Interview Do's & Dont's

What To Do....

• Do express yourself clearly with a strong voice and good diction and grammar.
• Do pay close attention to your personal appearance; dress to your advantage.
• Do make concrete goals in planning for your career.
• Do offer a firm handshake.
• Do look the interviewer in the eye (but don't stare him or her down).
• Do fill out applications neatly and completely.
• Do have as much knowledge about the industry, employer, and position as possible.
• Do take criticism gracefully.
• Do equip yourself with a strong knowledge of the company.
• Do have prepared questions about the employer and position.
• Do display a sense of humor.
• Do display self-confidence.
• Do bring a pen and small notebook with you to the interview.
• Do remember the interviewer's name and use it during the interview.
• Do take time to think before answering difficult or unexpected questions.
• Do take an extra copy of your resume and a list of references with you to the interview.
• Do follow-up with a thank-you note restating your interest in the position.
• Do contact the employer by phone if the interviewer does not contact you one week after the time from which he or she indicated you would be notified.

What Not To Do....

• Don't be overbearing, overaggressive or conceited.
• Don't show a lack of interest or enthusiasm.
• Don't emphasize money as your main interest in the job.
• Don't expect too much too soon - be open to the idea of starting at the bottom and working your way up.
• Don't make excuses for unfavorable factors on your record.
• Don't condemn past employers or institutions of education; keep comments positive.
• Don't display a marked dislike for schoolwork.
• Don't be indecisive.
• Don't display intolerance or prejudice.
• Don't interview unless you are interested in the job...don't just "shop around."
• Don't be late to the interview.
• Don't state specific geographic restrictions.
• Don't contradict yourself in responses.
• Don't take notes during the interview - jot down your notes immediately after the interview.
• Don't forget: YOU control the content of the interview.
• Don't glorify your past experiences - getting into a job for which you are under qualified is not recommended.
• Don't assume that all employers will be delighted to hear of your plans for graduate school.
• Don't smoke, chew gum, etc. even if offered or if the interviewer does so.





Exchange server 2007/2010 Interview Questions/Answers

What are the pre requisites to install Exchange Server 2007?

1. Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
2. Microsoft ASP .Net
3. World Wide Web Service
4. MMC 3.0
5. Windows power shell
6. SMTP & NNTP service should not be installed

2. What’s the order to install Exchange Server 2007 Roles in a exchange Server 2003 organization?

1. Client Access Server Role
2. Hub Transport Server Role
3. Mailbox Server Role
4. Unified Messaging Server role

3. What are the versions available in Exchange Server 2007?

There are two types of Exchange Server 2007 version release

• · 64 bit – for production environment
• · 32 bit – only for non-production environment

4. What are the Operating system requirements to install Exchange Server 2007?

Exchange Server 2007 can be installed on

• · Windows Server 2003 SP2 64-bit,
• · Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 64-bit or
• · Windows Server 2008 64-bit

5. What are the Active directory requirements to install Exchange Server 2007?

1. Domain functional level at least windows server 2000 native or higher
2. Schema Master must be run on windows 2003 server with sp1
3. At least one Domain Controller, in each domain with windows server 2003 sp1
4. At least one global catalog server in Active Directory Site which hosts exchange Server 2007
5. 4:1 ratio of Exchange processor to global catalog server processors

6. What are the hardware requirements to install Exchange Server 2007?

• Processor – 64 bit processor
• RAM – 2 GB + 5 MB per Mailbox
• Disk Space – At least 1.2 GB on the drive on which you install Exchange
• - 200 MB of available disk space on the system drive
• File Format – NTFS

7. What are the Software requirements to install Exchange Server 2007?

Following are the software prerequisites to install Exchange Server 2007

1. Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
2. IIS
3. WWW
4. MMC 3.0
5. Microsoft Windows Power Shell

8. What is Transition in Exchange Server 2007?

Transition is the scenario in which you upgrade an existing Exchange organization to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. To perform the transition, you must move data from the existing Exchange servers to new Exchange 2007 servers. For example, when upgrading from an Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange 2000 Server organization to an Exchange 2007 organization, you perform a transition

When transitioning to Exchange 2007, you cannot perform an in-place server upgrade on an existing Exchange server. Instead, you must install a new Exchange 2007 server into the existing organization, and then move data to the new Exchange 2007 server.

9. What is Migration in Exchange Server 2007?

Migration is the scenario in which you upgrade to Exchange 2007 by migrating data from a non-Exchange messaging system to Exchange 2007 or from an existing Exchange organization to a completely new Exchange organization, without retaining any of the Exchange configuration data in the first organization. For example, when merging with another company, you can perform a migration. In this scenario, you move mailboxes and data to the other company’s Exchange organization, without retaining any of the configuration data from your existing Exchange organization. Another example is when upgrading from Lotus Notes to Exchange 2007, you perform a migration. In this scenario, you must move mailboxes and data to the new Exchange 2007 organization, without retaining any of the data from the Lotus Notes organization.

The migration process includes installing a completely new Exchange 2007 organization, and then migrating mailboxes from the old messaging system to the new Exchange 2007 messaging system, using various tools for migration.

