerprovidesindependencefromdifferencesindatarepresentation(e.g.,
encryption)bytranslatingfromapplicationtonetworkformat,andviceversa.The
presentationlayerworkstotransformdataintotheformthattheapplicationlayercanaccept.
Thislayerformatsandencryptsdatatobesentacrossanetwork,providingfreedomfrom
compatibilityproblems.Itissometimescalledthesyntaxlayer.
Session
(Layer5)Thislayerestablishes,managesandterminatesconnectionsbetweenapplications.
Thesessionlayersetsup,coordinates,andterminatesconversations,exchanges,anddialogues
betweentheapplicationsateachend.Itdealswithsessionandconnectioncoordination.
Transport
(Layer4)Thislayerprovidestransparenttransferofdatabetweenendsystems,orhosts,andis
responsibleforendtoenderrorrecoveryandflowcontrol.Itensurescompletedatatransfer.
Network
(Layer3)Thislayerprovidesswitchingandroutingtechnologies,creatinglogicalpaths,known
asvirtualcircuits,fortransmittingdatafromnodetonode.Routingandforwardingare
functionsofthislayer,aswellasaddressing,internetworking,errorhandling,congestion
controlandpacketsequencing.
DataLink
(Layer2)Atthislayer,datapacketsareencodedanddecodedintobits.Itfurnishes
transmissionprotocolknowledgeandmanagementandhandleserrorsinthephysicallayer,
flowcontrolandframesynchronization.Thedatalinklayerisdividedintotwosublayers:The
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MediaAccessControl(MAC)layerandtheLogicalLinkControl(LLC)layer.TheMACsublayer
controlshowacomputeronthenetworkgainsaccesstothedataandpermissiontotransmitit.
TheLLClayercontrolsframesynchronization,flowcontrolanderrorchecking.
Physical
(Layer1)Thislayerconveysthebitstreamelectricalimpulse,lightorradiosignalthrough
thenetworkattheelectricalandmechanicallevel.Itprovidesthehardwaremeansofsending
andreceivingdataonacarrier,includingdefiningcables,cardsandphysicalaspects.Fast
Ethernet,RS232,andATMareprotocolswithphysicallayercomponents.
ApplicationLayersUsageExample:
7.ApplicationLayerNNTPSIPSSIDNSFTPGopherHTTPNFSNTPSMPPSMTP
SNMPTelnet(more)
6.PresentationLayer:MIMEXDR
5.SessionLayer:NamedPipesNetBIOSSAP
4.TransportLayer:TCPUDPPPTPSCTPSSLTLS
3.NetworkLayer:IPICMPIPsecIGMPIPXAppleTalk
2.DataLinkLayerARP:CSLIPSLIPEthernetFramerelayITUTG.hnDLLL2TPPPP
1.PhysicalLayer:RS232V.35V.34I.430I.431T1E1POTSSONET/SDHOTNDSL
802.11a/b/g/nPHYITUTG.hnPHY
Whatisthedifferencebetweenarepeater,bridge,router?RelatethistotheOSImodel
Bridges:
(sometimescalledTransparentbridges)workatOSImodelLayer2.Thismeanstheydont
knowanythingaboutprotocols,butjustforwarddatadependingonthedestinationaddressin
thedatapacket.ThisaddressisnottheIPaddress,buttheMAC(MediaAccessControl)
addressthatisuniquetoeachnetworkadaptercard.Bridgesareveryusefulforjoining
networksmadeofdifferentmediatypestogetherintolargernetworks,andkeepingnetwork
segmentsfreeofdatathatdoesntbelonginaparticularsegment.
Switches:
SwitchesarethesamethingasBridges,butusuallyhavemultipleportswiththesameflavor
connection(Example:10/100/10000BaseT).
Switchescanbeusedinheavilyloadednetworkstoisolatedataflowandimprove
performance.Inaswitch,databetweentwolightlyusedcomputerswillbeisolatedfromdata
intendedforaheavilyusedserver,forexample.Orintheoppositecase,inautosensing
switchesthatallowmixingof10and100Mbpsconnections,theslower10Mbpstransferwont
slowdownthefaster100Mbpsflow.
