What you’ll be doing
Responsible for building and deploying new project infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code
methodology
Troubleshooting complex problems, finding root causes and putting long term fixes in place
Adhering to tight operations, security, and procedural models
Implementation of system changes
Increase efficiency within the team through automation and process improvement
Working with architecture and project management teams to help design and deliver change to
the business in relation to your area
Taking ownership for delivering projects on time
About you
Solid experience of Cloud computing, specifically AWS.
Extensive experience writing Puppet modules
Experience with Kubernetes
Experience with orchestration tools (Chef or Ansible)
Extensive experience with Linux administration (Redhat)
Solid understanding of virtualization technologies e.g. VMware
System monitoring (e.g. Opsview / Nagios)
Solid understanding of networking e.g. DHCP/DNS/NTP/TCP
Apache HTTPD
Strong programming and scripting skills (Bash, Python, Puppet)
Ability to read and understand Java exceptions
Ability to analyse and problem solve
Ability to prioritise tickets and projects
Demonstrate a high level of technical expertise to support complex Unix systems
across all tiers & under minimal supervision
General Administration
1. Q: How do you check the current version of Red Hat Linux installed on a server? A: Use the
command cat /etc/redhat-release.
2. Q: How do you create a new user in Red Hat Linux? A: Use the command useradd
<username> and set the password with passwd <username>.
Patching and Updates
3. Q: How do you update all installed packages on a Red Hat system? A: Use the command yum
update or dnf update (for RHEL 8 and later).
4. Q: How do you check for available updates without installing them? A: Use the command yum
check-update or dnf check-update.
Vulnerability Management
5. Q: How do you scan for vulnerabilities on a Red Hat server? A: Use tools like OpenSCAP or
Lynis to scan for vulnerabilities.
6. Q: How do you apply security patches only? A: Use the command yum update --security or dnf
update --security.
Migrations
7. Q: How do you migrate a Red Hat server to new hardware? A: Use tools like rsync for data
transfer and ensure all configurations are replicated on the new hardware.
8. Q: What steps would you take to migrate from RHEL 7 to RHEL 8? A: Use the Leapp utility for
in-place upgrades, ensuring all pre-upgrade checks are passed.
Backups
9. Q: How do you perform a full system backup in Red Hat Linux? A: Use tools like tar, rsync, or
dump to create backups of the entire filesystem.
10. Q: How do you restore a backup using tar? A: Use the command tar -xvf <backupfile.tar> -C
/restore/path.
High Availability
11. Q: How do you set up a high availability cluster in Red Hat? A: Use Pacemaker and Corosync
to configure and manage high availability clusters.
12. Q: What is the role of fence devices in a Red Hat cluster? A: Fence devices isolate failed
nodes to protect shared resources and ensure data integrity.
Storage Management
13. Q: How do you create a new LVM logical volume? A: Use the commands pvcreate, vgcreate,
and lvcreate.
14. Q: How do you extend an existing logical volume? A: Use the command lvextend followed by
resize2fs or xfs_growfs depending on the filesystem.
Networking
15. Q: How do you configure a static IP address in Red Hat Linux? A: Edit the network
configuration file in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ and restart the network service.
16. Q: How do you check the current network configuration? A: Use the command ip addr show or
ifconfig.
Security
17. Q: How do you configure a firewall in Red Hat Linux? A: Use firewalld with commands like
firewall-cmd --add-service=http --permanent and firewall-cmd --reload.
18. Q: How do you set SELinux to enforcing mode? A: Edit /etc/selinux/config and set
SELINUX=enforcing, then reboot the system.
Performance Tuning
19. Q: How do you check the system load in Red Hat Linux? A: Use the command uptime or top.
20. Q: How do you identify the top memory-consuming processes? A: Use the command ps aux --
sort=-%mem | head.
Troubleshooting
21. Q: How do you check system logs for errors? A: Use the command journalctl -xe or check log
files in /var/log/.
22. Q: How do you troubleshoot a service that is not starting? A: Use systemctl status <service> to
check the status and logs.
