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What does it mean by "tattooing" the Registry ?

" Tattooing" the registry means user can modify and view user preference that are not stored in the maintained portions of the Registry. Even if the group policy is changed or removed, the user preference will still persist in the registry.

What are Lingering Objects?

A lingering object is a deleted AD object that still remains on the restored domain controller in its local copy of Active Directory. They can occur when changes are made to directories after system backups are created. When restoring a backup file, Active Directory generally requires that the backup file be no more than 180 days old. This can happen if, after the backup was made, the object was deleted on another DC more than 180 days ago.

17) Explain what is the purpose of deploying local DNS servers?

A local DNS server provides the local mapping of fully qualified domain names to IP addresses. To resolve remote requests related to the domains names on your network, local DNS servers can provide record information to remote DNS servers.

What is Proxy Server

A proxy server is a computer that acts as a gateway between a local network (e.g., all thecomputers at one company or in one building) and a larger-scale network such as theInternet. Proxy servers provide increased performance and security. In some cases, theymonitor employees' use of outside resources

What is the difference between a computer process and thread?

A single process can have multiple threads that share global data and address space with other threads running in the same process, and therefore can operate on the same data set easily. Processes do not share address space and a different mechanism must be used if they are to share data. If we consider running a word processing program to be a process, then the auto-save and spell check features that occur in the background are different threads of that process which are all operating on the same data set (your document). process: In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being sequentially executed[1] by a computer system that has the ability to run several computer programs concurrently. Thread: A single process may contain several executable programs (threads) that work together as a coherent whole. One thread might, for example, handle error signals, another might send a message about the error to the user, while a third thread is executing the actual task of the..

In the case when MSI file is not available, how you can install an app?

To add the application using the Software Installer.ZAP text file can be used rather than the windows installer

What are GPO links? What special things can I do to them?

To apply the settings of a GPO to the users and computers of a domain, site, or OU, you need to add a link to that GPO. You can add one or more GPO links to each domain, site, or OU by using GPMC. Keep in mind that creating and linking GPOs is a sensitive privilege that should be delegated only to administrators who are trusted and understand Group Policy.

9) What information is required when TCP/IP is configured on Window Server?

To configure a TCP/PI client for an IPv4 client, you have to provide the IP address and the subnet mask.

11) Explain what is the way to configure the DHCP server such that it allocates the same IP address to certain devices each time the address is removed?

To configure the DHCP server, you can create a reservation for the device. To create a reservation, you must know the MAC hardware address of the device. To determine the MAC address for a network device you can use the ipconfig or nbs tat command line utilities.

Explain how you can set up remote installation procedure without giving access to user?

To do that, you have to go to, gponameà User Configuration à Windows Settings à Remote Installation Services à Choice Options

12) Explain what is LDAP?

To look up for the information from the server, e-mail and another program follows or uses the internet protocol. This protocol is referred as LDAP or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.

When do we use WDS?

Windows Deployment Services is a server role used to deploy Windows operating systems remotely. WDS is mainly used for network-based OS installations to set up new computers.

How can we remove Lingering Objects?

Windows Server 2003 and 2008 have the ability to manually remove lingering objects using the console utility command REPADMIN.EXE.

Pretend I'm a manager, and explain DNS to me

Windows is increasingly tied to domain name resolution, and the bigger your company gets, the thornier DNS problems become. If they can verbalize how end users' computers make DNS requests and how forwarders work, and then if they can toss in Active Directory, they've solved some enterprise problems. Starting with a generic open-ended question like that tests a candidate's communication skills, too. Bonus points for making a tough concept seem easy.

What is a Domain?

A domain is defined as a logical group of network objects (computers, users, devices) that share the same Active Directory database. A tree can have multiple domains.

What are GPOs (Group Policy Objects)?

A Group Policy Object (GPO) is a collection of settings that control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. GPOs define registry-based policies, security options, software installation and maintenance options, script options, and folder redirection options. There are two kinds of Group Policy objects: Local Group Policy objects are stored on individual computers. Nonlocal Group Policy objects, which are stored on a domain controller, are available only in an Active Directory environment.

What is Domain Controller?

A domain controller (DC) or network domain controller is a Windows-based computer system that is used for storing user account data in a central database. It is the centrepiece of the Windows Active Directory service that authenticates users, stores user account information and enforces security policy for a Windows domain. A domain controller allows system administrators to grant or deny users access to system resources, such as printers, documents, folders, network locations, etc., via a single username and password.