Repeater:
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Repeater:
Forwardseveryframeitreceives
itisagenerator,notanamplifier(i.eitremovesnoise&regeneratessignal)
Bidirectionalinnature
Usefulinincreasingethernetsize/length
Maximumof5RepeatersinanEthernet
Routers
Linksdissimilarn/ws
nottransparenttoendstations
actsonanetworklayerframe
isolatesLANtosubnetstomanage&controltraffic
vDescribeanEthernetswitchandwhereitfitsintotheOSImodel.
AswitchisahardwaredevicethatworksatLayer2oftheOSImodeldatalink.Thedatalink
layeriswheretheEthernetprotocolworks.
AswitchswitchesEthernetframesbykeepingatableofwhatMACaddresseshavebeenseen
onwhatswitchport.Theswitchusesthistabletodeterminewheretosendallfutureframes
thatitreceives.InCiscoterminology,thistableiscalledtheCAMtable(contentaddressable
memory).Ingeneral,thepropertermforthistableisthebridgeforwardingtable.Ifaswitch
receivesaframewithadestinationMACaddressthatitdoesnothaveinitstable,itfloodsthat
frametoallswitchports.Whenitreceivesaresponse,itputsthatMACaddressinthetableso
thatitwonthavetofloodnexttime.
Aswitchisahighspeedmultiportbridge.Thisiswhybridgesarenolongerneededor
manufactured.Switchesdowhatbridgesdidfasterandcheaper.Mostrouterscanalsofunction
asbridges.
Youmightbeaskinghowahubfitsintothismixofdevices.Ahubisamultiportrepeater.In
otherwords,anythingthatcomesinoneportofahubisduplicatedandsentoutallotherports
ofthehubthathavedevicesattached.Thereisnointelligencetohowahubfunctions.Aswitch
isavastimprovementoverahubintermsofintelligence,formanyreasons.Themost
importantofthosereasonsishowthebridgeforwardingtableworks.Intelligent(smart)
switcheshavemadehubsobsoletebecausetheycandomoreatthesamecostofadumbhub.
Forthisreason,hubsarerarelyusedorsoldanylonger.
vWhatisaVLAN?WhatisanELAN?Whatisthedifference?
ShortforvirtualLAN,anetworkofcomputersthatbehaveasiftheyareconnectedtothesame
wireeventhoughtheymayactuallybephysicallylocatedondifferentsegmentsofaLAN.
VLANsareconfiguredthroughsoftwareratherthanhardware,whichmakesthemextremely
flexible.OneofthebiggestadvantagesofVLANsisthatwhenacomputerisphysicallymoved
toanotherlocation,itcanstayonthesameVLANwithoutanyhardwarereconfiguration.
AVLANisalogicallocalareanetwork(orLAN)thatextendsbeyondasingletraditionalLAN
toagroupofLANsegments,givenspecificconfigurations.BecauseaVLANisalogicalentity,
itscreationandconfigurationisdonecompletelyinsoftware.
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VLANVirtualLocalAreaNetwork
ELANEmulatedLocalAreaNetwork
Differencebetweenthesetwoareasfollows:
WithoutgoingintothemechanicsofELANsandhowtheyareconfigured,anELAN
(EmulatedLAN)connectsVLANsoveraWAN.
AVLAN(VirtualLAN)isagroupingofportsonswitcheswhichisconsideredasone
broadcastdomain.AlltheportsonaVLANactasiftheywereallonthesamewire.
Therefore,broadcastsarepropagatedacrossaVLAN,andanythingcommunicationoutside
thatVLANmustberoutedorbridged.
TheELANisamechanismusedtolinkVLANsacrossawideareanetwork.ATMisagood
candidateforELANs.WithELANs,youcouldhave2VLANsatdifferentsiteswhich
arelinkedtogetherviaanELAN.TheELANlinksthetwoVLANs
Together,formingonebigbroadcastdomain.TheadvantageofELANsoverstraightbridging
isthatmembershipintoELANsisdynamic,andthatmultipleELANscanbehandledbyone
singleWANlink.
vDescribeEthernetpacketcontents:min./max.size,header.