Scenario-Based Questions
23. Q: A server is running out of disk space. How do you identify large files and directories? A:
Use the command du -sh /* to find large directories and find / -type f -size +100M to find large
files.
24. Q: How do you recover a forgotten root password? A: Boot into single-user mode or use a
rescue disk to reset the root password.
25. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use LDAP for authentication? A: Install sssd and
configure /etc/sssd/sssd.conf and /etc/nsswitch.conf for LDAP integration.
26. Q: How do you set up automatic updates on a Red Hat server? A: Use yum-cron or dnf-
automatic to configure automatic updates.
27. Q: How do you monitor disk usage over time? A: Use tools like iostat, df, and du along with
scripts to log and analyze disk usage.
28. Q: How do you configure NFS server and client on Red Hat? A: Install nfs-utils, configure
/etc/exports on the server, and mount the NFS share on the client.
29. Q: How do you secure SSH access on a Red Hat server? A: Disable root login, use key-based
authentication, and configure sshd_config for additional security.
30. Q: How do you set up a cron job to run a script daily at midnight? A: Add an entry to the
crontab file: 0 0 * * * /path/to/script.sh.
31. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a proxy for internet access? A: Set the proxy
variables in /etc/environment and configure yum.conf or dnf.conf.
32. Q: How do you create and manage Docker containers on Red Hat? A: Install Docker, use
docker pull to get images, and docker run to create containers.
33. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a specific DNS server? A: Edit
/etc/resolv.conf and add the DNS server IP address.
34. Q: How do you set up a Samba server on Red Hat? A: Install samba, configure
/etc/samba/smb.conf, and start the smb and nmb services.
35. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a time synchronization service? A: Install
and configure chrony or ntp.
36. Q: How do you set up a basic Apache web server on Red Hat? A: Install httpd, configure
/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf, and start the httpd service.
37. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a specific timezone? A: Use the command
timedatectl set-timezone <timezone>.
38. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a specific locale? A: Edit /etc/locale.conf
and set the desired locale.
39. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a specific kernel version? A: Install the
desired kernel version and update the GRUB configuration.
40. Q: How do you configure a Red Hat server to use a specific hostname? A: Use the command
hostnamectl set-hostname <hostname>.
Network Connectivity Issues
1. Q: What steps would you take if a Linux server cannot connect to the network? A:
o Check Physical Connectivity: Ensure network cables are properly connected and
network devices (switches, routers) are functioning.
o Verify Network Interface Status: Use ip link show or ifconfig to check if the network
interface is up.
o Check IP Configuration: Use ip addr show to verify the IP address configuration.
o Test DNS Resolution: Use nslookup or dig to check DNS resolution.
o Ping Test: Use ping -c 4 <destination> to test connectivity to other devices.
o Check Firewall Rules: Ensure firewall rules are not blocking traffic using iptables -L or
firewall-cmd --list-all.
Disk Space Problems
2. Q: How do you resolve a "disk full" error on a Linux server? A:
o Identify Large Files/Directories: Use du -sh /* to find large directories and find / -type f
-size +100M to find large files.
o Clean Up Unnecessary Files: Remove unnecessary files, logs, and temporary files.
o Archive Old Data: Move old data to external storage or compress it using tar or gzip.
o Extend Disk Space: If using LVM, extend the logical volume using lvextend and resize
the filesystem with resize2fs or xfs_growfs.
Security Vulnerabilities
3. Q: How do you handle a security vulnerability discovered on a Linux server? A:
o Update Packages: Use yum update or dnf update to apply the latest security patches.
o Scan for Vulnerabilities: Use tools like OpenSCAP or Lynis to scan for vulnerabilities.
o Review Security Configurations: Ensure SELinux is in enforcing mode and firewall
rules are properly configured.
o Monitor Logs: Regularly check system logs for suspicious activity using journalctl or by
reviewing logs in /var/log/.