20) Explain where is the AD database is held?

AD database is saved in %systemroot%/ntds. Files that controls the AD structure are ntds.dit edb.log res1.log res2.log edn.chk

What is Active Directory?

Active Directory is a Meta Data. Active Directory is a data base which store a data base like your user information, computer information and also other network object info. It has capabilities to manage and administor the complite Network which connect with AD

What is Active Directory?

Active Directory provides a centralised control for network administration and security. Server computers configured with Active Directory are known as domain controllers. Active Directory stores all information and settings for a deployment in a central database, and allows administrators to assign policies and deploy and update software.

What are application partitions? When do we use them?

Application Directory Partition is a partition space in Active Directory which an application can use to store that application specific data. This partition is then replicated only to some specific domain controllers. The application directory partition can contain any type of data except security principles (users, computers, groups).

How do we Backup Active Directory?

Backing up Active Directory is essential to maintain an Active Directory database. You can back up Active Directory by using the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and command-line tools that the Windows Server 2003 family provides. You frequently backup the system state data on domain controllers so that you can restore the most current data. By establishing a regular backup schedule, you have a better chance of recovering data when necessary. To ensure a good backup includes at least the system state data and contents of the system disk, you must be aware of the tombstone lifetime. By default, the tombstone is 60 days. Any backup older than 60 days is not a good backup. Plan to backup at least two domain controllers in each domain, one of at least one backup to enable an authoritative restore of the data when necessary.

How do you backup AD?

Backing up Active Directory is essential to maintain the proper health of the AD database.

Explain what is the difference between a thread and a computer process?

Computer Process: In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is executed sequentially by a computer system which can run several computer programs concurrently. Thread: A thread is a several executable program that work together as a single process. For instance, one thread might send an error message to the user; another might handle error signals while the third thread might be executing the original action.

16) Explain what is RAID in Windows Server?

For storing same data at a different place RAID or Redundant Array of Independent Disks strategy is used. It is a strategy for building fault tolerance and increase the storage capacity. On separate drives it allows you to combine one or more volumes so that they are accessed by a single drive letter

13) Explain what is SYSVOL folder?

It is a set of files and folders that is stored on the local hard disk of each domain controller in a domain and are replicated by the FRS ( File Replication Service). These files contain group or user policy information.

How do you recover one SQL Server database or one Exchange mailbox?

Different backup systems have different ways of dealing with this, so I may not be able to vet their exact answer if I haven't used the same backup system they're using. However, I can do a pretty good job of sniffing out when someone doesn't understand the complexities involved. If they shrug and just say "I click restore and it's done," then they're bluffing. For example, when restoring an Exchange mailbox, do you really want to pave over every email the user has received since the last backup? Or does the user just need one or two important emails pulled out of the archive?

Why do we use DHCP?

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol assigns dynamic IP addresses to network devices allowing them to have a different IP address each time they are connected to the network.

What are main Email Servers and which are their ports?

Email servers can be of two types: Incoming Mail Server (POP3, IMAP, HTTP) The incoming mail server is the server associated with an email address account. There cannot be more than one incoming mail server for an email account. In order to download your emails, you must have the correct settings configured in your email client program. Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) Most outgoing mail servers use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for sending emails. The outgoing mail server can belong to your ISP or to the server where you setup your email account. The main email ports are: POP3 - port 110 IMAP - port 143 SMTP - port 25 HTTP - port 80 Secure SMTP (SSMTP) - port 465 Secure IMAP (IMAP4-SSL) - port 585 IMAP4 over SSL (IMAPS) - port 993 Secure POP3 (SSL-POP) - port 995

When an end user says a file went missing, what do you do?

End users delete files all the time, but before you recover it from backup, first do a search on the drive to make sure they didn't drag & drop it to another folder. (Normally I don't give interview answers here, but that one's an exception.) Then, after they explain that, I'd ask them to cover things like VSS snapshots, end user recovery in Explorer and how to restore from their favorite backup program.

Explain what is the major difference between NTFS ( New Technology File System) or FAT (File Allocation Table) on a local server?

For local users FAT (File Allocation Table) and FAT32 provides security, while NTFS ( New Technology File System) provides security for domain users as well as local users. NTFS provides file level security which is not possible through FAT32.

What do Forests, Trees, and Domains mean?