10. Is it possible to do in place upgrade from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007?

No in-place upgrade on existing Exchange server organization. Install new Exchange Server 2007 server into existing organization, and move data to new server.

11.  What are the transition options available in Exchange Server 2007

We can make transition in following options

Single forest to single forest – you have an existing single forest Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 topology, you can transition to a single forest Exchange 2007 organization

Single forest to cross forest – If you have an existing single forest Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 topology, you can transition to a cross-forest Exchange 2007 topology

Cross forest to cross forest – If you have an existing cross-forest Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 topology with Exchange servers and mailboxes in each forest, you can transition to an Exchange 2007 cross-forest topology.

Resource forest to resource forest -

Single forest to resource forest -

12. What are the considerations for Exchange Server 2007 to co exists with Exchange server 2000 and Exchange Server 2003?

• Exchange Organization in Exchange Native Mode· Exchange Server 2007 routing group (DWBGZMFD01QNBJR) is created only for coexisting with earlier versions of Exchange.
• Routing Group Connector is required between Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007 (created during setup).
• Exchange Server 2003 computers cannot interoperate with the Unified Messaging server role. Exchange 2003 mailboxes cannot be Unified Messaging–enabled.
• Exchange 2003 Front-ends cannot talk to Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox Server Roles.
• No in-place upgrade on existing Exchange server. Install new Exchange Server 2007 server into existing organization, and move data to new server

13. Will Front End server talk to Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox server in an Exchange organization having both exchange 2003 and exchange Server 2007?

Exchange Server 2003 Front-end server cannot talk to Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox Server Roles

14. What is the status of routing group connector in co existed of Exchange Server 2003 and 2007?

Exchange Organization in Exchange Native Mode· Exchange Server 2007 routing group (DWBGZMFD01QNBJR) is created only for coexisting with earlier versions of Exchange.

Routing Group Connector is required between Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007 (created during setup).

15. Which service should not be installed in Exchange Server 2007 installation?

SMTP and NNTP service should not be installed

16. What are the Exchange Server editions available?

There are two types of Exchange Server 2007 editions available

1. Standard Edition
2. Enterprise Edition

17. What is the difference between standard and Enterprise Edition?

Exchange 2007 functions	Standard Edition	Enterprise Edition
Number of Data Stores Supported	5 includes Mailbox/Public Folder	50 combination of both
Clustering support	No	Yes
OS Support	Windows 2003 64 bit	Windows 2003 64 bit

18. What to do if exchange Server 5.5 in your organization in order to upgrade to Exchange Server 2007?

You cannot upgrade an existing Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 organization to Exchange Server 2007. You must first migrate from the Exchange Server 5.5 organization to an Exchange Server 2003 or an Exchange 2000 Server organization. Then you can transition the Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 organization to Exchange 2007. 

19. What are the Planning considerations for Client Access Server Role?

The Client Access server role supports the Outlook Web Access, Outlook Anywhere, and Exchange ActiveSync client applications, in addition to the POP3 and IMAP4 protocols. The Client Access server role also hosts several key services, such as the Auto discover service and Exchange Web Services.

In order to have better client access functionality we have to perform a Planning consideration on Exchange Active Sync. Outlook web Access, outlook anywhere, POP3 and IMAP4 protocols and also securing client access

20. What are the Planning Considerations of Hub Transport Server Role?

Hub Transport server role is a required role in a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 organization that provides routing within a single organizational network by using the Active Directory directory service site. Hub Transport server role installed handles all mail flow inside the organization, apply transport rules, apply journal rules, and deliver messages to recipients’ mailboxes

We have to perform a Planning Consideration on

• Topology for mail flow inside and outside the Exchange organization
• Server capacity – determine how to perform performance monitor
• Security – includes delegation of administrative roles and verification that IP connections are only enabled from authorized servers
• Transport Features – determine the transport features that you will enable at the Hub Transport server and how they will be configured

21. What are the Planning Considerations of Mailbox Server Role?

The Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Mailbox server role hosts mailbox databases and provides e-mail storage and advanced scheduling services for Microsoft Office Outlook users The Mailbox server role can also host a public folder database, which provides a foundation for workflow, document sharing, and other forms of collaboration

We have to perform a planning consideration on

• Sizing the database,
• Planning for public folder,
• Co hosting with other server roles and
• Planning for clustered Mailbox server

22. What are the Planning Considerations for Edge Transport Server Role?

Exchange Server 2007 Edge Transport server role is designed to provide improved antivirus and anti-spam protection for the Exchange organization. Computers that have the Edge Transport server role also apply policies to messages in transport between organizations. The Edge Transport server role is deployed in an organization’s perimeter network.

• Edge Transport Should not be included in Active Directory
• Should be installed in a Standalone Server
• Edge Transport Should not be Part of the domain
• ADAM Should be Installed
• Pre requisites .Net framework , Windows Management Shell, MMC 

Difference Between Exchange Server 2007 Standard and Enterprise Edition.

• Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition supports up to fifty storage groups, one storage group support up to five databases.

