8/13/2019 Helpdesk Questions http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/helpdesk-questions 1/21 Entry-Level and Help Desk Positions Have you ever been responsible for maintaining a network setting? What was the base size, and expectations? Describe your I trouble shooting procedure? What programs have you used to log and date calls? Describe you experience in! firewalls, spy ware detection and virus ware implementation" Describe your knowledge in! #$ hardware and operating systems" How would you handle the %I can&t log in' call? (irst I would ask the caller to verify that he has the correct user name and domain" hen I would ask the caller to check if the %caps lock' key was enabled" If that doesn&t resolve the issue I would continue by asking the caller to check the physical connections such as )thernet" he importance of this *uestion is to make sure the candidate covers the basics and doesn&t +ump to conclusions without first troubleshooting the basics" Describe how a substitute any technology here such as W)#, -./, etc"0 works? W)# is a means of securing access to a wireless network and is usually established by a network administrator" W)# keys include a series of hexadecimal digits the keys must match between devices in order for them to communicate" 1ost applicants think this is a technical proficiency *uestion2 however, it&s really a *uestion aimed at evaluating communication skills" While candidates should be familiar with most popular acronyms they may ask you to explain first, which is fine, as long as they can articulate the answer" In your professional career, what was the most difficult thing you had to do? Working weekends" 3ad answer4440 he answer could focus on a specific situation such as making a decision to leave a +ob" It may also describe a specific I help desk incident such as challenging conventional wisdom to come up with what turned out to be the right solution based on thorough research of the problem" In any case you&re looking for how the candidate adapted to change" What kinds of people do you currently work with on the I help desk? I work on the incident management team, and we often collaborate with problem managers and operations teams" Here you&re looking for answers that reveal how well a candidate works with others" Does the candidate&s answer focus on specific roles or does it mention personality or behavioral characteristics" Does the
Have you ever been responsible for maintaining a network setting?
What was the base size, and expectations?Describe your I trouble shooting procedure?What programs have you used to log and date calls?Describe you experience in! firewalls, spy ware detection and virusware implementation"Describe your knowledge in! #$ hardware and operating systems"
How would you handle the %I can&t log in' call?(irst I would ask the caller to verify that he has the correct user nameand domain" hen I would ask the caller to check if the %caps lock' keywas enabled" If that doesn&t resolve the issue I would continue by
asking the caller to check the physical connections such as )thernet" he importance of this *uestion is to make sure the candidate coversthe basics and doesn&t +ump to conclusions without firsttroubleshooting the basics"Describe how a substitute any technology here such as W)#, -./,etc"0 works?W)# is a means of securing access to a wireless network and is usuallyestablished by a network administrator" W)# keys include a series ofhexadecimal digits the keys must match between devices in order forthem to communicate"1ost applicants think this is a technical proficiency *uestion2 however,
it&s really a *uestion aimed at evaluating communication skills" Whilecandidates should be familiar with most popular acronyms they mayask you to explain first, which is fine, as long as they can articulate theanswer"In your professional career, what was the most difficult thing you hadto do?Working weekends" 3ad answer4440 he answer could focus on a specific situation such as making adecision to leave a +ob" It may also describe a specific I help deskincident such as challenging conventional wisdom to come up withwhat turned out to be the right solution based on thorough research of
the problem" In any case you&re looking for how the candidate adaptedto change"What kinds of people do you currently work with on the I help desk?I work on the incident management team, and we often collaboratewith problem managers and operations teams"Here you&re looking for answers that reveal how well a candidate workswith others" Does the candidate&s answer focus on specific roles ordoes it mention personality or behavioral characteristics" Does the
candidate speak in terms of teamwork such as %our team includes " " "'or %I work with a team of " " "'What do you do to stay current on I help desk good practices?I subscribe to 5upportWorld 1agazine and am a member of HDI" he answer should go beyond attending whatever courses the
company provides" 6ou&re looking for a self7starter who seeksinformation" he candidate should subscribe to industry +ournals orseek training and certification courses outside of the company&s on7the7+ob training program" ell me about a situation when the caller didn&t understand what youwere explaining" What did you do?I rephrased the *uestion to see if the misunderstanding was my ownmiscommunication" When that didn&t work, I asked the caller a seriesof *uestions, paraphrasing the caller&s answers to make sure that Ithoroughly understood" he key here is to ascertain the candidate&s communications and
