MCSE interview questions....

1. What is the location of the Active Directory database?

A: The AD database is stored on domain controllers and can be accessed by network applications. All domains can be domain controllers and have a copy of the AD database.

2. What’s the essence of application partitions?

A: The application partitions are a part of the Active Directory system and having said so, they are directory partitions which are replicated to domain controllers. Usually, domain controllers that are included in the process of directory partitions hold a replica of that directory partition. The attributes and values of application partitions is that you can replicated them to any specific domain controller in a forest, meaning that it could lessen replication traffic. While the domain directory partitions transfer all their data to all of the domains, the application partitions can focus on only one in the domain area. This makes application partitions redundant and more available.

3. What is a Global Catalog?

A: The Global Catalog is distributed data which holds information about every little thing in all the domain controllers in all the domains in Active Directory domain services. Simply said, the global catalog is a domain controller which holds all the data from Active Directory elements in one forest. The global catalog is usually located on the domain controllers and every domain controller can be set up to maintain a function of becoming a global catalog server. If you are searching, browsing through to the global catalog your search would be faster and in general more broad, because you don’t have to attach referrals for different domain controllers, rather just use the catalog and it’s universal function will transfer you or find you the domain controller right away.

4. GPO – definition and meaning.

A: GPO is short for Group Policy Objects, but before explaining group policy objects, first we must focus on group policy in general. What is group policy? Well, group policy is one hierarchically built infrastructure and this infrastructure is built in a way that an administrator can access it from the Active directory system and change settings for different users, configure also settings for the computers and so on. Using the group policy, a network administrator can put limits or choose what you as a user or what a computer can access and use on the network itself. This comes down even to files and folders. If the network administrator wishes to have control of both the user’s web browsing and set up the computer settings for when connecting to a network, it can be done through the Group Policy Management Console and through this console he can have control over all the objects – the Group Policy Objects (GPO).

5. What are the modifications made in Active Directory in Windows 2008?

A: One of the first modifications made to Active Directory in Windows 2008 is renaming the Active Directory to a different name, Active Directory Domain Service. Other then the name, no other changes have been made in it’s specifications, settings and tools. Then what is the purpose of Active Directory Domain Services? The “domain service” part identifies the directory as a service which can provide authorization and policy management control. It is called a service because the Active Directory could be brought to a full stop and then re-activated. Using the active directory as a service allows easier maintenance of the domain controllers.

6. What is Active Directory’s recycle bin and what is it’s purpose?

A: The Active Directory’s recycle bin is a modified tool that came in the Windows 2008 pack and is very user-friendly and a very helpful tool for restoring or even storing items in the recycle bin. How does the directory’s recycle bin work you may ask? For example, you may find yourself in a situation where you’ve accidentally deleted an item that you now wish to restore. Even as a network administrator, grabbing the objects from the Active Directory is a wonderful action that Windows 2008 released, because mistakes are often made. This tool enhances the efficiency of the Active Directory service by the several actions this tool provides, like the restoration of objects, putting unneeded items in the recycle bin and using data space more resourcefully and efficiently.

7. What is Windows Server Backup?

A: The Windows Server Backup is one of the features released for the Windows 2008 set and this tool is as useful as the recycle bin in the Active Directory System. The windows server backup provides you a variety of solutions on how to backup the data on your computer, in case of some natural disaster, system failure, server going down etc. Not only does this server backup allow backing up one piece of data, it can also back up the whole server and ranges from massive data back up to as simple as a few files and applications. Not using a server backup could backfire on you and the risks could be great. The server backup can be accessed through a MC (management console) and command-lines. It is easy to use and it’s function concerns everyone, from everyday users to network and IT administrators. This server backup is much more efficient than previous versions of Windows, as it allows faster recovery, multiple disk data backup, offsite data back up and much more.

8. What is licensing’s grace period?

A: To give some time for the deployment and realization of one Terminal Server license server, the server will provide a licensing grace period. This license grace period is acquired so that you don’t have to have a license server. This grace period will allow you and the server to accept unlicensed clients without requiring further permission from the licensed server. The period will automatically start when you receive your first client and the licensing period will extend until you get a licensing server. That is when a licensing period will end and the licensing server can accept new clients and store their information in the server and this is called the CAL or the clients access license.