• Exchange 2007 Standard Edition supports only five storage groups, one storage group support up to five databases.

• If You are using Continuous Replication technology Microsoft recommend use one database per storage group.

• Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition supports up to fifty databases per server.

• Exchange 2007 Standard Edition supports only five databases per server.

• Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition database size is limited to 16 TB.

• Exchange 2007 Standard Edition databases size is limited to 16 TB.

• Microsoft recommend limit database size to 100 GB or If You are using Continuous Replication technology database size should be limited 200 GB.

• Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition supports Single Copy Clusters technology (better protection mail system with two Exchange servers and one disc store).

• Exchange 2007 Standard Edition do not support Single Copy Clusters technology.

• Local Continuous Replication technology (better protection mail store with one Exchange server and two discs store) is supported by Exchange 2007 Standard Edition and Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition.

• Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition supports Single Copy Clusters technology (better protection mail system and mail store with two Exchange servers and two discs store)

• Exchange 2007 Standard Edition do not support Single Copy Clusters technology.

• Standby Continuous Replication technology (better protection mail store) is supported by Exchange 2007 Standard Edition SP1 and Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition SP1.

Q. How does the OAB distribution happens in Exchange 2007?Ans. The Exchange System Attendant service is responsible for the generation of oab. This service is available only on a server that has the mailbox role installed. The SA invokes a dll file called oabgen.dll.

The oab files are stored in C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\ExchangeOAB. This folder is shared so that it can be replicated to the CAS server for web distribution.

The oab generation server opens the oab folders and updates the file. The oabgen.dll file is responsible for connecting to the public folder.

CAS server runs a service named Microsoft Exchange File Distribution Service which copies the oab files from the mailbox server (ExchangeOAB folder) to the web distribution point in the CAS server.

The web distribution folder is a folder on CAS Server where the copied oab files are placed. The default location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\ClientAccess\OAB.

The web distribution point is updated once in 8 hours. If you want to force an oab update, restart the Exchange File Distribution Service.

Q. Is it recommended to install CAS server in perimeter network? Why?
Ans. No. Security and availability of AD attributes are two main reasons.

Q. How is the performance of Exchange 2007 better than Exchange 2003?
Ans. In Exchange 2003, the database read to write ratio was typically 2:1 or 66 percent reads. With Exchange 2007, the larger database cache decreases the number of reads to the database on disk causing the reads to shrink as a percentage of total I/O.

In Exchange 2003, a transaction log for a storage group requires roughly 10 percent as many I/Os as the databases in the storage group. For example, if the database LUN is using 1000 I/Os, the log LUN would use approximately 100 I/Os. With the reduction in database reads in Exchange 2007, combined with the smaller log file size and the ability to have more storage groups, the log-to-database write ratio is roughly 1:2. For example, if the database LUN is consuming 500 write I/Os, the log LUN will consume approximately 250 write I/Os.

Q. What is Transport Dumpster?
Ans. The transport dumpster submits recently delivered mail after an unscheduled outage MaxDumpsterSizePerStorageGroup: 1.5 times the size of the max msg that can be sent MaxDumpsterTime: How long the email can stay in the transport dumpster queue 7.00:00:00 means 7 days

Q. What is Back-Pressure?
Ans. The settings for back-pressure can be configure on Hub Transport and Edge Server. If utilization of a system resource exceeds the specified limit, the Exchange server stops accepting new connections and messages. This prevents the system resources from being completely overwhelmed and enables the Exchange server to deliver the existing messages.

Q. Exchange 2007 main Services:
Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology
Microsoft Exchange Monitoring
Microsoft Exchange IMAP4
Microsoft Exchange POP3
Microsoft Exchange Transport Log Search
Microsoft Exchange Transport: On Hub and Edge
Microsoft Exchange Service Host
Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer
Microsoft Exchange Replication Service
Microsoft Exchange Mail Submission
Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Assistants
Microsoft Exchange File Distribution: On CAS Server
Microsoft Exchange Information Store
Microsoft Exchange System Attendant
Microsoft Exchange EdgeSync: on Hub Transport Server
Microsoft Exchange Anti-spam Update

Windows DHCP Interview Questions and Answers

What is dhcp?
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network protocol that enables a server to automatically assign an IP address to a computer from a defined range of numbers (i.e., a scope) configured for a given network.

What is the dhcp process for client machine?
1. A user turns on a computer with a DHCP client.
2. The client computer sends a broadcast request (called a DISCOVER or DHCPDISCOVER), looking for a DHCP server to answer.
3. The router directs the DISCOVER packet to the correct DHCP server.
4. The server receives the DISCOVER packet. Based on availability and usage policies set on the server, the server determines an appropriate address (if any) to give to the client. The server then temporarily reserves that address for the client and sends back to the client an OFFER (or DHCPOFFER) packet, with that address information. The server also configures the client's DNS servers, WINS servers, NTP servers, and sometimes other services as well.
5. The client sends a REQUEST (or DHCPREQUEST) packet, letting the server know that it intends to use the address.
6. The server sends an ACK (or DHCPACK) packet, confirming that the client has been given a lease on the address for a server-specified period of time.