Ethernetframeconsistsof:
7bytesPreamble
1byteSOFDelimiter
6bytesDA
6bytesSA
2bytesType\Length
461500bytesData\802.2Header+Data
4bytesFCS
Minamountofbytesis72.Ethernetframeminimalsizeis64=72bytesofframe7bytesof
preamble1byteofSOF.
Theethernetframesizeupperlimitof1500bytesgoesuptothehistoryofDIXEthernet
physicallimitofmemorysizeusedinNICsbecauseofitscost.Actuallythereisnostrict
requirementsbyusedalgorythmsorstandarts.
Lowerlimitofframesizehasthefollowingreasons:
1.Tomaketransmissionerrordetectionmoreeasysmallersizeofbinarysequenceleadsto
lowerreliabilityoferrordetection.
2.Themostimportantreason:Ifframesizeislessthan64bytes(512bits),hostmayfinish
transmissionbeforereceivingnoisesignalandcanthinkthatframetransmittedsuccessfully,
whileanotherhostsentcollisionnotification.
For10Mbpsrateminframesizeshouldbeatleast500bitsthatstheonlyguaranteethat
collisioncanbedetectedanywhereinthecable.Forreliabilityminsizewasincreasedupto512
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(powerof2)andbecame512bits=64bytes.
theminsizewastomakesurethatitcontainsenoughethernetheaders.
themaxsizealsohassomethingtodowiththedatawrittenintheheaders.
vDescribeTCP/IPanditsprotocols.
TheTCP/IPsuiteofprotocolsisthesetofprotocolsusedtocommunicateacrosstheinternet.It
isalsowidelyusedonmanyorganizationalnetworksduetoitsflexibilityandwidearrayof
functionalityprovided.Microsoftwhohadoriginallydevelopedtheirownsetofprotocolsnow
ismorewidelyusingTCP/IP,atfirstfortransportandnowtosupportotherservices.
IPInternetProtocol.ExceptforARPandRARPallprotocolsdatapacketswillbepackaged
intoanIPdatapacket.IPprovidesthemechanismtousesoftwaretoaddressandmanagedata
packetsbeingsenttocomputers.
TCP/IPisatwolayerprogram.Thehigherlayer,TransmissionControlProtocol,managesthe
assemblingofamessageorfileintosmallerpacketsthataretransmittedovertheInternetand
receivedbyaTCPlayerthatreassemblesthepacketsintotheoriginalmessage.Thelower
layer,InternetProtocol,handlestheaddresspartofeachpacketsothatitgetstotheright
destination.Eachgatewaycomputeronthenetworkchecksthisaddresstoseewhereto
forwardthemessage.Eventhoughsomepacketsfromthesamemessagearerouteddifferently
thanothers,theyllbereassembledatthedestination.
TCPAreliableconnectionorientedprotocolusedtocontrolthemanagementof
applicationlevelservicesbetweencomputers.Itisusedfortransportbysomeapplications.
UDPAnunreliableconnectionlessprotocolusedtocontrolthemanagementof
applicationlevelservicesbetweencomputers.Itisusedfortransportbysomeapplications
whichmustprovidetheirownreliability.
ManyInternetusersarefamiliarwiththeevenhigherlayerapplicationprotocolsthatuse
TCP/IPtogettotheInternet.TheseincludetheWorldWideWebsHypertextTransferProtocol
(HTTP),theFileTransferProtocol(FTP),Telnet(Telnet)whichletsyoulogontoremote
computers,andtheSimpleMailTransferProtocol(SMTP).Theseandotherprotocolsareoften
packagedtogetherwithTCP/IPasasuite.
vDescribeATMandwhatareitscurrentadvantagesanddisadvantages.