Performance Issues
4. Q: What steps would you take to troubleshoot high CPU usage on a Linux server? A:
o Identify High CPU Processes: Use top or htop to identify processes consuming high
CPU.
o Check System Load: Use uptime to check the system load average.
o Analyze Logs: Review system logs for any errors or warnings that might indicate the
cause of high CPU usage.
o Optimize Applications: Tune application configurations to reduce CPU usage.
o Consider Hardware Upgrade: If the server consistently experiences high CPU usage,
consider upgrading the hardware.
Backup and Recovery
5. Q: How do you recover a Linux server from a failed update? A:
o Boot into Rescue Mode: Use a rescue disk or boot into single-user mode.
o Restore from Backup: If available, restore the system from a recent backup.
o Rollback Updates: Use package manager commands to roll back the updates (e.g.,
yum history undo or dnf history undo).
o Check Logs: Review update logs to identify the cause of the failure and prevent future
issues.
Common Errors and Remediation
6. Q: How do you resolve the "Permission denied" error when accessing a file? A:
o Check File Permissions: Use ls -l to check the file permissions and chmod to modify
them if necessary.
o Check File Ownership: Use ls -l to check the file owner and chown to change the
ownership if needed.
o Check SELinux Context: Use ls -Z to check the SELinux context and chcon to change
it if required.
7. Q: How do you fix the "Cannot open display" error when using GUI applications over SSH? A:
o Enable X11 Forwarding: Ensure X11 forwarding is enabled in the SSH configuration
(/etc/ssh/sshd_config).
o Set DISPLAY Variable: Set the DISPLAY environment variable using export
DISPLAY=:0.
o Install X11 Packages: Ensure X11 packages are installed on the server.
Real-World Scenarios
8. Q: A critical service has crashed on a production server. How do you handle this situation? A:
o Check Service Status: Use systemctl status <service> to check the status and logs of
the service.
o Restart the Service: Attempt to restart the service using systemctl restart <service>.
o Analyze Logs: Review service logs in /var/log/ to identify the cause of the crash.
o Apply Fixes: Apply necessary fixes or patches to prevent future crashes.
o Notify Stakeholders: Inform relevant stakeholders about the issue and the steps taken
to resolve it.
9. Q: How do you handle a situation where a server is experiencing frequent reboots? A:
o Check System Logs: Review logs in /var/log/messages or /var/log/syslog for any
errors or warnings.
o Check Hardware: Use tools like dmesg to check for hardware-related issues.
o Monitor Resource Usage: Use top or htop to monitor CPU, memory, and disk usage.
o Update Firmware: Ensure the server firmware is up to date.
o Isolate the Issue: If possible, isolate the issue by disabling non-essential services and
gradually re-enabling them.
Technical Questions
1. Q: What AWS services are commonly used for CI/CD pipelines? A: AWS CodeCommit, AWS
CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, and AWS CodePipeline are commonly used for CI/CD
pipelines[1].
2. Q: How do you set up a source repository in AWS CodeCommit? A: Use the AWS
Management Console or AWS CLI to create a new repository in CodeCommit. Then, clone the
repository to your local machine using Git.
3. Q: How do you configure AWS CodeBuild to compile and test your code? A: Create a build
project in CodeBuild, specify the source repository, and define the build commands in a
buildspec.yml file.
4. Q: How do you deploy an application to Amazon EC2 instances using AWS CodeDeploy? A:
Create a deployment group in CodeDeploy, specify the EC2 instances, and define the
deployment configuration in an appspec.yml file.
5. Q: How do you automate the entire CI/CD process using AWS CodePipeline? A: Create a
pipeline in CodePipeline, add stages for source, build, and deploy, and configure each stage to
use the appropriate AWS services (CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy).
Scenario-Based Questions
6. Q: You need to deploy a web application to both Linux and Windows EC2 instances. How do
you handle this in your CI/CD pipeline? A:
o Create Separate Deployment Groups: Create separate deployment groups in
CodeDeploy for Linux and Windows instances.
o Define Platform-Specific Build Commands: Use conditional statements in the
buildspec.yml file to define platform-specific build commands.
o Configure CodePipeline: Add separate deploy stages in CodePipeline for Linux and
Windows, each pointing to the respective deployment group.