What is dhcp scope?
DHCP scopes are used to define ranges of addresses from which a DHCP server can assign IP addresses to clients.

Types of scopes in windows dhcp ?
Normal Scope - Allows A, B and C Class IP address ranges to be specified including subnet masks, exclusions and reservations. Each normal scope defined must exist within its own subnet.
Multicast Scope - Used to assign IP address ranges for Class D networks. Multicast scopes do not have subnet masks, reservation or other TCP/IP options.
Multicast scope address ranges require that a Time To Live (TTL) value be specified (essentially the number of routers a packet can pass through on the way to its destination).
Superscope - Essentially a collection of scopes grouped together such that they can be enabled and disabled as a single entity.

What is Authorizing DHCP Servers in Active Directory?
If a DHCP server is to operate within an Active Directory domain (and is not running on a domain controller) it must first be authorized.
This can be achieved either as part of the DHCP Server role installation, or subsequently using either DHCP console or at the command prompt using the netsh tool.
If the DHCP server was not authorized during installation, invoke the DHCP console (Start - All Programs - Administrative Tools - DHCP),
right click on the DHCP to be authorized and select Authorize. To achieve the same result from the command prompt, enter the following command:
netsh dhcp server serverID initiate auth
In the above command syntax, serverID is replaced by the IP address or full UNC name of system on which the DHCP server is installed.

What ports are used by DHCP and the DHCP clients ?
Requests are on UDP port 68, Server replies on UDP 67 .

Benefits of using DHCP
DHCP provides the following benefits for administering your TCP/IP-based network:
Safe and reliable configuration. DHCP avoids configuration errors caused by the need to manually type in values at each computer. Also, DHCP helps prevent address conflicts caused by a previously assigned IP address being reused to configure a new computer on the network.
Reduces configuration management.

Using DHCP servers can greatly decrease time spent to configuring and reconfiguring computers on your network. Servers can be configured to supply a full range of additional configuration values when assigning address leases. These values are assigned using DHCP options. Also, the DHCP lease renewal process helps assure that where client configurations need to be updated often (such as users with mobile or portable computers who change locations frequently), these changes can be made efficiently and automatically by clients communicating directly with DHCP servers.

The following section covers issues that affect the use of the DHCP Server service with other services or network configurations. Using DNS servers with DHCP Using Routing and Remote Access servers with DHCP Multihomed DHCP servers.

Describe the process of installing a DHCP server in an AD infrastructure?
Open Windows Components Wizard. Under Components , scroll to and click Networking Services. Click Details . Under Subcomponents of Networking Services , click Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and then click OK .

Click Next . If prompted, type the full path to the Windows Server 2003 distribution files, and then click Next. Required files are copied to your hard disk.

How to authorize a DHCP server in Active Directory Open DHCP?
In the console tree, click DHCP
. On the Action menu, click Manage authorized servers.
. The Manage Authorized Servers dialog box appears. Click Authorize.
. When prompted, type the name or IP address of the DHCP server to be authorized, and then click OK.

What is DHCPINFORM?
DHCPInform is a DHCP message used by DHCP clients to obtain DHCP options. While PPP remote access clients do not use DHCP to obtain IP addresses for the remote access connection, Windows 2000 and Windows 98 remote access clients use the DHCPInform message to obtain DNS server IP addresses, WINS server IP addresses, and a DNS domain name.

The DHCPInform message is sent after the IPCP negotiation is concluded. The DHCPInform message received by the remote access server is then forwarded to a DHCP server. The remote access server forwards DHCPInform messages only if it has been configured with the DHCP Relay Agent.

Describe the integration between DHCP and DNS?
Traditionally, DNS and DHCP servers have been configured and managed one at a time. Similarly, changing authorization rights for a particular user on a group of devices has meant visiting each one and making configuration changes.

DHCP integration with DNS allows the aggregation of these tasks across devices, enabling a company's network services to scale in step with the growth of network users, devices, and policies, while reducing administrative operations and costs. This integration provides practical operational efficiencies that lower total cost of ownership.

Creating a DHCP network automatically creates an associated DNS zone, for example, reducing the number of tasks required of network administrators. And integration of DNS and DHCP in the same database instance provides unmatched consistency between service and management views of IP address-centric network services data.

Windows DNS Server Interview Questions

What is the main purpose of a DNS server?DNS servers are used to resolve FQDN hostnames into IP addresses and vice versa.

What is the port no of dns ?
53.

What is a Forward Lookup?
Resolving Host Names to IP Addresses

What is Reverse Lookup?
Resolving IP Addresses to Host Names

What is a Resource Record?
It is a record provides the information about the resources available in the N/W infrastructure.

What are the diff. DNS Roles?
Standard Primary, Standard Secondary, & AD Integrated.

What is a Zone?
Zone is a sub tree of DNS database.

Secure services in your network require reverse name resolution to make it more difficult to launch successful attacks against the services. To set this up, you configure a reverse lookup zone and proceed to add records. Which record types do you need to create?
PTR Records

SOA records must be included in every zone. What are they used for?SOA records contain a TTL value, used by default in all resource records in the zone. SOA records contain the e-mail address of the person who is responsible for maintaining the zone. SOA records contain the current serial number of the zone, which is used in zone transfers.

