1.
General / HR Questions
✅
Q1. Tell me about yourself.
Answer:
“I have 3 years and 8 months of hands-on experience in IT & Server Support. Currently, I
am working at your company name Delhi, where I manage installation, configuration, and
maintenance of servers, desktops, laptops, networking devices, and virtualization platforms.
My expertise includes Windows/Linux administration, VMware virtualization, Dell iDRAC &
HP iLO, RAID storage, and firewall management. I am passionate about problem-solving,
teamwork, and ensuring smooth IT operations. I am now seeking opportunities to expand my
skills in designing and maintaining scalable and secure IT solutions.”
2. Operating Systems
✅
Q2. What steps will you follow to install and configure Windows Server?
Answer:
● Boot system with installation media (ISO/DVD).
● Select language & edition → Proceed.
● Partition the disk (create system and data partitions).
● Install Windows Server → Initial setup (hostname, time zone).
● Configure static IP, DNS.
● Add roles/features using Server Manager (e.g., AD DS, DHCP, DNS).
● Apply Windows Updates & configure security policies.
● Create users/groups, configure permissions.
✅
Q3. How do you create and manage users in Linux?
Answer:
● useradd username → Creates a user.
● passwd username → Sets password.
● usermod -aG groupname username → Adds user to group.
● id username → Check user UID/GID.
● Files updated: /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group.
● Permissions managed with chmod, chown, chgrp.
3. Networking
✅
Q4. Explain how DHCP and DNS work.
Answer:
● DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) → Automatically assigns IP, subnet
mask, gateway, and DNS server to clients. Saves admin effort.
● DNS (Domain Name System) → Resolves domain names into IP addresses (e.g.,
google.com → 142.250.x.x). Works with hierarchical name servers (Root → TLD →
Authoritative).
✅
Q5. How will you troubleshoot if a system cannot connect to the internet?
Answer:
1. Check physical connection (cable, Wi-Fi).
2. Run ipconfig (Windows) or ifconfig/ip a (Linux) → Verify IP.
3. Ping gateway → Check LAN connectivity.
4. Ping public IP (8.8.8.8) → Check ISP.
5. Ping domain name → Verify DNS resolution.
6. Check firewall/antivirus blocking.
7. Verify default gateway & DNS configuration.
4. Virtualization & Servers
✅
Q6. What is VMware ESXi and how do you manage VMs?
Answer:
● ESXi is a Type-1 bare-metal hypervisor from VMware. It runs directly on hardware to
manage virtual machines.
● VMs are created via vSphere Client/Web Client.
● Steps: Install ESXi → Connect via vSphere → Allocate CPU, RAM, storage → Mount
ISO → Install OS → Configure networking.
● Snapshots & cloning can be used for backup and replication.
✅
Q7. What is iDRAC and iLO?
Answer:
● iDRAC (Dell Remote Access Controller) & iLO (HP Integrated Lights-Out) are
out-of-band management tools.
● They allow remote monitoring, power on/off, BIOS configuration, and troubleshooting
even if OS is down.
● Useful for remote data center/server management.
5. Storage & Backup
✅
Q8. Explain RAID and which levels you have worked on.
Answer:
● RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) improves performance and
redundancy.
● Common levels:
○ RAID 0 → Striping, performance, no redundancy.
○ RAID 1 → Mirroring, redundancy, but 50% storage loss.
○ RAID 5 → Striping + parity, good balance of performance & fault tolerance.
○ RAID 10 → Combination of 1+0, best redundancy & speed.
● I’ve worked with RAID 1 and RAID 5 while configuring Dell and Fujitsu servers.
✅
Q9. How do you take backup & recovery of servers?
Answer:
● Use tools like Veeam/Commvault or native OS utilities.
● Backup types: Full, Incremental, Differential.
● For Windows: wbadmin start backup.
● For Linux: rsync, tar, dd.
● For VMs: Use VMware snapshots or export OVF templates.
● Always test recovery → Restore on test server.
6. Security & Antivirus
✅
Q10. What is a firewall and how do you configure it?
Answer:
● Firewall controls traffic between internal and external networks.
● Types: Hardware (Palo Alto, Cisco) & Software (iptables, Windows Defender).
● In Linux: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT (allow SSH).
● In Windows: Configure via wf.msc.
● Policies: Whitelist/blacklist IPs, ports, protocols.
✅
Q11. How do you manage antivirus in enterprise environment?
Answer:
● Centralized antivirus servers (e.g., Kaspersky, Endpoint Central).
