Dear Reader,

It is a well known fact that most of you would be having 'Computer Networks' as your area of interest. This essentially means the interview panel would be well prepared with in depth questions on networking concepts. Hence you should be well prepared to tackle these ones. Below are four questions for your practice.

Question 1

Which factor/factors determine the number of IP's that can be assigned to any particular PC on a network ?

a) Number of LAN Cards b) Operating System c) IP Routing Table d) Both a and b.

Answer : d) Both a and b

Both a and b. The number of IP's is seriously limited by the number of LAN cards and to some extent by the operating system in Use.

Question 2

Everyone knows anonymous FTP is a way of allowing users to access FTP without requiring a password. If this is the case, which is the prime method/methods by which system administrators take care that security is not breached with anonymous FTP ?

a) By restricting the folders of access b) By restricting the number of connections c) Both a and b d) By validating IP

Answer : a) By restricting the folders of access

Though FTP is open to all, the administrators will limit the access to certain folders. By this they will be prevented by accessing sensitive system resources. (Though validation of IP and restriction on number of connections are some other good methods, these are methods used for generic security checks and can be used to a certain degree for anonymous FTP. But undoubtedly restricting the folders access is the prime method.)

Question 3

Which of the following is true of VPN (Virtual Private Network) ?

a) Uses public network b) No encryption is employed c) Cost cutting measure d) Both a and c

Answer : d)Both a and c

Virtual Private Network uses public network and hence cost effective. Hence both a and c are correct. (Encryption is a strict requirement for VPN. Hence option b is wrong.)

Question 4

Which of the following option is true regarding VLAN and VPN ?

a) VPN can operate regardless of whether VLAN is used or not
b) VLAN is essential for VPN to be set up
c) VPN and VLAN are one and the same
d) None of the above

Answer : a) VPN can operate regardless of whether VLAN is used or not

VLAN is a process to setting up a network with computers that may not be geographically close. VPN is an entirely different concept where it enables remote users to access office LAN. VPN can operate regardless of whether VLAN is employed or not.