Important Interview Questions about Windows 2003 Networking

IPv4 is a suite of protocols and standards based on the original IP specification described in RTF 791 in the IETF RFC Database and is in widespread use today on the Internet and on private networks. IPv4 has a relatively small address space that is quickly being depleted as Internet use expands. The need for more IP addresses and support for newer networking technologies are motivating factors in the adoption of IPv6.

IPv6 is a suite of protocols and standards that supports a much larger address space than IPv4. IPv6 has 128-bit (16-byte) source and destination IP addresses. In contrast, IPv4 has 32-bit (4 bytes) source and destination IP addresses. IPv6 has many other security and efficiency improvements.

Unicast routing forwards packets from one host to another host using the unicast destination IP address. This topic describes the IPv4 unicast routing technologies included in the Routing and Remote Access service

Multicast IP routing forwards packets from one host to multiple hosts using the multicast destination IP address. This topic describes the IPv4 multicast forwarding technologies included in the TCP/IP (IPv4) protocol and the Routing and Remote Access service.

Network address translation (NAT) functionality is part of the Routing and Remote Access service. A server that has been configured as a NAT-enabled router, with a private IP address and at least one public IP address, translates the private addresses (and TCP or UDP port numbers) in outgoing packets. The outgoing packets can then be forwarded to a resource on a public network, such as the Internet. The NAT-enabled router also translates incoming traffic and forwards the incoming packets to the appropriate address on the private network.

Computer Browser service is used by Windows-based computers to collect, distribute, and obtain the browser list, a collection of information about workgroups, domains, and the computers within them. The browser list is available to programs that request it, such as My Network Places.

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a network management protocol and infrastructure widely used in TCP/IP networks to remotely monitor, configure, and troubleshoot network resources from a centrally located SNMP management system.

Domain Name System (DNS) is a domain name resolution service that allows client computers to register their domain names and IP addresses in a dynamic, distributed database and to resolve the domain names of network resources to their IPv4 or IPv6 addresses.

WINS is a NetBIOS name resolution service that allows client computers to register their NetBIOS names and IP addresses in a dynamic, distributed database and to resolve the NetBIOS names of network resources to their IPv4 addresses.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to automate the configuration of hosts on a network. DHCP clients request and DHCP servers allocate IP addresses and network configuration settings. DHCP servers maintain a database of IP address ranges, configuration settings, and the current set of allocated IP addresses.

Windows Time service uses the Network Time Protocol (NTP) to enable date and time synchronization among network resources on a Windows-based network. The Windows Time service can be used to automatically synchronize the time of a local computer with other computers on a network.

The IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for wireless LAN connectivity that allows the extension of a wired LAN to include wireless, mobile clients. For secure wireless connections, 802.11-based wireless networks use authentication (the IEEE 802.1X standard) and encryption (either Wired Equivalent Privacy or Wi-Fi Protected Access).

Virtual Private Network (VPN) technologies allow the creation of secure point-to-point logical links across shared or public networks such as the Internet. Remote access VPN connections allow VPN clients to securely connect to a private network over the Internet. Site-to-site VPN connections allow routers to connect the sites of an organization together across the Internet.

Internet Authentication Service (IAS) is the Microsoft implementation of a Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) server and proxy. IAS RADIUS servers perform centralized connection authentication and authorization. IAS RADIUS servers also provide network access accounting services. IAS RADIUS proxies forward authentication and accounting messages from RADIUS clients to RADIUS servers, and from RADIUS servers to RADIUS clients.

Connection Manager is a set of components that is used to create and maintain customized remote access client service profiles that enable users to connect to a network using administrator-defined connection parameters.

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is an interprocess communication (IPC) mechanism that enables data exchange and invocation of functionality residing in a different process. That process can be on the same computer, on the local area network (LAN), or across the Internet.

Services for Netware (SFN) provides directory object migration and synchronization between computers that are running Windows Server 2003 with Active Directory and computers that are running Novell’s NetWare operating system with NDS, eDirectory, and Bindery directory services.

Dial-up Remote Access enables remote access clients to connect to a network. Remote access clients use the available telecommunications infrastructure to create a temporary physical or virtual circuit to a port on a remote access server that is connected to a network. After the connection between the remote access client and the remote access server is established, the remote access server forwards packets between the remote access client and the network.

Telnet is a protocol that enables remote connections from a remote access client to a host. A local command prompt on a remote access client can be used to run command-line programs, shell commands, and scripts in a remote command console session.

Terminal Services delivers the Windows Server 2003 desktop and the latest Windows-based applications to a wide variety of desktops, including those that cannot normally run Windows. Terminal Services uses terminal emulation to host multiple, simultaneous client sessions. Terminal Services enables process scheduling, application-sharing, and multi-user functionality.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is connection-oriented networking technology that establishes a defined network path, called a virtual channel, between two endpoints for the purpose of sending isochronous (time-dependent) network traffic. When the virtual channel is established, ATM also negotiates a QoS contract for the virtual channel. The QoS contract between the endpoints defines the bandwidth, the maximum transit delay, and an acceptable variance in the transit delay.

Quality of Service (QoS) is a set of service requirements that a network must meet to ensure an adequate service level for data transmission. QoS allows real-time programs to make the most efficient use of network bandwidth.

The POP3 service is a standard messaging protocol that is supported in Windows Server 2003. POP3 provides e-mail transfer and retrieval services.

Windows Firewall is a stateful host-firewall technology that inspects and filters all IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6) network traffic. As a stateful firewall, Windows Firewall tracks the state of each network connection and determines whether unsolicited incoming traffic is allowed or dropped. Windows Firewall blocks unsolicited incoming traffic unless the traffic is a response to a request by the host (solicited traffic) or it is specifically allowed (in which case, it has been added to the Windows Firewall exceptions list). Exceptions can be specified by program name, UDP or TCP port number, or system service name. Aside from a few Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) messages, Windows Firewall allows all outgoing traffic.