DescribeSONET
ATM(asynchronoustransfermode)isadedicatedconnectionswitchingtechnologythat
organizesdigitaldatainto53bytecellunitsandtransmitsthemoveraphysicalmediumusing
digitalsignaltechnology.Individually,acellisprocessedasynchronouslyrelativetoother
relatedcellsandisqueuedbeforebeingmultiplexedoverthetransmissionpath.
BecauseATMisdesignedtobeeasilyimplementedbyhardware(ratherthansoftware),faster
processingandswitchspeedsarepossible.Theprespecifiedbitratesareeither155.520Mbpsor
622.080Mbps.SpeedsonATMnetworkscanreach10Gbps.AlongwithSynchronousOptical
Network(SONET)andseveralothertechnologies,ATMisakeycomponentofbroadband
ISDN(BISDN).
ATMalsostandsforautomatedtellermachine,amachinethatbankcustomersusetomake
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ATMalsostandsforautomatedtellermachine,amachinethatbankcustomersusetomake
transactionswithoutahumanteller.
AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofATM
ATMAdvantages
ATMsupportsvoice,videoanddataallowingmultimediaandmixedservicesovera
singlenetwork.
Highevolutionpotential,workswithexisting,legacytechnologies
Providesthebestmultipleservicesupport
Supportsdelayclosetothatofdedicatedservices
Supportsthebroadestrangeofburstiness,delaytoleranceandlossperformancethrough
theimplementationofmultipleQoSclasses
Providesthecapabilitytosupportbothconnectionorientedandconnectionlesstrafficusing
AALs
AbletouseallcommonphysicaltransmissionpathslikeSONET.
Cablecanbetwistedpair,coaxialorfiberoptic
AbilitytoconnectLANtoWAN
LegacyLANemulation
Efficientbandwidthusebystatisticalmultiplexing
Scalability
Higheraggregatebandwidth
HighspeedMbpsandpossiblyGbps
ATMdisadvantages
Flexibletoefficiencysexpense,atpresent,foranyoneapplicationitisusuallypossibleto
findamoreoptimizedtechnology
Cost,althoughitwilldecreasewithtime
NewcustomerpremiseshardwareandsoftwarearerequiredCompetitionfromother
technologies100MbpsFDDI,100MbpsEthernetandfastEthernet
PresentlytheapplicationsthatcanbenefitfromATMsuchasmultimediaarerareThewait,
withallthepromiseofATMscapabilitiesmanydetailsarestillinthestandardsprocess
vWhatarethemaximumdistancesforCAT5cabling?
Agoodstandardansweris100meters(300feet)withpatchcords,90meters(270feet)
withoutpatchcords.ThatgoesprettymuchforeverythinguptoandincludingCAT7/Class
FaUTP.
Maximumcablelenghforethernetdependsonwhatkindofethernetyouaretalking
about!Herearesomedetailsonthemostpopularkindsofethernet.(UTP=
unshieldedtwistedpair)GigabitEthernet(overcopper),1000baseT
Speed:
1000Mbps
MaxLen:
100Meters
Cable:
UTP,RJ45connectors
FastEthernet,100baseT
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Speed:
100Mbps
MaxLen:
100Meters
Cable:
UTP,RJ45connectors
TwistedPairEthernet,10baseT
Speed:
10Mbps
MaxLen:
100Meters
Cable:
UTP,RJ45connectors
ThinEthernet,10base2
Speed:
10Mbps
MaxLen:
185Meters
Cable:
RG58typecoax,50ohmimpedance
ThickEthernet,10base5
Speed:
10Mbps
MaxLen:
500Meters
Cable:
RG58typecoax,50ohmimpedance
vDescribeUDPandTCPandthedifferencesbetweenthetwo.
TCPAreliableconnectionorientedprotocolusedtocontrolthemanagementofapplication
levelservicesbetweencomputers.Itisusedfortransportbysomeapplications.
UDPAnunreliableconnectionlessprotocolusedtocontrolthemanagementofapplication
levelservicesbetweencomputers.Itisusedfortransportbysomeapplicationswhichmust
providetheirownreliability.
vDescribewhatabroadcaststormis.
