Windows Server Interview

Questions
Article byPriya Pedamkar

Updated March 2, 2023

Introduction to Windows Server Interview

Questions And Answers
So you have finally found your dream job in Windows Server but are wondering how

to crack the Windows Server Interview and what could be the probable Windows

Server Interview Questions. Every interview is different and the scope of a job is

different too. Keeping this in mind we have designed the most common 2023

Windows Server Interview Questions and answers to help you get success in your

interview.

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Below is the top 2023 Windows Server Interview Questions that are asked frequently

in an interview. These top interview questions are divided into two parts are as

follows:

 Part 1 – Windows Server Interview Questions (Basic)

 Part 2 – Windows Server Interview Questions (Advanced)

Part 1 – Windows Server Interview

Questions (Basic)
This first part covers basic Windows Server Interview Questions and answers

1. What is an Active Directory?

Answer:

Active Directory (AD) is a directory service which is used in a directory to store

objects like user profiles, network information, computers. It helps to manage the

network effectively with the help of Domain Controllers which are present at different

locations with the Active Directory database. Some of the functions include central

administration with multiple geographical locations, authentication of users

and computers in a windows domain, replicating Active Directory from any Domain

Controller which in turn will be replicated to all other Domain Controller’s.

2. What are some of the roles of FSMO (flexible

single master operations)?
Answer:

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 Schema Master is a forest-wide role and is available only on each forest

 Domain Naming Master, like Schema Mater this too is a forest-wide role

 Infrastructure Master

 RID Master

 PDC

Let us move to the next Windows Server Interview Questions

3. Tell me about Active Directory Database And List

The Active Directory Database Files?
Answer:

The Active Directory database files as follows:

 DIT

 Log

 Che

 log and Res2.log

All the Active Directory changes are not written directly to the NTDS.DIT database

file. They are first written to EDB.Log and thereon from the log file to the database.

EDB.Che is used to tracking the updates to the database it acts as an update log file

to check what operations are performed to the database.

 NTDS.DIT: This is the Active Directory database and contains all the AD

objects. The default location is %system root%nrdsnrds.dit, this database is

based upon the Jet database.

 EDB.Log: This file is to track the transactions on the database, when EDB.Log

is full it gets renamed to EDB Num.log where a num is a number starting from

1 like EDB1.log

 EDB.Che: This file is used to check for the data that is not yet written to a

database. This file has the starting point to the data can be recovered during

failures.
  Res1.log and Res2.log: Res stands for reserved transaction file which

provides the transaction log file enough time to shut down if the disk runs out

of space.

4. What is the use of Active Directory Partitions? And

How to Find the Active Directory Partitions and there
Location?
Answer:

The different type’s of active directory partitions are as below:

 Schema Partition–This partition stores all the details of the objects and their

attributes, it also replicates to other domain controllers which are present in

the Forest

 Configuration Partition– This partition stores all the information about the

Active Directory. The information includes Site, site-link, subnet etc. this

partition also replicates to all domain controllers which are present in the

Forest

 Domain Partitions– This partition stores the information of the domain which

includes user, computer, group, printer etc. this partition also replicates to all

domain controllers which are present in the domain.

 Application Partition– This partition stores the applications information in

Active Directory.Exampels– ForestDNSZones and DomainDNSZones

5. What are GPOs (Group Policy Objects)?

Answer:

This is the frequently asked Windows Server Interview Questions. The settings that

control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts are known

as Group Policy Object (GPO). This help is defining the security options, software

installation, registry-based policies and maintenance options, script options and

folder redirection options

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There are two types of Group Policy Objects:

 Nonlocal Group Policy objects: These are available only in an Active

Directory environment and are stored on a domain controller

 Local Group Policy Objects: These are stored on local computers (individual

computers)

Part 2 – Windows Server Interview

Questions (Advanced)
Let us now have a look at the advanced Windows Server Interview Questions.

6. What do Forests, Trees, and Domains mean?

Answer:

The logical divisions of an Active Directory network are known as forests, trees, and

domains.

A logical group of network objects for example computers, users, devices etc which

share the same active directory database is known as a domain.

The collection of one or more domains is known as a tree. This may also include a

contiguous namespace linked in a transitive trust hierarchy.

The collection of domains is known as the forest which shares a common global

catalog, logical structure, directory configuration and directory schema. It also

defines the security boundaries for users, groups, and computers.

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7. Non-authoritative Restore of Active Directory?

Answer:

During non-authoritative restore, the domain controller is set back to its initial state

(the state at the time of backup was taken). Once it’s done it allows overwriting its

initial state with the changes that were done after the initial backup was taken.

Now for updating the Active Directory database, queries are fetched by the domain

controller from replication partners to ensure that the Active Directory is up to date

and accurate. Whenever there is data loss or corruption in the Active Directory this

method is used (default).

Let us move to the next Windows Server Interview Questions

8. Authoritative Restore of Active Directory?

Answer:

The second step after a non-authoritative restore is an authoritative restore process.

One of the key features of authoritative restore is that it can increment the version

numbers of the attributes or an object in an entire directory. This type of restore is

used to restore a single deleted user/object. There will be a mismatch in the version

numbers and hence care must be taken while restoring using authoritative restore

process
9. Explain in windows DNS server What is Primary,
Secondary and Stub zone?
Answer:

DNS stands for domain name system, which is used as a reference table to match the

domain names to the ip addresses

The below are the three types of zones in Windows DNS server:

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 Primary Zone: In the primary zone, the file is saved as a text file with

extension being (.dns)

 Secondary Zone: This is a backup for the primary server which acts as load

balancing and also provides fault tolerance. This is usually read-only file which

is placed in another DNS server

 Stub Zone: This consists of the name server and SOA records which help in

reducing the DNS search orders

10. Explain what is the major difference between

NTFS (New Technology File System) or FAT (File
Allocation Table) on a local server?
Answer:

The major differences between FAT32 and NTFS are as below:

 Feature FAT32 NTFS

Maximum file name 8.3 Characters 255 characters

Maximum file size 4GB 16TB

File/Folder Encryption No Yes

Fault Tolerance No Auto Repair

Security Only Network Local and network

Compression No Yes

Conversion Possible Not allowed

Compatibility Win 95/98/2k/2k3/XP Win NT/2K/XP/Vista

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