System Administration Interview Preparation Guide
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System Administrator frequently Asked Questions by expert members with experience in System Administration. These questions and answers will help you strengthen your technical skills, prepare for the new job test and quickly revise the concepts

73 System Administrator Questions and Answers:

1 :: Explain Active Directory?

Active Directory provides a centralized 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.

2 :: Define 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 centerpiece of the Windows Active Directory service that authenticates users, stores user account information and enforces security policy for a Windows domain.

3 :: Explain 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).

4 :: List the different kinds of group policy objects?

There are two kinds of Group Policy objects:
★ Local Group Policy objects, are stored on individual computers.
★ Non-local Group Policy objects, which are stored on a domain controller, are available only in an Active Directory environment.

5 :: Define 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.

6 :: Define 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.

7 :: Define 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.

8 :: Define garbage collection?

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

9 :: Define 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.

10 :: 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.golbalguideline.com into machine-readable IP addresses like 69.173.221.64.
DNS servers use UDP port 53 but DNS queries can also use TCP port 53 if the former is not accepted.