Astateinwhichamessagethathasbeenbroadcastacrossanetworkresultsinevenmore
responses,andeachresponseresultsinstillmoreresponsesinasnowballeffect.Asevere
broadcaststormcanblockallothernetworktraffic,resultinginanetworkmeltdown.Broadcast
stormscanusuallybepreventedbycarefullyconfiguringanetworktoblockillegalbroadcast
messages.
vDescribewhatarunt,agiant,andalatecollisionareandwhatcauseseachofthem.
Aruntisapacketthatfailstomeettheminimumsizestandard.Ussuallybelow64bytes.
Occursasaresultofacollision.
Agiantisapacketthatexceedsthesizestandardforthemediumussuallygraterthen1518
bytes.Causedbymalfunctioningequipmentonyournetwork.
Latecollisionsarepacketcollisionsthatoccurafterthewindow
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Latecollisionsarepacketcollisionsthatoccurafterthewindow
foranetworkcollisioncloses.
vHowdoyoudistinguishaDNSproblemfromanetworkproblem?
Ifyoureabletoping157.166.224.26butyouareNOTabletopingcnn.com,Thenyoure
havingaDNSproblem.
[IfyouareNOTabletopingEITHER,thentherearenetworkproblemsandyouhaveNO
problemsifyouCANpingBOTH]
Youcanthenusenslookuptolocateanalternateinternalorexternaldnsserverthatcorrectly
resolvescnn.comtoitsipaddressandconfigureyourworkstationsNICforthisstaticdns
serveruntiltheproblemswiththeDHCPassignedDNSserverarefixed.
OR
Whenuareabletopingthedefaultgatewayandthewebsiteaddressthereisnoprobleminthe
networkandDNS
WhenuareabletopingthethegatewayandtheWEBsiteIP,butnottheWEBsiteaddressthen
itisaproblemwiththeDNS
Whenuarenotabletopinganythingitsnetworkproblem
vDescribetheprincipleofmultilayerswitching.
MultilayerswitchingissimplythecombinationoftraditionalLayer2switchingwithLayer3
routinginasingleproduct.Multilayerswitchingisnew,andthereisnoindustrystandardyet
onnomenclature.Vendors,analysts,andeditorsdontagreeaboutthespecificmeaningof
termssuchasmultilayerswitch,Layer2router,Layer3switch,IPswitch,routingswitch,
switchingrouter,andwirespeedrouter.Thetermmultilayerswitchseemstobethebestand
mostwidelyuseddescriptionofthisclassofproductthatperformsbothLayer3routingand
Layer2switchingfunctions.
Multilayerswitchingisusuallyimplementedthroughafasthardwaresuchasahigherdensity
ASICs(ApplicationSpecificIntegratedCircuits),whichallowrealtimeswitchingand
forwardingwithwirespeedperformance,andatlowercostthantraditionalsoftwarebased
routersbuiltaroundgeneralpurposeCPUs.
Thefollowingaresomebasicarchitectureapproachesforthemultiplayerswitches:
GenericCutThroughRouting:
InthemultilayerswitchingarchitectureLayer3routingcalculationsaredoneonthefirst
packetinadataflow.FollowingpacketsbelongingtothesameflowareswitchedatLayer2
alongthesameroute.Inotherwords,routecalculationandframeforwardingarehandledvery
differentlyhere.
ATMBasedCutThroughRouting:
ThisisavariationofgenericcutthroughroutingwhichisbasedonATMcellsratherthan
frames.ATMbasedcutthroughroutingoffersseveraladvantagessuchasimprovedsupport
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ofLANemulationandmultivendorsupportintheformoftheMultiprotocolOverATM
(MPOA)standard.ProductsreferredtoasIPswitchesandtagswitchesgenerallyfallintothis
category.
Layer3LearningBridgingCInthisarchitecture,routingisnotprovided.Instead,itusesIP
snoopingtechniquestolearntheMAC/IPaddressrelationshipsofendstationsfromtrue
routersthatmustexistelsewhereinthenetwork.Thenitredirectstrafficawayfromtherouters
andswitchesitbasedonitsLayer2addresses.