7. Q: How do you handle environment-specific configurations in your CI/CD pipeline? A:
o Use Parameter Store or Secrets Manager: Store environment-specific configurations
in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store or AWS Secrets Manager.
o Fetch Parameters During Build/Deploy: Use the AWS CLI or SDK to fetch the
parameters during the build or deploy stage.
o Environment Variables: Define environment variables in the buildspec.yml or
appspec.yml files to pass configurations to the application.
8. Q: A deployment to a production environment failed. How do you troubleshoot and resolve the
issue? A:
o Check Deployment Logs: Review the deployment logs in CodeDeploy to identify the
error.
o Rollback Deployment: Use CodeDeploy to roll back to the previous successful
deployment.
o Fix the Issue: Identify and fix the issue in the code or configuration, then redeploy.
9. Q: How do you ensure zero-downtime deployments for a web application? A:
o Use Blue/Green Deployments: Configure CodeDeploy to use blue/green deployments,
where traffic is shifted from the old environment to the new environment gradually.
o Load Balancer Integration: Integrate CodeDeploy with an Elastic Load Balancer to
manage traffic during the deployment.
o Health Checks: Define health checks to ensure the new environment is healthy before
fully shifting traffic.
10. Q: How do you integrate third-party tools like Jenkins with AWS CodePipeline? A:
o Use Webhooks: Configure webhooks in Jenkins to trigger AWS CodePipeline stages.
o AWS CLI Integration: Use the AWS CLI in Jenkins pipelines to interact with AWS
services.
o Custom Actions: Create custom actions in CodePipeline to integrate with Jenkins or
other third-party tools.
Real-World Scenarios
11. Q: You need to deploy a microservices application to AWS Fargate. How do you set up the
CI/CD pipeline? A:
o Source Stage: Use CodeCommit or GitHub as the source repository.
o Build Stage: Use CodeBuild to build Docker images and push them to Amazon ECR.
o Deploy Stage: Use CodeDeploy with ECS to deploy the Docker images to AWS
Fargate.
12. Q: How do you handle database migrations in your CI/CD pipeline? A:
o Pre-Deployment Scripts: Include database migration scripts in the appspec.yml file to
run before the application deployment.
o Automate Migrations: Use tools like Flyway or Liquibase to automate database
migrations during the build or deploy stage.
o Rollback Strategy: Implement a rollback strategy to revert database changes if the
deployment fails.
13. Q: How do you implement security best practices in your CI/CD pipeline? A:
o IAM Roles and Policies: Use IAM roles and policies to grant least privilege access to
CI/CD services.
o Encrypt Sensitive Data: Use AWS KMS to encrypt sensitive data and environment
variables.
o Code Scanning: Integrate code scanning tools like SonarQube or AWS CodeGuru to
identify security vulnerabilities.
14. Q: How do you monitor and log CI/CD pipeline activities? A:
o CloudWatch Logs: Configure CloudWatch Logs to capture logs from CodeBuild and
CodeDeploy.
o CloudWatch Alarms: Set up CloudWatch Alarms to notify you of any failures or issues
in the pipeline.
o AWS X-Ray: Use AWS X-Ray to trace and analyze requests through your application.
15. Q: How do you handle blue/green deployments for a Windows-based application on AWS? A:
o Create Blue/Green Environments: Set up separate environments for blue and green
deployments.
o Use CodeDeploy: Configure CodeDeploy to manage blue/green deployments,
ensuring traffic is shifted gradually.
o Load Balancer Integration: Use an Elastic Load Balancer to manage traffic between
blue and green environments.
References
[1] Complete CI/CD with AWS CodeCommit, AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, and ...
Networking in Red Hat Linux
Technical Questions
1. Q: How do you configure a static IP address in Red Hat Linux? A: Edit the network
configuration file in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<interface> and set the following
parameters:
DEVICE=<interface>
BOOTPROTO=none
ONBOOT=yes
IPADDR=<your_ip_address>
NETMASK=<your_netmask>
GATEWAY=<your_gateway>
DNS1=<your_dns_server>
Then restart the network service using systemctl restart network.