By default, if the name is not found in the cache or local hosts file, what is the first step the client takes to resolve the FQDN name into an IP address?
Performs a recursive search through the primary DNS server based on the network interface configuration

What is primary, Secondary, stub & AD Integrated Zone?
Primary Zone: - zone which is saved as normal text file with filename (.dns) in DBS folder. Maintains a read, write copy of zone database.

Secondary Zone: - maintains a read only copy of zone database on another DNS server. Provides fault tolerance and load balancing by acting as backup server to primary server.

Stub zone: - contains a copy of name server and SOA records used for reducing the DNS search orders. Provides fault tolerance and load balancing.

How do you manually create SRV records in DNS?
This is on windows server go to run ---dnsmgmt.msc rightclick on the zone you want to add srv record to and choose "other new record" and choose service location(srv).

What is the main purpose of SRV records ?
SRV records are used in locating hosts that provide certain network services.

Before installing your first domain controller in the network, you installed a DNS server and created a zone, naming it as you would name your AD domain. However, after the installation of the domain controller, you are unable to locate infrastructure SRV records anywhere in the zone. What is the most likely cause of this failure ?
The zone you created was not configured to allow dynamic updates. The local interface on the DNS server was not configured to allow dynamic updates.

Which of the following conditions must be satisfied to configure dynamic DNS updates for legacy clients ?
The zone to be used for dynamic updates must be configured to allow dynamic updates. The DHCP server must support, and be configured to allow, dynamic updates for legacy clients.

At some point during the name resolution process, the requesting party received authoritative reply. Which further actions are likely to be taken after this reply ?
After receiving the authoritative reply, the resolution process is effectively over.

Name 3 benefits of using AD-integrated zones.
Active Directory integrated DNS enables Active Directory storage and replication of DNS zone databases. Windows 2000 DNS server, the DNS server that is included with Windows 2000 Server, accommodates storing zone data in Active Directory.

When you configure a computer as a DNS server, zones are usually stored as text files on name servers that is, all of the zones required by DNS are stored in a text file on the server computer.

These text files must be synchronized among DNS name servers by using a system that requires a separate replication topology and schedule called a zone transfer However, if you use Active Directory integrated DNS when you configure a domain controller as a DNS name server, zone data is stored as an Active Directory object and is replicated as part of domain replication.

What are the benefits of using Windows 2003 DNS when using AD-integrated zones?

If your DNS topology includes Active Directory, use Active Directory integrated zones. Active Directory integrated zones enable you to store zone data in the Active Directory database.Zone information about any primary DNS server within an Active Directory integrated zone is always replicated.

Because DNS replication is single-master, a primary DNS server in a standard primary DNS zone can be a single point of failure. In an Active Directory integrated zone, a primary DNS server cannot be a single point of failure because Active Directory uses multimaster replication.

Updates that are made to any domain controller are replicated to all domain controllers and the zone information about any primary DNS server within an Active Directory integrated zone is always replicated.
Active Directory integrated zones: Enable you to secure zones by using secure dynamic update.

Provide increased fault tolerance. Every Active Directory integrated zone can be replicated to all domain controllers within the Active Directory domain or forest. All DNS servers running on these domain controllers can act as primary servers for the zone and accept dynamic updates.

Enable replication that propagates changed data only, compresses replicated data, and reduces network traffic. If you have an Active Directory infrastructure, you can only use Active Directory integrated zones on Active Directory domain controllers. If you are using Active Directory integrated zones, you must decide whether or not to store Active Directory integrated zones in the application directory partition.

You can combine Active Directory integrated zones and file-based zones in the same design. For example, if the DNS server that is authoritative for the private root zone is running on an operating system other than Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000, it cannot act as an Active Directory domain controller. Therefore, you must use file-based zones on that server. However, you can delegate this zone to any domain controller running either Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000.

You installed a new AD domain and the new (and first) DC has not registered its SRV records in DNS. Name a few possible causes.

The machine cannot be configured with DNS client her own .
The DNS service cannot be run.

What are the benefits and scenarios of using Stub zones?

Understanding stub zones
A stub zone is a copy of a zone that contains only those resource records necessary to identify the authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) servers for that zone.
A stub zone is used to resolve names between separate DNS namespaces. This type of resolution may be necessary when a corporate merger requires that the DNS servers for two separate DNS namespaces resolve names for clients in both namespaces.

A stub zone consists of:
The start of authority (SOA) resource record, name server (NS) resource records, and the glue A resource records for the delegated zone. The IP address of one or more master servers that can be used to update the stub zone. The master servers for a stub zone are one or more DNS servers authoritative for the child zone, usually the DNS server hosting the primary zone for the delegated domain name.

Use stub zones to:

·         Keep delegated zone information current.
By updating a stub zone for one of its child zones regularly, the DNS server hosting both the parent zone and the stub zone will maintain a current list of authoritative DNS servers for the child zone.