customer service capability" Does the candidate really try to see thecaller&s perspective? Is the candidate flexible and8or creative in findingways to articulate the action? ell me about an issue that you couldn&t initially resolve" What did youdo?I was working with an irate customer who grew impatient with my*uestions" 5o although I knew I would eventually be able to help thecaller, I asked the caller if he would prefer that another associatehandle the incident"In this *uestion, you&re really looking for a candidate who showsingenuity and customer focus" Did the candidate leverage available
tools such as the knowledge base or #erformance 1anagementDatabase #1D30? In the answer above, the candidate put thecustomer first by giving the caller an option that perhaps woulduncover an underlying issue of the caller simply wanted to talk tosomeone else" he next step would be for the interviewer to ask whythe caller grew impatient" ell me how you have dealt with a hostile caller" What was theoutcome? his help desk interview *uestion re*uires you to show how you canhandle negative and stressful situations" 6our answer should show apatient and positive attitude when challenging situations occur and
that you do not allow your personal ego to get in the way of helpingthe caller" Describe the coping techni*ues you use to keep calm understress" echnical proficiency is not enough to determine a good I help deskcandidate" . promising candidate must possess effective problemsolving skills, the ability to prioritize and adapt to changing priorities,customer focus and above all, excellent communication skills
hese *uestions are mostly for Help Desk positions but I wouldn&t besurprised if an entry7level candidate was asked any one of these*uestions" If you don&t know the answer, find it, memorize it and then
practice explaining it in your own words"9" What is .ctive Directory? :::" o create a new user account;sing the Windows interface ;sing a command line ;sing a command line<pen $ommand #rompt" ype!
dsadd user;serD/ =7samid5.1/ame> 7pwd #assword@AB#reface! .s you know, if you try to add .D users using lusrmgr"msc youwill receive the following error!
.nd since I cover creating a local user lusr0 I thought it would only beright to cover creating an .ctive Directory user"1ethod!$lick 5tart, highlight C.dministrative oolsC and select C.ctive Directory;sers and $omputersC
/ow, expand your domain name on the left side, and go to the bottomwhere it says C;sersC" <nce you click on that, you will see all of theautomatically created users, you will also see all of the users you madebefore you ran dcpromo 7 thats because they all stay through thepromotion to D$" .nyway, to add a user, you can either right click theC;sersC folder on the left side, or the blank area on the right side, andhighlight C/ewC then click C;serC
.fter clicking C/extC you are presented with the password7settingsscreen" 6ou can set the users password and then have them change iton their first log7on by selecting C;ser must change password at nextlogonC" 3ut in this tutorial, I will set it as their password, and not allowthem to ever change it without asking me the administrator0 tochange it for them
In the next dialog, we get a summary of the user to be created" $lickC(inishC and the user has been created
777 How to install Window active directory :".ctive Directory is a directory" It is a directory in both the common useof the term like a white pages you can add in a person&s first name,last name, phone number, address, email address, etc0 and a directory
of information for use by applications and services such as 1icrosoft)xchange for email0" .D is functionally a place to store informationabout people, things computers, printers, etc0, applications, domains,services, security access permissions, and more" .pplications andservices then use the directory to perform a function"(or example, 1icrosoft Windows uses .ctive Directory information toallow a user to login to their computer and provide access to thesecurity rights assigned in .ctive Directory" Windows is accessing thedirectory and then providing rights based on what it finds" If a useraccount is disabled in .ctive Directory, the directory itself is +ustsetting a flag which Windows uses to disallow a user from logging in""
.ctive Directory is based loosely on -D.# E -ightweight Directory
.ccess #rotocol
.t the top of the .ctive Directory structure is a forest" . forest holds allof the ob+ects, organizational units, domains, and attributes in itshierarchy" ;nder a forest are one or more trees which hold domains,<;s, ob+ects, and attributes"
$reating <rganizational ;nits.s we discussed earlier, <rganizational ;nits provide a mechanism todesign a hierarchical structure within your .ctive Directory
environment" <nce you have designed your .D structure, you areready to create the <;s in the environment"F" $lick 5tart G .dministrative ools G .ctive Directory ;sers and$omputers"1anagement ;tilities
here are several management utilities you use to manage the .ctiveDirectory environment" .s you saw after installation, you have theseutilities which are 11$ snap7ins0!.ctive Directory Domains and rusts! 1anage domains and trustsbetween domains using this tool".ctive Directory 5ites and 5ervices! 5etup and manage sites physicalnetworks0".ctive Directory ;sers and $omputers! $reate and manage users,computers, other ob+ects, <;s".() I/5.--.I</ ! $lick on 5tart and click .dministrative ools" 6ou should have these tools installed!