2. Q: How do you check the current network configuration? A: Use the command ip addr show or
ifconfig to display the current network configuration.
3. Q: How do you add a default gateway in Red Hat Linux? A: Use the command ip route add
default via <gateway_ip> or add the gateway to the network configuration file.
4. Q: How do you configure a DNS server in Red Hat Linux? A: Edit the /etc/resolv.conf file and
add the DNS server IP addresses:
nameserver <dns_server_ip>
Scenario-Based Questions
5. Q: A server is unable to reach the internet. How do you troubleshoot this issue? A:
o Check Network Interface: Ensure the network interface is up using ip link show.
o Verify IP Configuration: Check the IP address, netmask, and gateway using ip addr
show.
o Check DNS Configuration: Verify the DNS settings in /etc/resolv.conf.
o Ping Test: Use ping <external_ip> to test connectivity.
o Check Firewall Rules: Ensure firewall rules are not blocking traffic using iptables -L or
firewall-cmd --list-all.
6. Q: How do you set up a network bridge in Red Hat Linux? A:
o Install Bridge Utilities: Install the bridge-utils package using yum install bridge-utils.
o Create Bridge Interface: Edit the network configuration files to create a bridge
interface and add physical interfaces to the bridge.
o Restart Network Service: Restart the network service using systemctl restart network.
Networking in AWS Platform
Technical Questions
7. Q: What is a VPC in AWS? A: A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a virtual network dedicated to
your AWS account where you can launch AWS resources in a logically isolated section of the
AWS cloud.
8. Q: How do you create a VPC in AWS? A: Use the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or
AWS SDK to create a VPC. Specify the CIDR block, subnets, route tables, and internet
gateways as needed.
9. Q: What is an Elastic IP address in AWS? A: An Elastic IP address is a static, public IP
address that you can allocate to your AWS account and associate with an EC2 instance or
other AWS resources.
10. Q: How do you configure security groups in AWS? A: Use the AWS Management Console,
AWS CLI, or AWS SDK to create and configure security groups. Define inbound and outbound
rules to control traffic to and from your resources.
Scenario-Based Questions
11. Q: How do you set up a site-to-site VPN connection between your on-premises network and
AWS? A:
o Create a Virtual Private Gateway: Attach it to your VPC.
o Create a Customer Gateway: Provide the public IP address of your on-premises VPN
device.
o Create a VPN Connection: Associate the virtual private gateway with the customer
gateway.
o Configure On-Premises Device: Set up your on-premises VPN device with the
configuration provided by AWS.
12. Q: How do you troubleshoot connectivity issues between EC2 instances in different subnets
within the same VPC? A:
o Check Route Tables: Ensure the route tables are correctly configured to allow traffic
between subnets.
o Verify Security Groups: Ensure security group rules allow traffic between the
instances.
o Check Network ACLs: Ensure network ACLs are not blocking traffic between subnets.
o Ping Test: Use ping to test connectivity between instances.
13. Q: How do you set up a load balancer in AWS to distribute traffic across multiple EC2
instances? A:
o Create a Load Balancer: Use the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or AWS SDK
to create an Application Load Balancer or Network Load Balancer.
o Configure Target Groups: Define target groups and register your EC2 instances.
o Set Up Listeners: Configure listeners to forward traffic to the target groups.
o Test Load Balancer: Ensure the load balancer is distributing traffic as expected.
14. Q: How do you secure your VPC using network ACLs and security groups? A:
o Configure Security Groups: Define inbound and outbound rules to control traffic to
and from your resources.
o Set Up Network ACLs: Define stateless rules to control traffic at the subnet level.
o Monitor Traffic: Use VPC Flow Logs to monitor traffic and identify any security issues.