WirespeedRouting:
Wirespeedarchitecturerouteseverypacketindividually.Itisoftenreferredtoaspacketby
packetLayer3switching.UsingadvancedASICstoperformLayer3routinginhardware,it
implementsdynamicroutingprotocolssuchasOSPFandRIP.InadditiontobasicIProuting,it
supportsIPmulticastrouting,VLANsegregation,andmultipleprioritylevelstoassistin
qualityofservice.
NetworkTroubleshooting
vExplainhowtraceroute,ping,andtcpdumpworkandwhattheyareusedfor?
Traceroute;
Tracerouteworksbyincreasingthetimetolivevalueofeachsuccessivebatchofpackets
sent.Thefirstthreepacketssenthaveatimetolive(TTL)valueofone(implyingthattheyare
notforwardedbythenextrouterandmakeonlyasinglehop).Thenextthreepacketshavea
TTLvalueof2,andsoon.Whenapacketpassesthroughahost,normallythehostdecrements
theTTLvaluebyone,andforwardsthepackettothenexthost.WhenapacketwithaTTLof
onereachesahost,thehostdiscardsthepacketandsendsanICMPtimeexceeded(type11)
packettothesender.Thetracerouteutilityusesthesereturningpacketstoproducealistof
hoststhatthepacketshavetraversedenroutetothedestination.Thethreetimestampvalues
returnedforeachhostalongthepatharethedelay(akalatency)valuestypicallyin
milliseconds(ms)foreachpacketinthebatch.Ifapacketdoesnotreturnwithintheexpected
timeoutwindow,astar(asterisk)istraditionallyprinted.Traceroutemaynotlisttherealhosts.
Itindicatesthatthefirsthostisatonehop,thesecondhostattwohops,etc.IPdoesnot
guaranteethatallthepacketstakethesameroute.AlsonotethatifthehostathopnumberN
doesnotreply,thehopwillbeskippedintheoutput.
Ping:
ItworksbysendingICMPechorequestpacketstothetargethostandlisteningforICMP
echoresponsereplies.Pingestimatestheroundtriptime,generallyinmilliseconds,and
recordsanypacketloss,andprintsastatisticalsummarywhenfinished.
TCPDUMP:
tracerouteandpingworkontheICMPprotocolandareusedfornetworkconnectivitytesting.
butTCPDUMPisdifferentitsaNETWORKPACKETANALYZER.tcpdumpuseslibpacp/
winpcaptocapturedataandusesitextensiveprotocoldefinitionsbuildinsidetoanalyzethe
capturedpackets.Itsmainlyusedtodebugtheprotocolofthecapturedpacketwhichinturn
revealsthenetworktrafficcharachterstics.
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vWhatisametric?
Metricsisapropertyofarouteincomputernetworking,consistingofanyvalueusedby
routingalgorithmstodeterminewhetheronerouteshouldperformbetterthananother(the
routewiththelowestmetricisthepreferredroute).Theroutingtablestoresonlythebest
possibleroutes,whilelinkstateortopologicaldatabasesmaystoreallotherinformationas
well.Forexample,RoutingInformationProtocoluseshopcount(numberofhops)todetermine
thebestpossibleroute.
AMetriccaninclude:
measuringlinkutilisation(usingSNMP)
numberofhops(hopcount)
speedofthepath
packetloss(routercongestion/conditions)
latency(delay)
pathreliability
pathbandwidth
throughput[SNMPqueryrouters]
load
MTU
vWhatisanetworkmanagementsystem?
ANetworkManagementSystem(NMS)isacombinationofhardwareandsoftwareusedto
monitorandadministeranetwork
Effectiveplanningforanetworkmanagementsystemrequiresthatanumberofnetwork
managementtasksbefoldedinasinglesoftwaresolution.Thenetworkmanagementsystem
shouldautomatetheprocessesofexpensemanagementauditing,assetlifecyclemanagement,
inventorydeploymenttracking,costallocationandinvoiceprocessing.
vDescribehowSNMPworks.