·         Improve name resolution.
Stub zones enable a DNS server to perform recursion using the stub zone's list of name servers without needing to query the Internet or internal root server for the DNS namespace.

·         Simplify DNS administration.
By using stub zones throughout your DNS infrastructure, you can distribute a list of the authoritative DNS servers for a zone without using secondary zones. However, stub zones do not serve the same purpose as secondary zones and are not an alternative when considering redundancy and load sharing.

There are two lists of DNS servers involved in the loading and maintenance of a stub zone:

·         The list of master servers from which the DNS server loads and updates a stub zone. A master server may be a primary or secondary DNS server for the zone. In both cases, it will have a complete list of the DNS servers for the zone.

·         The list of the authoritative DNS servers for a zone. This list is contained in the stub zone using name server (NS) resource records. When a DNS server loads a stub zone, such as widgets.example.com, it queries the master servers, which can be in different locations, for the necessary resource records of the authoritative servers for the zone widgets.example.com. The list of master servers may contain a single server or multiple servers and can be changed anytime.

What is the "in-addr.arpa" zone used for?
In a Domain Name System (DNS) environment, it is common for a user or an application to request a Reverse Lookup of a host name, given the IP address. This article explains this process. The following is quoted from RFC 1035: "The Internet uses a special domain to support gateway location and Internet address to host mapping. Other classes may employ a similar strategy in other domains. The intent of this domain is to provide a guaranteed method to perform host address to host name mapping, and to facilitate queries to locate all gateways on a particular network on the Internet.

"The domain begins at IN-ADDR.ARPA and has a substructure which follows the Internet addressing structure. "Domain names in the IN-ADDR.ARPA domain are defined to have up to four labels in addition to the IN-ADDR.ARPA suffix. Each label represents one octet of an Internet address, and is expressed as a character string for a decimal value in the range 0-255 (with leading zeros omitted except in the case of a zero octet which is represented by a single zero).

"Host addresses are represented by domain names that have all four labels specified." Reverse Lookup files use the structure specified in RFC 1035.

For example, if you have a network which is 150.10.0.0, then the Reverse Lookup file for this network would be 10.150.IN-ADDR.ARPA. Any hosts with IP addresses in the 150.10.0.0 network will have a PTR (or 'Pointer') entry in 10.150.IN- ADDR.ARPA referencing the host name for that IP address. A single IN- ADDR.ARPA file may contain entries for hosts in many domains. Consider the following scenario. There is a Reverse Lookup file 10.150.IN-ADDR.ARPA with the following contents: Exp : 1.20 IN PTR WS1.ACME.COM.

What does a zone consist of & why do we require a zone?
Zone consists of resource records and we require zone for representing sites.

What is Caching Only Server?
When we install 2000 & 2003 server it is configured as caching only server where it maintains the frequently accessed sites information and again when we access the same site for next time it is obtain from cached information instead of going to the actual site.

What is forwarder?
When one DNS server can?t receive the query it can be forwarded to another DNS once configured as forwarder.

What is secondary DNS Server?
It is backup for primary DNS where it maintains a read only copy of DNS database.

How to enable Dynamic updates in DNS?
StartProgramAdmin toolsDNS Zone properties.

What are the properties of DNS server?
INTERFACES, FORWARDERS, ADVANCED, ROUTINGS, SECURITY, MONITORING, LOGGING, DEBUG LOGGING.

Properties of a Zone?
General, SOA, NAMESERVER, WINS, Security, and ZONE Transfer.

What is scavenging?
Finding and deleting unwanted records.

What are SRV records?
SRV are the service records, there are 6 service records. They are useful for locating the services.

What are the types of SRV records?
MSDCS:Contains DCs information.
TCP:Contains Global Catalog, Kerberos & LDAP information.
UDP:Contains Sites information.
Sites:Contains Sites information.
Domain DNS Zone:Conations domain?s DNS specific information.
Forest DNS zone:Contains Forest?s Specific Information.

Where does a Host File Reside?
c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc.

What is SOA?
Start of Authority: useful when a zone starts. Provides the zone startup information.

What is a query?
A request made by the DNS client to provide the name server information.

What are the diff. types of Queries?
Recursion, iteration.

Tools for troubleshooting DNS?
DNS Console, NSLOOKUP, DNSCMD, IPCONFIG, Logs.

What is WINS server? where we use WINS server? difference between DNS and WINS?
WINS is windows internet name service used to resolve the NetBIOS(computer name)name to IP address.This is proprietary for Windows.You can use in LAN.DNS is a Domain Naming System, which resolves Host names to IP addresses. It uses fully qualified domain names. DNS is an Internet standard used to resolve host names.

What is new in Windows Server 2003 regarding the DNS management?
When DC promotion occurs with an existing forest, the Active Directory Installation Wizard contacts an existing DC to update the directory and replicate from the DC the required portions of the directory.

If the wizard fails to locate a DC, it performs debugging and reports what caused the failure and how to fix the problem. In order to be located on a network, every DC must register in DNS DC locator DNS records. The Active Directory Installation Wizard verifies a proper configuration of the DNS infrastructure. All DNS configuration debugging and reporting activity is done with the Active Directory Installation Wizard.