Technical Questions
1. Q: How do you scope an IAM policy to limit access to a specific EC2 instance? A: Use the
Resource element in the IAM policy to specify the ARN of the EC2 instance. For example:
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "ec2:DescribeInstances",
"Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:region:account-id:instance/instance-id"
2. Q: How do you add a condition to an IAM policy to limit access to a specific subnet? A: Use
the Condition element with the ec2:Subnet condition key. For example:
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "ec2:RunInstances",
"Resource": "*",
"Condition": {
"StringEquals": {
"ec2:Subnet": "subnet-12345678"
3. Q: How do you limit an IAM policy to a specific AWS account? A: Use the Condition element
with the aws:PrincipalAccount condition key. For example:
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "s3:ListBucket",
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket",
"Condition": {
"StringEquals": {
"aws:PrincipalAccount": "123456789012"
}
}
4. Q: What is the AWS STS AssumeRole mechanism? A: The AWS Security Token Service
(STS) AssumeRole API operation returns a set of temporary security credentials that you can
use to access AWS resources. These credentials consist of an access key ID, a secret access
key, and a security token. The AssumeRole operation is typically used for cross-account
access or within an account to delegate permissions[1].
Scenario-Based Questions
5. Q: You need to create an IAM policy that allows users to start and stop only a specific EC2
instance. How do you achieve this? A:
o Define the Policy: Create an IAM policy with the Resource element scoped to the
specific EC2 instance ARN.
o Example Policy:
6. {
7. "Version": "2012-10-17",
8. "Statement": [
9. {
10. "Effect": "Allow",
11. "Action": [
12. "ec2:StartInstances",
13. "ec2:StopInstances"
14. ],
15. "Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:region:account-id:instance/instance-id"
16. }
17. ]
18. }
o Attach the Policy: Attach the policy to the IAM users or roles that need this access.
19. Q: How do you explain the process of assuming a role using AWS STS to a team member? A:
o Create a Role: Define a role with a trust policy that specifies who can assume the role.
o Trust Policy Example:
20. {
21. "Version": "2012-10-17",
22. "Statement": [
23. {
24. "Effect": "Allow",
25. "Principal": {
26. "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::account-id:root"
27. },
28. "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
29. }
30. ]
31. }
o Assume the Role: Use the AssumeRole API operation to obtain temporary security
credentials.
o Example CLI Command:
32. aws sts assume-role --role-arn "arn:aws:iam::account-id:role/role-name" --role-session-name
"session-name"
o Use Temporary Credentials: Use the temporary credentials to access AWS resources
as specified by the role's permissions policy[2].
33. Q: You need to restrict an IAM policy to allow actions only within a specific VPC. How do you
achieve this? A:
o Use VPC Condition Keys: Add conditions to the IAM policy using VPC-related
condition keys such as ec2:Vpc.
o Example Policy:
34. {
35. "Version": "2012-10-17",
36. "Statement": [
37. {
38. "Effect": "Allow",
39. "Action": "ec2:RunInstances",
40. "Resource": "*",
41. "Condition": {
42. "StringEquals": {
43. "ec2:Vpc": "vpc-12345678"
44. }
45. }
46. }
47. ]
48. }
49. Q: How do you handle a situation where a user needs temporary access to resources in
another AWS account? A:
o Create a Role in the Target Account: Define a role with a trust policy that allows the
user's account to assume the role.
o Grant AssumeRole Permissions: Attach a policy to the user in the source account that
allows them to call sts:AssumeRole for the role in the target account.
o Assume the Role: The user can use the AssumeRole API to obtain temporary
credentials and access resources in the target account.
[3]: AWS IAM Condition Policy Examples [4]: AWS IAM Policies and Permissions [5]: AWS IAM
Condition Logic [1]: AWS STS AssumeRole API [2]: AWS STS AssumeRole Example
References
[1] AssumeRole - AWS Security Token Service
[2] Use AssumeRole with an AWS SDK or CLI
[3] Condition policy examples - AWS Identity and Access Management
[4] Policies and permissions in AWS Identity and Access Management
[5] Conditions with multiple context keys or values - AWS Identity and ...
