1:- 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.

2:- 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.

3. Explain different types of networks.

Below are few types of networks:

Type Description
PAN (Personal Area Let devices connect and communicate over the range of a
Network) person. E.g. connecting Bluetooth devices.
LAN (Local Area It is a privately owned network that operates within and
Network) nearby a single building like a home, office, or factory
MAN (Metropolitan It connects and covers the whole city. E.g. TV Cable
Area Network) connection over the city
WAN (Wide Area It spans a large geographical area, often a country or
Network) continent. The Internet is the largest WAN
It is also known as the Internet which connects the globe
GAN (Global Area
using satellites. The Internet is also called the Network of
Network)
WANs.
4. 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.

5. 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)

6. 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.
7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 Address Usage

A 0.0.0.0 127.255.255.255 Used for Large Network

B 128.0.0.0 191.255.255.255 Used for Medium Size Network

IPv4 Class IPv4 Start Address IPv4 End Address Usage

C 192.0.0.0 223.255.255.255 Used for Local Area Network

D 224.0.0.0 239.255.255.255 Reserved for Multicasting

E 240.0.0.0 255.255.255.254 Study and R&D

12. 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 Private IPv4 End Address

A 10.0.0.0 10.255.255.255

B 172.16.0.0 172.31.255.255

C 192.168.0.0 192.168.255.255

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

13networkin. 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.