Forests, trees, and domains are the logical divisions in an Active Directory network. A domain is defined as a logical group of network objects (computers, users, devices) that share the same active directory database. A tree is a collection of one or more domains and domain trees in a contiguous namespace linked in a transitive trust hierarchy. At the top of the structure is the forest. A forest is a collection of trees that share a common global catalog, directory schema, logical structure, and directory configuration. The forest represents the security boundary within which users, computers, groups, and other objects are accessible.

What is Garbage collection?

Garbage collection is the online defragmentation of the Active Directory which happens every 12 hours.

What is the Global Catalog?

Global Catalog is a server which maintains the information about multiple domain with trust relationship agreement..

What is Group Policy?

Group Policy allows you to implement specific configurations for users and computers. Group Policy settings are contained in Group Policy objects (GPOs), which are linked to the following Active Directory service containers: sites, domains, or organizational units (OUs).

What are GPOs?

Group Policy gives you administrative control over users and computers in your network. By using Group Policy, you can define the state of a user's work environment once, and then rely on Windows Server 2003 to continually force the Group Policy settings that you apply across an entire organization or to specific groups of users and computers.

What is the order in which GPOs are applied?

Group Policy settings are processed in the following order: 1:- Local Group Policy object-each computer has exactly one Group Policy object that is stored locally. This processes for both computer and user Group Policy processing. 2:- Site-Any GPOs that have been linked to the site that the computer belongs to are processed next. Processing is in the order that is specified by the administrator, on the Linked Group Policy Objects tab for the site in Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). The GPO with the lowest link order is processed last, and therefore has the highest precedence. 3:- Domain-processing of multiple domain-linked GPOs is in the order specified by the administrator, on the Linked Group Policy Objects tab for the domain in GPMC. The GPO with the lowest link order is processed last, and therefore has the highest precedence. 4:- Organizational units-GPOs that are linked to the organizational unit that is highest in the Active Directory hierarchy are processed first, then GPOs that are linked to its child organizational unit, and so on. Finally, the GPOs that are linked to the organizational unit that contains the user or computer are processed.

If you get hired and you can pick any laptop, what do you get?

I wanna see 'em get all excited. I wanna see 'em giddy with glee at the thought of picking out their own shiny new hardware. The more excited they get, the more I know systems administration is a way of life for them, not just a hobby.

15) Explain what is INODE?

INODE holds the metadata of files; INODE is a pointer to a block on the disk, and it is unique. In simple words, it is a unique number allocated to a file in UNIX-like OS.

What is INODE?

INODE is a pointer to a block on the disk and it is unique. Inode is an unique number. Inode holds metadata of files.

What's a Windows profile? When would you delete one, and what gets deleted?

If you're looking for someone to do desktop support, they should have at least a vague idea of where the user's data can be stored. Bonus points if they can explain where common application settings are stored, what the Registry is, and how roaming profiles work.

Explain what does IntelliMirror do?

IntelliMirror helps to reconcile desktop settings, applications and stored files for users especially for those users who move between workstations or those who works offline

18) To check TCP/IP configurations and IP connectivity, what are the two command line utilities that can be used?

Ipconfig: To check the computer's IP configuration, command ipconfig can be used and also it can be used to renew the client's IP address if it is provided by a DHCP server. Ping: To check the connection between the local computer and any of the other computer device on the network Ping command is used

What is LDAP?

LDAP (Light-Weight Directory Access Protocol) determines how an object in an Active Directory should be named. LDAP is the industry standard directory access protocol, making Active Directory widely accessible to management and query applications. Active Directory supports LDAPv2 and LDAPv3.

What is LDAP?

LDAP, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is an Internet protocol that email and other programs use to look up information from a server.

What is loop back.

Loopback address is 127.0.0.1, An address that sends outgoing signals back to the same computer for testing

Name a few benefits of using GPMC?

Microsoft released the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) years ago, which is an amazing innovation in Group Policy management. The tool provides control over Group Policy in the following manner: ► Easy administration of all GPOs across the entire Active Directory Forest ► View of all GPOs in one single list ► Reporting of GPO settings, security, filters, delegation, etc. ► Control of GPO inheritance with Block Inheritance, Enforce, and Security Filtering ► Delegation model ► Backup and restore of GPOs ► Migration of GPOs across different domains and forests With all of these benefits, there are still negatives in using the GPMC alone. Granted, the GPMC is needed and should be used by everyone for what it is ideal for. However, it does fall a bit short when you want to protect the GPOs from the following: ► Role based delegation of GPO management ► Being edited in production, potentially causing damage to desktops and servers ► Forgetting to back up a GPO after it has been modified ► Change management of each modification to every GPO

What is multi tasking, multi programming, multi threading?

