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Networking Interview Questions

Last updated on May 13, 2022

What is the network?

According to Merriam Webster, Network is usually

an informally interconnected group or
association of different entities like a person,
computers, radio stations, etc.

For example, Dominos has a network of 1232

branches across India. As the name suggests the
computer network is a system of peripherals or
computers interconnected with each other and
has a standard communication channel
established between them to exchange different
types of information and data.

Why is the computer network so important?

Have you ever heard of the Internet or NET? I

guess you have, as you are already reading this
article on Interviewbit surfing through the internet.
But, have you ever thought about the internet? The
Internet is a network of a network connecting all
different network-enabled devices which enable
data and information sharing between them and
that makes computer networks a core part of our
life and technical interviews.

Below is the list of all commonly asked networking

questions in technical interviews from basic to
advanced level.

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Basic Networking Interview

Questions

1. How are Network types classified?

Network types can be classified and divided based

on the area of distribution of the network. The
below diagram would help to understand the
same:

Network Types

2. Explain different types of networks.

Below are few types of networks:

Type Description

PAN
Let devices connect and communicate
(Personal
over the range of a person. E.g.
Area
connecting Bluetooth devices.
Network)

LAN (Local It is a privately owned network that

Area operates within and nearby a single
Network) building like a home, office, or factory

MAN
(Metropolitan It connects and covers the whole city.
Area E.g. TV Cable connection over the city
Network)

WAN (Wide It spans a large geographical area,

Area often a country or continent. The
Network) Internet is the largest WAN

It is also known as the Internet which

GAN (Global
connects the globe using satellites.
Area
The Internet is also called the Network
Network)
of WANs.

3. Explain LAN (Local Area Network)

LANs are widely used to connect

computers/laptops and consumer electronics
which enables them to share resources (e.g.,
printers, fax machines) and exchange information.
When LANs are used by companies or
organizations, they are called enterprise
networks. There are two different types of LAN
networks i.e. wireless LAN (no wires involved
achieved using Wi-Fi) and wired LAN (achieved
using LAN cable). Wireless LANs are very popular
these days for places where installing wire is
difficult. The below diagrams explain both wireless
and wired LAN.

LAN (Local Area Network)

4. Tell me something about VPN

(Virtual Private Network)

VPN or the Virtual Private Network is a private

WAN (Wide Area Network) built on the internet. It
allows the creation of a secured tunnel (protected
network) between different networks using the
internet (public network). By using the VPN, a
client can connect to the organization’s network
remotely. The below diagram shows an
organizational WAN network over Australia
created using VPN:

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

5. What are the advantages of using a

VPN?

Below are few advantages of using VPN:

VPN is used to connect offices in different

geographical locations remotely and is
cheaper when compared to WAN connections.
VPN is used for secure transactions and
confidential data transfer between multiple
offices located in different geographical
locations.
VPN keeps an organization’s information
secured against any potential threats or
intrusions by using virtualization.
VPN encrypts the internet traffic and
disguises the online identity.

6. What are the different types of

VPN?

Few types of VPN are:

Access VPN: Access VPN is used to provide

connectivity to remote mobile users and
telecommuters. It serves as an alternative to
dial-up connections or ISDN (Integrated
Services Digital Network) connections. It is a
low-cost solution and provides a wide range of
connectivity.
Site-to-Site VPN: A Site-to-Site or Router-
to-Router VPN is commonly used in large
companies having branches in different
locations to connect the network of one office
to another in different locations. There are 2
sub-categories as mentioned below:
Intranet VPN: Intranet VPN is useful for
connecting remote offices in different
geographical locations using shared
infrastructure (internet connectivity and
servers) with the same accessibility policies
as a private WAN (wide area network).
Extranet VPN: Extranet VPN uses shared
infrastructure over an intranet, suppliers,
customers, partners, and other entities and
connects them using dedicated connections.

7. What are nodes and links?

Node: Any communicating device in a network is

called a Node. Node is the point of intersection in a
network. It can send/receive data and information
within a network. Examples of the node can be
computers, laptops, printers, servers, modems,
etc.

Link: A link or edge refers to the connectivity

between two nodes in the network. It includes the
type of connectivity (wired or wireless) between
the nodes and protocols used for one node to be
able to communicate with the other.

Nodes and Links

8. What is the network topology?

Network topology is a physical layout of the

network, connecting the different nodes using the
links. It depicts the connectivity between the
computers, devices, cables, etc.

9. Define different types of network

topology

The different types of network topology are given

below:

Bus Topology:

Bus
Topology

All the nodes are connected using the central

link known as the bus.
It is useful to connect a smaller number of
devices.
If the main cable gets damaged, it will damage
the whole network.

Star Topology:

Star
Topology

All the nodes are connected to one single

node known as the central node.
It is more robust.
If the central node fails the complete network
is damaged.
Easy to troubleshoot.
Mainly used in home and office networks.

Ring Topology:

Ring
Topology

Each node is connected to exactly two nodes

forming a ring structure
If one of the nodes are damaged, it will
damage the whole network
It is used very rarely as it is expensive and
hard to install and manage

Mesh Topology:

Mesh
Topology

Each node is connected to one or many nodes.

It is robust as failure in one link only
disconnects that node.
It is rarely used and installation and
management are difficult.

Tree Topology:

Tree
Topology

A combination of star and bus topology also

know as an extended bus topology.
All the smaller star networks are connected to
a single bus.
If the main bus fails, the whole network is
damaged.

Hybrid:

It is a combination of different topologies to

form a new topology.
It helps to ignore the drawback of a particular
topology and helps to pick the strengths from
other.

10. What is an IPv4 address? What are

the different classes of IPv4?

An IP address is a 32-bit dynamic address of a

node in the network. An IPv4 address has 4 octets
of 8-bit each with each number with a value up to
255.