● Push updates to all endpoints.
● Schedule scans and monitor logs.
● Ensure policies prevent disabling antivirus.
7. Troubleshooting Scenarios
✅
Q12. A user reports printer not working. What steps will you take?
Answer:
1. Check printer power & connectivity.
2. Verify cables/Network printer IP.
3. Restart printer spooler service.
○ Windows: net stop spooler && net start spooler.
4. Check driver installation.
5. Print test page.
6. If still not working, check hardware issue (cartridge, paper jam).
✅
Q13. Server is not booting, what will you do?
Answer:
● Check physical connections & power.
● Access BIOS/iDRAC/iLO → See hardware logs.
● Verify RAID array & disks.
● Boot into recovery/Live OS.
● Restore from backup if OS is corrupted.
8. Behavioral / Situational
✅
Q14. Tell me about a challenging troubleshooting issue you solved.
Answer idea:
● Example: At your company name, faced a critical server down in OSS Lab. Issue
was faulty RAID controller. Verified via iDRAC logs, replaced hardware, restored
backup, and ensured minimal downtime.
✅
Q15. Why do you want to move from support role to a more advanced IT role?
Answer:
“I’ve built a strong foundation in server and IT support over the past 3 years. Now I want to
grow into designing, deploying, and managing secure enterprise-level IT infrastructures,
where I can contribute more to scalability and innovation.”
🔹 50 Interview Questions with Answers
1. Operating System (Windows/Linux)
✅
Q1. How do you check system logs in Linux?
Answer: /var/log/syslog, /var/log/messages, /var/log/dmesg, or
journalctl.
✅
Q2. Difference between ext4 and NTFS?
Answer: ext4 (Linux, better journaling, supports large files), NTFS (Windows, supports
permissions, encryption, compression).
✅
Q3. Command to find disk usage in Linux?
Answer: df -h (disk usage), du -sh * (folder/file usage).
✅
Q4. How do you schedule a job in Linux?
Answer: Using cron (crontab -e) or at command.
✅
Q5. How do you check OS version in Windows & Linux?
Answer:
● Windows: winver or systeminfo.
● Linux: cat /etc/os-release or uname -a.
2. Networking
✅
Q6. What is the difference between public and private IP?
Answer: Public IP = Internet routable; Private IP = Internal LAN use only (10.x, 172.16.x,
192.168.x).
✅
Q7. How do you check open ports in Linux?
Answer: netstat -tulnp, ss -tulnp, or nmap.
✅
Q8. What is NAT?
Answer: Network Address Translation → Maps private IPs to public IPs for internet
access.
✅
Q9. Explain VLANs.
Answer: Virtual LANs separate devices logically at Layer 2 to improve security and
reduce broadcast traffic.
✅
Q10. How do you troubleshoot DNS issues?
Answer:
● nslookup domain.com
● dig domain.com (Linux)
● Flush cache: ipconfig /flushdns
3. VMware & Virtualization
✅
Q11. What is a Hypervisor?
Answer: Software/hardware that allows multiple VMs to run on one physical host (Type-1
= Bare-metal, Type-2 = Hosted).
✅
Q12. How do you check VM performance?
Answer: In vSphere client → CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network graphs.
✅
Q13. Difference between Thick and Thin provisioning?
Answer:
● Thick: Pre-allocates full disk size.
● Thin: Allocates space as needed.
✅
Q14. What is vCenter?
Answer: Centralized management for multiple ESXi hosts (features: vMotion, HA, DRS).
✅
Q15. What happens if VM snapshot chain grows too long?
Answer: Performance degrades, disk corruption possible. Best practice: merge/delete
snapshots.
4. Storage & RAID
✅
Q16. What is the difference between SAN and NAS?
Answer:
● SAN: Block-level storage, faster, used in data centers.
● NAS: File-level storage, accessed over network (SMB/NFS).
✅
Q17. RAID 5 vs RAID 10?
Answer:
● RAID 5: Striping + parity (3 disks min, fault tolerance = 1 disk).
● RAID 10: Striping + mirroring (4 disks min, high performance + redundancy).
✅
Q18. How do you replace a failed disk in RAID?
Answer: Replace with same size or larger disk → RAID controller rebuilds automatically.
✅
Q19. What is LUN in storage?
Answer: Logical Unit Number → a logical disk created from SAN storage, presented to
servers.
✅
Q20. How do you check RAID health?
Answer: Via RAID controller BIOS, vendor tools (Dell OMSA, HP SSA), or iDRAC/iLO.