Thesimplenetworkmanagementprotocol(SNMP)useformonitoringofnetworkattached
devicesforanyconditionsthatwarrantadministrativeattention.ItisusetomanageIP
networkdevicessuchasservers,routers,switchesetc.Administratorcanfindormanage
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networkperformance,solveproblemorevenoptimizeitfurther.ItworksatTCP/IP
Applicationlayer5(L5).
vDescribehowWEPworksanditsstrengthsandweaknesses
AsyouprobablyalreadyknowWiredEquivalentPrivacy(WEP)isusedbycompaniesto
securetheirwirelessconnectionsfromsniffingattacks.Youveprobablyalsoheardthatitsnot
verysecure.Inthefirstpartofthis2partseriesIllexplaintheinnerworkingsofWEPand
followitupnextmonthwithwhyitsinsecure.
DoineedWEPatall?
Anauthenticuser,BobuseshislaptoptocheckhisGmailaccounteveryday.Hehasawireless
cardinhislaptopwhichautomaticallydetectshisISPswirelessaccesspoint(WAP)justacross
thestreet.OncehesconnectedtotheWAPhecangoaheadandcheckhisEmail.Aliceisa
sneakyuserwhodoesntwanttopaytheISPforaccesstotheInternet.Shehoweverknows
thattheISPacrossthestreethasanaccesspointwhichanyonecanconnecttoandaccessthe
Internet.SheplugsinherlaptopandissoondownloadingmusicfromtheInternet.WEPwas
designedtoensurethatusersauthenticatethemselvesbeforeusingresources,toblockout
Alice,andallowBob.Letsseehowitdoesthis.
HowWEPworks
WEPusestheRC4algorithmtoencryptthepacketsofinformationastheyaresentoutfrom
theaccesspointorwirelessnetworkcard.Assoonastheaccesspointreceivesthepacketssent
bytheusersnetworkcarditdecryptsthem.
Eachbyteofdatawillbeencryptedusingadifferentpacketkey.Thisensuresthatifahacker
doesmanagetocrackthispacketkeytheonlyinformationthatisleakedisthatwhichis
containedinthatpacket.
TheactualencryptionlogicinRC4isverysimple.TheplaintextisXORedwithaninfinitely
longkeystream.ThesecurityofRC4comesfromthesecrecyofthepacketkeythatsderived
fromthekeystream.
vDescribewhataVPNisandhowitworks.
AVPNconnectionistheextensionofaprivatenetworkthatincludeslinksacrosssharedor
publicnetworks,suchastheInternet.VPNconnections(VPNs)enableorganizationstosend
databetweentwocomputersacrosstheInternetinamannerthatemulatesthepropertiesofa
pointtopointprivatelink.
Basically,aVPNisaprivatenetworkthatusesapublicnetwork(usuallytheInternet)to
connectremotesitesoruserstogether.Insteadofusingadedicated,realworldconnectionsuch
asleasedline,aVPNusesvirtualconnectionsroutedthroughtheInternetfromthe
companysprivatenetworktotheremotesiteoremployee.
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VoIP
DescribehowVoIPworks.
VoiceoverInternetProtocol(VoIP),isatechnologythatallowsyoutomakevoicecallsusinga
broadbandInternetconnectioninsteadofaregular(oranalog)phoneline.SomeVoIPservices
mayonlyallowyoutocallotherpeopleusingthesameservice,butothersmayallowyouto
callanyonewhohasatelephonenumberincludinglocal,longdistance,mobile,and
internationalnumbers.Also,whilesomeVoIPservicesonlyworkoveryourcomputerora
specialVoIPphone,otherservicesallowyoutouseatraditionalphoneconnectedtoaVoIP
adapter.
DescribemethodsofQoS.
Qualityofserviceistheabilitytoprovidedifferentprioritytodifferentapplications,users,or
dataflows,ortoguaranteeacertainlevelofperformancetoadataflow.