SOA records must be included in every zone. What are they used for?
SOA records contain a TTL value, used by default in all resource records in the zone. SOA records contain the e-mail address of the person who is responsible for maintaining the zone. SOA records contain the current serial number of the zone, which is used in zone transfers.

By default, if the name is not found in the cache or local hosts file, what is the first step the client takes to resolve the FQDN name into an IP address? Performs a recursive search through the primary DNS server based on the network interface configuration.

How do I clear the DNS cache on the DNS server?
Go to cmd prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns .

What is the main purpose of SRV records?
SRV records are used in locating hosts that provide certain network services.

What is the "." zone in my forward lookup zone?
This setting designates the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server to be a root hint server and is usually deleted. If you do not delete this setting, you may not be able to perform external name resolution to the root hint servers on the Internet.

Do I need to configure forwarders in DNS?
No. By default, Windows 2000 DNS uses the root hint servers on the Internet; however, you can configure forwarders to send DNS queries directly to your ISP's DNS server or other DNS servers. Most of the time, when you configure forwarders, DNS performance and efficiency increases, but this configuration can also introduce a point of failure if the forwarding DNS server is experiencing problems.

The root hint server can provide a level of redundancy in exchange for slightly increased DNS traffic on your Internet connection. Windows Server 2003 DNS will query root hints servers if it cannot query the forwarders.

Should I point the other Windows 2000-based and Windows Server 2003-based computers on my LAN to my ISP's DNS servers?
No. If a Windows 2000-based or Windows Server 2003-based server or workstation does not find the domain controller in DNS, you may experience issues joining the domain or logging on to the domain. A Windows 2000-based or Windows Server 2003-based computer's preferred DNS setting should point to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 domain controller running DNS.

If you are using DHCP, make sure that you view scope option #15 for the correct DNS server settings for your LAN.

Do I need to point computers that are running Windows NT 4.0 or Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server?
Legacy operating systems continue to use NetBIOS for name resolution to find a domain controller; however it is recommended that you point all computers to the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server for name resolution.

What if my Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 DNS server is behind a proxy server or firewall?
If you are able to query the ISP's DNS servers from behind the proxy server or firewall, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 DNS server is able to query the root hint servers. UDP and TCP Port 53 should be open on the proxy server or firewall.

What should I do if the domain controller points to itself for DNS, but the SRV records still do not appear in the zone?
Check for a disjointed namespace, and then run Netdiag.exe /fix.
You must install Support Tools from the Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM to run Netdiag.exe.

How do I set up DNS for a child domain?
To set up DNS for a child domain, create a delegation record on the parent DNS server for the child DNS server. Create a secondary zone on the child DNS server that transfers the parent zone from the parent DNS server.

Note Windows Server 2003 has additional types of zones, such as Stub Zones and forest-level integrated Active Directory zones, that may be a better fit for your environment. Set the child domain controller to point to itself first. As soon as an additional domain controller is available, set the child domain controller to point to this domain controller in the child domain as its secondary.

Microsoft Cluster Interview Questions and Answers

>What is Clustering. Briefly define & explain it ?
Clustering is a technology, which is used to provide High Availability for mission critical applications. We can configure cluster by installing MCS (Microsoft cluster service) component from Add remove programs, which can only available in Enterprise Edition and Data center edition.

>Types of Clusters ?
In Windows we can configure two types of clusters
1. NLB (network load balancing) cluster for balancing load between servers. This cluster will not provide any high availability. Usually preferable at edge servers like web or proxy.
2. Server Cluster: This provides High availability by configuring active-active or active-passive cluster. In 2 node active-passive cluster one node will be active and one node will be stand by. When active server fails the application will FAILOVER to stand by server automatically. When the original server backs we need to FAILBACK the application

> What is Quorum ? A shared storage need to provide for all servers which keeps information about clustered application and session state and is useful in FAILOVER situation. This is very important if Quorum disk fails entire cluster will fails.

>Why Quorum is necessary ?
When network problems occur, they can interfere with communication between cluster nodes. A small set of nodes might be able to communicate together across a functioning part of a network, but might not be able to communicate with a different set of nodes in another part of the network. This can cause serious issues. In this “split” situation, at least one of the sets of nodes must stop running as a cluster.
To prevent the issues that are caused by a split in the cluster, the cluster software requires that any set of nodes running as a cluster must use a voting algorithm to determine whether, at a given time, that set has quorum. Because a given cluster has a specific set of nodes and a specific quorum configuration, the cluster will know how many “votes” constitutes a majority (that is, a quorum). If the number drops below the majority, the cluster stops running. Nodes will still listen for the presence of other nodes, in case another node appears again on the network, but the nodes will not begin to function as a cluster until the quorum exists again.
For example, in a five node cluster that is using a node majority, consider what happens if nodes 1, 2, and 3 can communicate with each other but not with nodes 4 and 5. Nodes 1, 2, and 3 constitute a majority, and they continue running as a cluster. Nodes 4 and 5 are a minority and stop running as a cluster, which prevents the problems of a “split” situation. If node 3 loses communication with other nodes, all nodes stop running as a cluster. However, all functioning nodes will continue to listen for communication, so that when the network begins working again, the cluster can form and begin to run.