1 Ware experience ! see Jeremy $$/. for ).- World switch video "
K" What is $#8I# and what does it stand for? E ransmission controlprotocol , is a process for sending information from one device toanotherL" What is a default gateway? E it is the device through which a packetleaves in order to connect to internetM" What does DH$# stand for? 7 DH$# 7 the Dynamic Host $onfiguration#rotocol 7 allows network devices to automatically obtain a valid I#address from a server
FN" . user is complaining of delays when using the network" Whatwould you do?
/etwork .dministrator #ositionsFO" How do you distinguish a D/5 problem from a network problem? E
1ost public D/5 servers today are run by larger I5#s and commercialcompanies but private D/5 servers can also be useful for private home
his step7by7step article describes how to install and configure D/5 onyour Windows 5erver NPP9 computer"
3efore 6ou 5tart3efore you start to configure your D/5, you must gather some basicinformation" Internic must approve some of this information for use onthe Internet, but if you are configuring this server for internal use only,you can decide what names and I# addresses to use"
6ou must have the following information! 6our domain name approved by Internic0" he I# address and host name of each server that you want to providename resolution for"
/ote! he servers may be your mail servers, public access servers, (#servers, WWW servers, and others"
3efore you configure your computer as a D/5, verify that the followingconditions are true! 6our operating system is configured correctly" In the Windows 5erverNPP9 family, the D/5 service depends on the correct configuration ofthe operating system and its services, such as $#8I#" If you have anew installation of a Windows 5erver NPP9 operating system, then youcan use the default service settings" 6ou do not have to take additionalaction"
6ou have allocated all the available disk space".ll the existing disk volumes use the /(5 file system" (.9N volumesare not secure, and they do not support file and folder compression,disk *uotas, file encryption, or individual file permissionsInstall D/5<pen Windows $omponents Wizard" o do so, use the following steps!$lick 5tart, click $ontrol #anel, and then click .dd or emove#rograms"$lick .dd8emove Windows $omponents"In $omponents, select the /etworking 5ervices check box, and thenclick Details"
In5ubcomponents of /etworking 5ervices, select the Domain /ame5ystem D/50 check box, click <Q, and then click /ext"If you are prompted, in $opy files from, type the full path of thedistribution files, and then click <Q"$onfigure D/55tart the $onfigure 6our 5erver Wizard" o do so, click 5tart, point to.ll #rograms, point to .dministrative ools, and then click $onfigure 6our 5erver Wizard"<n the 5erver ole page, click D/5 server, and then click /ext"<n the 5ummary of 5elections page, view and confirm the options thatyou have selected" he following items should appear on this page!