Multi programming: Multiprogramming is the technique of running several programs at a time using timesharing. It allows a computer to do several things at the same time. Multiprogramming creates logical parallelism. The concept of multiprogramming is that the operating system keeps several jobs in memory simultaneously. The operating system selects a job from the job pool and starts executing a job, when that job needs to wait for any i/o operations the CPU is switched to another job. So the main idea here is that the CPU is never idle. Multi tasking: Multitasking is the logical extension of multiprogramming .The concept of multitasking is quite similar to multiprogramming but difference is that the switching between jobs occurs so frequently that the users can interact with each program while it is running. This concept is also known as time-sharing systems. A time-shared operating system uses CPU scheduling and multiprogramming to provide each user with a small portion of time-shared system. Multi threading: An application typically is implemented as a separate process with several threads of control. In some situations a single application may be required to perform several similar tasks for example a web server accepts client requests for web pages, images, sound, and so forth.

8) Explain what is the primary function of the domain controller?

Primary function of the domain controller is to validate users to the networks, it also provide a catalog of Active Directory Objects.

in windows DNS server what is Secondary zone?

Secondary Zone: It maintains a read-only copy of zone database on another DNS server. Also, it acts as a back-up server to the primary server by providing fault tolerance and load balancing

in windows DNS server what is Stub zone?

Stub Zone: It consists of a copy of name server and SOA records which is used for reducing the DNS search orders.

Where is the AD database stored?

The AD database is stored in C:\Windows\NTDS\NTDS.DIT.

What is DNS and which port number is used by DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is used to resolve human-readable hostnames like www.intenseschool.com into machine-readable IP addresses like 69.143.201.22. DNS servers use UDP port 53 but DNS queries can also use TCP port 53 if the former is not accepted.

What is the SYSVOL folder?

The SYSVOL folder stores the server copy of the domain's public files that must be shared for common access and replication throughout a domain. All AD databases are stored in a SYSVOL folder and it's only created in an NTFS partition. The Active Directory Database is stored in the %SYSTEM ROOT%NDTS folder.

What is the SYSVOL folder?

The Sysvol folder on a Windows domain controller is used to replicate file-based data among domain controllers. Because junctions are used within the Sysvol folder structure, Windows NT file system (NTFS) version 5.0 is required on domain controllers throughout a Windows distributed file system (DFS) forest.

10) Explain what does it mean caching only server in terms of DNS?

The caching only DNS server provides information related to queries based on the data it contains in its DNS cache.

Explain the working of Virtual Memory?

Virtual memory like as a temporary storage area.It consists of page table.In this pages are divided into frames.It is a continuous memory allocation.It is also called logical memory.

Mention what windows server 2008 service is used to install client operating system over the network?

WDE ( Windows Deployment Services ) allows you to install client and server operating systems over the network to any computer with a PXE enabled network interface

Why should you not restore a DC that was backed up 6 months ago?

When restoring a backup file, Active Directory generally requires that the backup file be no more than 180 days old. If you attempt to restore a backup that is expired, you may face problems due to lingering objects.

19) Explain if it is possible to connect Active Directory to other 3rd party Directory services?

Yes, you can connect other vendors directory services with Microsoft version. By using dirXML or LDAP to connect to other directories.

How do we restore AD?

You can't restore Active Directory (AD) to a domain controller (DC) while the Directory Service (DS) is running. To restore AD, perform the following steps. Reboot the computer. The computer will boot into a special safe mode and won't start the DS. Be aware that during this time the machine won't act as a DC and won't perform functions such as authentication. 1. Start NT Backup. 2. Select the Restore tab. 3. Select the backup media, and select System State. 4. Click Start Restore. 5. Click OK in the confirmation dialog box. After you restore the backup, reboot the computer and start in normal mode to use the restored information. The computer might hang after the restore completes; I've experienced a 30-minute wait on some machines.

What is the Logical / Physical Structures of the AD Environment?

physical structure: Forest, Site, Domain, DC logical structure: Schema partition, configuration partition, domain partition and application partition Physical Structure Domain Controller and Site Logical Forest, Tree, Domain and OU

Mention how many types of queries DNS does?

he types of queries DNS does are Iterative Query Recursive Query