> Different types of Quorum in Windows server 2008 ?
1.Node Majority - Used when Odd number of nodes are in cluster.
2.Node and Disk Majority - Even number of nodes(but not a multi-site cluster)
3.Node and File Share Majority - Even number of nodes, multi-site cluster
4.Node and File Share Majority - Even number of nodes, no shared storage

> Different types of Quorum in Windows server 2003 ?
Standard Quorum : As mentioned above, a quorum is simply a configuration database for MSCS, and is stored in the quorum log file. A standard quorum uses a quorum log file that is located on a disk hosted on a shared storage interconnect that is accessible by all members of the cluster.
Standard quorums are available in Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition.
Majority Node Set Quorums : A majority node set (MNS) quorum is a single quorum resource from a server cluster perspective. However, the data is actually stored by default on the system disk of each member of the cluster. The MNS resource takes care to ensure that the cluster configuration data stored on the MNS is kept consistent across the different disks.
Majority node set quorums are available in Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition.

>Explain about each Quorum type ?
Node Majority: Each node that is available and in communication can vote. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half.
Node and Disk Majority: Each node plus a designated disk in the cluster storage (the “disk witness”) can vote, whenever they are available and in communication. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half.
Node and File Share Majority: Each node plus a designated file share created by the administrator (the “file share witness”) can vote, whenever they are available and in communication. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half.
No Majority: Disk Only: The cluster has quorum if one node is available and in communication with a specific disk in the cluster storage.

> How is the quorum information located on the system disk of each node kept in synch?
The server cluster infrastructure ensures that all changes are replicated and updated on all members in a cluster.

> Can this method be used to replicate application data as well?
No, that is not possible in this version of clustering. Only Quorum information is replicated and maintained in a synchronized state by the clustering infrastructure.

> Can I convert a standard cluster to an MNS cluster?
Yes. You can use Cluster Administrator to create a new Majority Node Set resource and then, on the cluster properties sheet Quorum tab, change the quorum to that Majority Node Set resource.

> What is the difference between a geographically dispersed cluster and an MNS cluster?
A geographic cluster refers to a cluster that has nodes in multiple locations, while an MNS-based cluster refers to the type of quorum resources in use. A geographic cluster can use either a shared disk or MNS quorum resource, while an MNS-based cluster can be located in a single site, or span multiple sites.

> What is the maximum number of nodes in an MNS cluster?
Windows Server 2003 supports 8-node clusters for both Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition.

> Do I need special hardware to use an MNS cluster?
There is nothing inherent in the MNS architecture that requires any special hardware, other than what is required for a standard cluster (for example, there must be on the Microsoft Cluster HCL). However, some situations that use an MNS cluster may have unique requirements (such as geographic clusters), where data must be replicated in real time between sites.

> Does a cluster aware application need to be rewritten to support MNS?
No, using an MNS quorum requires no change to the application. However, some cluster aware applications expect a shared disk (for example SQL Server 2000), so while you do not need shared disks for the quorum, you do need shared disks for the application.

> Does MNS get rid of the need for shared disks?
It depends on the application. For example, clustered SQL Server 2000 requires shared disk for data. Remember, MNS only removes the need for a shared disk quorum.

> What does a failover cluster do in Windows Server 2008 ?
A failover cluster is a group of independent computers that work together to increase the availability of applications and services. The clustered servers (called nodes) are connected by physical cables and by software. If one of the cluster nodes fails, another node begins to provide service (a process known as failover). Users experience a minimum of disruptions in service.

> What new functionality does failover clustering provide in Windows Server 2008 ?
New validation feature. With this feature, you can check that your system, storage, and network configuration is suitable for a cluster.
Support for GUID partition table (GPT) disks in cluster storage. GPT disks can have partitions larger than two terabytes and have built-in redundancy in the way partition information is stored, unlike master boot record (MBR) disks.

> What happens to a running Cluster if the quorum disk fails in Windows Server 2003 Cluster ?
In Windows Server 2003, the Quorum disk resource is required for the Cluster
to function. In your example, if the Quorum disk suddenly became unavailable
to the cluster then both nodes would immediately fail and not be able to
restart the clussvc.
In that light, the Quorum disk was a single point of failure in a Microsoft
Cluster implementation. However, it was usually a fairly quick workaround to
get the cluster back up and operational. There are generally two solutions
to that type of problem.
1. Detemrine why the Quorum disk failed and repair.
2. Reprovision a new LUN, present it to the cluster, assign it a drive
letter and format. Then start one node with the /FQ switch and through
cluadmin designate the new disk resource as the Quorum. Then stop and
restart the clussvc normally and then bring online the second node.



> What happens to a running Cluster if the quorum disk fails in Windows Server 2008 Cluster ?
Cluster continue to work but failover will not happen in case of any other failure in the active node.