5. Firewall & Security
✅
Q21. Difference between hardware and software firewall?
Answer: Hardware = dedicated appliance (Palo Alto, Cisco ASA). Software = runs on OS
(Windows Defender Firewall, iptables).
✅
Q22. How do you block a specific IP in Linux firewall?
Answer: iptables -A INPUT -s <IP> -j DROP
✅
Q23. What is DMZ in networking?
Answer: Demilitarized Zone → network segment that separates internal LAN from
external traffic for security.
✅
Q24. What is the difference between stateful and stateless firewall?
Answer: Stateful tracks connections; stateless checks only rules per packet.
✅
Q25. What are common firewall ports?
Answer: 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 22 (SSH), 25 (SMTP), 3389 (RDP).
6. Backup & Recovery
✅
Q26. How do you back up Linux files?
Answer: rsync, tar -cvf backup.tar /path, dd, enterprise tools (Veeam,
Commvault).
✅
Q27. How do you verify if a backup was successful?
Answer: Check logs, restore test file, checksum validation.
✅
Q28. How often should you test backups?
Answer: Regularly (monthly/quarterly). Best practice: 3-2-1 rule (3 copies, 2 media, 1
offsite).
✅
Q29. What is Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)?
Answer: Strategy for restoring IT services after failure (backup sites, failover, RPO/RTO).
✅
Q30. What is RPO vs RTO?
Answer:
● RPO = Recovery Point Objective → Data loss tolerance.
● RTO = Recovery Time Objective → Time to restore service.
7. Printers & Peripheral Support
✅
Q31. How do you share a printer in Windows?
Answer: Right-click printer → Properties → Sharing → Share name.
✅
Q32. Printer shows “Offline”. How do you fix it?
Answer: Restart spooler, check driver, verify network, set as default printer.
✅
Q33. What is the difference between inkjet and laser printer?
Answer: Inkjet uses liquid ink (high-quality, slower). Laser uses toner (fast, bulk printing).
✅
Q34. How do you troubleshoot paper jam?
Answer: Power off, remove tray, check rollers, remove jammed paper carefully.
✅
Q35. Thermal printer vs Laser printer?
Answer: Thermal uses heat-sensitive paper (billing, POS). Laser uses toner & drum.
8. Troubleshooting Scenarios
✅
Q36. PC is slow. What steps will you take?
Answer: Check CPU/RAM usage, startup apps, malware scan, disk space, check HDD
health.
✅
Q37. A server is unreachable. What will you check?
Answer: Ping, traceroute, switch port status, firewall rules, iDRAC logs.
✅
Q38. User cannot log in to Windows domain. Steps?
Answer: Check network, AD account status (locked/expired), DNS settings, time sync.
✅
Q39. Linux server shows “Read-only file system”. Cause?
Answer: Disk corruption, remount with: mount -o remount,rw /.
✅
Q40. Blue screen in Windows Server. What do you check?
Answer: Event Viewer logs, hardware failure (RAM, HDD), driver issues.
9. Behavioral / HR
✅
Q41. What motivates you in IT support?
Answer: Solving technical issues, ensuring uptime, helping users, and learning new
technologies.
✅
Q42. Tell me about a time you solved a complex problem.
Answer idea: (Use STAR method → Situation, Task, Action, Result). Example: Network
outage in your company name or lab, identified faulty switch, replaced quickly, minimized
downtime.
✅
Q43. How do you manage stress during outages?
Answer: Prioritize tasks, communicate with stakeholders, follow checklists, stay calm.
✅
Q44. Why should we hire you?
Answer: Hands-on experience in servers, networking, virtualization, security, strong
troubleshooting skills, and adaptability.
✅
Q45. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Answer: As a System/DevOps Engineer managing large-scale IT infrastructure and
cloud platforms.
10. Advanced / Extra Knowledge
✅
Q46. What is Active Directory?
Answer: Directory service from Microsoft → manages users, groups, policies,
authentication.
✅
Q47. Difference between Workgroup and Domain?
Answer: Workgroup = standalone PCs, local logins. Domain = centralized authentication
via AD.
✅
Q48. What is SSH key authentication?
Answer: Uses public-private key pairs instead of passwords for secure login.
✅
Q49. What is SNMP?
Answer: Simple Network Management Protocol → monitors network devices.
✅
Q50. Explain Endpoint Central Manage Engine.
Answer: Centralized endpoint management tool → software deployment, patching,
antivirus, remote support.