IPv4 classes are differentiated based on the

number of hosts it supports on the network. There
are five types of IPv4 classes and are based on the
first octet of IP addresses which are classified as
Class A, B, C, D, or E.

IPv4 Class IPv4 Start Address IPv4 End A

A 0.0.0.0 127.255.255.2

B 128.0.0.0 191.255.255.

C 192.0.0.0 223.255.255.

D 224.0.0.0 239.255.255.

E 240.0.0.0 255.255.255.

11. What are Private and Special IP

addresses?

Private Address: For each class, there are

specific IPs that are reserved specifically for
private use only. This IP address cannot be used
for devices on the Internet as they are non-
routable.

IPv4 Class Private IPv4 Start Address Pri

A 10.0.0.0 10.25

B 172.16.0.0 172.3

C 192.168.0.0 192.1

Special Address: IP Range from 127.0.0.1 to

127.255.255.255 are network testing addresses
also known as loopback addresses are the special
IP address.

Intermediate Interview Questions

12. Describe the OSI Reference Model

Open System Interconnections (OSI) is a network

architecture model based on the ISO standards. It
is called the OSI model as it deals with connecting
the systems that are open for communication with
other systems.

The OSI model has seven layers. The principles

used to arrive at the seven layers can be
summarized briefly as below:

Create a new layer if a different abstraction is

needed.
Each layer should have a well-defined
function.
The function of each layer is chosen based on
internationally standardized protocols.

13. Define the 7 different layers of the

OSI Reference Model

Here the 7 layers of the OSI reference model:

Layers of OSI Model

Layer Unit Exchanged Description

It is concerne
with
transmitting
raw bits over
communicatio
channel.
Chooses whic
type of
transmission
Physical Bit mode is to be
selected for
the
transmission.
The available
transmission
modes are
Simplex, Half
Duplex and Fu
Duplex.,

The main task

14. Describe the TCP/IP Reference

Model

It is a compressed version of the OSI model with

only 4 layers. It was developed by the US
Department of Defence (DoD) in the 1980s. The
name of this model is based on 2 standard
protocols used i.e. TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol).

15. Define the 4 different layers of the

TCP/IP Reference Model

Layers of TCP/IP

Layer Description

Decides which links such as serial lines

or classic Ethernet must be used to meet
Link
the needs of the connectionless internet
layer.

The internet layer is the most

important layer which holds the
whole architecture together.
Internet
It delivers the IP packets where
they are supposed to be
delivered.

Its functionality is almost the same as

the OSI transport layer. It enables peer
Transport
entities on the network to carry on a
conversation.

Application It contains all the higher-level protocols.

16. Differentiate OSI Reference Model

with TCP/IP Reference Model

OSI Vs TCP/IP

OSI Reference Model TCP/IP Reference Model

7 layered architecture 4 layered architecture

Fixed boundaries and Flexible architecture with no

functionality for each strict boundaries between
layer layers

Low Reliability High Reliability

Vertical Layer Approach Horizontal Layer Approach

17. What are the HTTP and the HTTPS

protocol?

HTTP is the HyperText Transfer Protocol which

defines the set of rules and standards on how the
information can be transmitted on the World Wide
Web (WWW). It helps the web browsers and web
servers for communication. It is a ‘stateless
protocol’ where each command is independent
with respect to the previous command. HTTP is an
application layer protocol built upon the TCP. It
uses port 80 by default.

HTTPS is the HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure

or Secure HTTP. It is an advanced and secured
version of HTTP. On top of HTTP, SSL/TLS protocol
is used to provide security. It enables secure
transactions by encrypting the communication
and also helps identify network servers securely. It
uses port 443 by default.

18. What is the SMTP protocol?

SMTP is the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. SMTP

sets the rule for communication between servers.
This set of rules helps the software to transmit
emails over the internet. It supports both End-to-
End and Store-and-Forward methods. It is in
always-listening mode on port 25.

SMTP Protocol

19. What is the DNS?

DNS is the Domain Name System. It is considered

as the devices/services directory of the Internet. It
is a decentralized and hierarchical naming system
for devices/services connected to the Internet. It
translates the domain names to their
corresponding IPs. For e.g. interviewbit.com to
172.217.166.36. It uses port 53 by default.

20. What is the use of a router and

how is it different from a gateway?

The router is a networking device used for

connecting two or more network segments. It
directs the traffic in the network. It transfers
information and data like web pages, emails,
images, videos, etc. from source to destination in
the form of packets. It operates at the network
layer. The gateways are also used to route and
regulate the network traffic but, they can also
send data between two dissimilar networks while a
router can only send data to similar networks.

Advanced Interview Questions

21. What is the TCP protocol?

TCP or TCP/IP is the Transmission Control

Protocol/Internet Protocol. It is a set of rules that
decides how a computer connects to the Internet
and how to transmit the data over the network. It
creates a virtual network when more than one
computer is connected to the network and uses
the three ways handshake model to establish the
connection which makes it more reliable.

22. What is the UDP protocol?

UDP is the User Datagram Protocol and is based

on Datagrams. Mainly, it is used for multicasting
and broadcasting. Its functionality is almost the
same as TCP/IP Protocol except for the three ways
of handshaking and error checking. It uses a
simple transmission without any hand-shaking
which makes it less reliable.

23. Compare between TCP and UDP

TCP/IP UDP

Connection-Oriented
Connectionless Protocol
Protocol

More Reliable Less Reliable

Slower Transmission Faster Transmission

Packets order can be Packets order is not fixed

preserved or can be and packets are
rearranged independent of each other

Uses three ways No handshake for

handshake model for establishing the
connection connection
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TCP packets are heavy- UDP packets are light-