QOSisQualityofService:Asetofmetricsusedtomeasurethequalityoftransmissionand
serviceavailableofanygiventransmissionsystem
AreyoufamiliarwithIPv6?Ifso,whatarethemajordifferencesbetweenIPv4andIPv6?
IPv6isbasedonIPv4,itisanevolutionofIPv4.SomanythingsthatwefindwithIPv6are
familiartous.Themaindifferencesare:
1.Simplifiedheaderformat.IPv6hasafixedlengthheader,whichdoesnotincludemostofthe
optionsanIPv4headercaninclude.EventhoughtheIPv6headercontainstwo128bit
addresses(sourceanddestinationIPaddress)thewholeheaderhasafixedlengthof40bytes
only.Thisallowsforfasterprocessing.
Optionsaredealtwithinextensionheaders,whichareonlyinsertedaftertheIPv6headerif
needed.Soforinstanceifapacketneedstobefragmented,thefragmentationheaderisinserted
aftertheIPv6header.ThebasicsetofextensionheadersisdefinedinRFC2460.
2.Addressextendedto128bits.Thisallowsforhierarchicalstructureoftheaddressspaceand
providesenoughaddressesforalmosteverygrainofsandontheearth.Importantforsecurity
andnewservices/devicesthatwillneedmultipleIPaddressesand/orpermanentconnectivity.
3.AlotofthenewIPv6functionalityisbuiltintoICMPv6suchasNeighborDiscovery,
Autoconfiguration,MulticastListenerDiscovery,PathMTUDiscovery.
4.EnhancedSecurityandQoSFeatures.
IPv4meansInternetProtocolversion4,whereasIPv6meansInternetProtocolversion6.
IPv4is32bitsIPaddressthatweusecommonly,itcanbe192.168.8.1,10.3.4.5orother32bits
IPaddresses.IPv4cansupportupto232addresses,howeverthe32bitsIPv4addressesare
finishingtobeusedinnearfuture,soIPv6isdevelopedasareplacement.
IPv6is128bits,cansupportupto2128addressestofulfillfutureneedswithbettersecurityand
networkrelatedfeatures.HerearesomeexamplesofIPv6address:
1050:0:0:0:5:600:300c:326b
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1050:0:0:0:5:600:300c:326b
ff06::c3
0:0:0:0:0:0:192.1.56.10
Whatauthentication,authorizationadaccounting(AAA)mechanismsareyoufamiliarwith?
Whichoneshaveyouimplemented??
RADIUSServer(RemoteAccessDialinUserService)
MSIAS(InternetAuthenticaionService)
Comments(11)
11Comments
1. Goodpost!
CommentbytechierantsFebruary6,2012@5:41PM
Reply
2. Ilikethispost.
Canyoualsosaysomethingon3Gwirelessnetworkingandprotocolsinvolved?
CommentbyBiggyFebruary9,2012@4:49PM
Reply
sorrydear,ihavenoexperiencein3gandwififield.
CommentbySyedJahanzaib/Pinochio~:)February9,2012@7:42PM
Reply
3. Verymuchinterestingpost.HopetoseethetextonInternationalterrestrialcabling
CommentbyMANaserApril4,2012@2:29PM
Reply
4. VeryUsefulStuff,Thanks
CommentbymaheshMay28,2012@1:20PM
Reply
5. []MSIAS(InternetAuthenticaionService)Comments(5)[]
PingbackbyGeneralNetworkEngineerInterviewQuestionsGeneralKnowledgeQuestions
Yogesh(Yogi)June6,2012@1:31AM
Reply
6. goodpost.thanx.
14/15
6/8/2015
CommentbyranjitAugust20,2012@8:37PM
Reply
7. nicepostthanxalot!!!
CommentbymathanDecember15,2012@11:41AM
Reply
8. usefulinfowelldone
CommentbysachidhawanApril27,2013@4:52PM
Reply
9. goodstuffforlesstimeinmoreknowledge.
CommentbyadityaMay8,2013@2:18PM
Reply
10. Quitehelpfultounderstandthebasicofnetwork.
CommentbyJonathanJuly30,2013@10:00AM
Reply
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