Install D/5un the $onfigure a D/5 Wizard to configure D/5If the 5ummary of 5elections page lists these two items, click /ext" Ifthe 5ummary of 5elections page does not list these two items, click3ack to return to the 5erver ole page, click D/5, and then click /ext"When the $onfigure 6our 5erver Wizard installs the D/5 service, it firstdetermines whether the I# address for this server is static or isconfigured automatically" If your server is currently configured to
obtain its I# address automatically, the $onfiguring $omponents pageof the Windows $omponents Wizard prompts you to configure thisserver with a static I# address" o do so!In the -ocal .rea $onnection #roperties dialog box, click Internet#rotocol $#8I#0, and then click #roperties"
In the Internet #rotocols $#8I#0 #roperties dialog box, click ;se thefollowing I# address, and then type the static I# address, subnet mask,and default gateway for this server"In #referred D/5, type the I# address of this server"In .lternate D/5, type the I# address of another internal D/5 server, orleave this box blank"When you finish setting up the static addresses for your D/5, click <Q,and then click $lose".fter you click $lose, the $onfigure a D/5 5erver Wizard starts" In thewizard, follow these steps!<n the 5elect $onfiguration .ction page, select the $reate a forward
lookup zone check box, and then click /ext" o specify that this D/5 hosts a D/5 zone that contains D/5 resourcerecords for your network resources, on the #rimary 5erver -ocationpage, click his server maintains the zone, and then click /ext"<n the Rone /ame page, in Rone name, specify the name of the D/5zone for your network, and then click /ext" he name of the zone isthe same as the name of the D/5 domain for your small organizationor branch office"<n the Dynamic ;pdate page, click .llow both nonsecure and securedynamic updates, and then click /ext" his makes sure that the D/5resource records for the resources in your network update
automatically"<n the (orwarders page, click 6es, it should forward *ueries to D/5servers with the following I# addresses, and then click /ext" When youselect this configuration, you forward all D/5 *ueries for D/5 namesoutside your network to a D/5 at either your I5# or central office" ypeone or more I# addresses that either your I5# or central office D/5servers use"<n the $ompleting the $onfigure a D/5 Wizard page of the $onfigure aD/5 Wizard, you can click 3ack to change any of the settings" o applyyour selections, click (inish".fter you finish the $onfigure a D/5 Wizard, the $onfigure 6our 5erver
Wizard displays the his 5erver is /ow a D/5 5erver page
if you are able to ping to a router or switch connected to D/5 serverbut not able to ping D/5 server""this is surely a problem withD/5""""else its problem in the network" here is no central D/5 that is used by everyone" hat would bephysically impossible" 1ost I5#s run their own D/5 servers for theircustomers" hat is why it can take a few days to register a domain
name""" you register it with one company, and their D/5 server thenpasses the information on to the millions of other D/5 servers all overthe world"F0 6our computer asks your I5#s D/5 server for the addresscorresponding to www"yahoo"com"
N0 6our I5#s D/5 server checks its cache to see if it knows thataddress" Its boring if we assume it already knows it, so lets assume itdoesnt"0
90 he I5#s D/5 server asks a root nameserver the address forwww"yahoo"com"
K0 he root nameserver has no idea its not its +ob to hold yahoosinternal details0" 3ut it does know the nameservers for com" 5o it saysCI dont know, but I do know the nameservers for com"
L0 6our I5#s nameserver contacts one of the nameservers for com andasks it for www"yahoo"com"
M0 he nameservers for com, of course, dont know" Its not their +ob tohold yahoos internal details either" 3ut they do know the nameserversfor yahoo"com, so they report these to your I5#s name server"
O0 6our I5#s nameserver contacts one of the nameservers foryahoo"com and asks it for www"yahoo"coms address"
S0 5ince it AisA their +ob to hold this detail, they report it to your I5#s
nameserver"
T0 6our I5#s nameserver stores these results to save work onsubse*uent *ueries and returns the result to your browser"
FP0 6our browser now knows what address to use to reachwww"yahoo"com"NP" What is the purpose of #?irtual backup router to increase efficiency and backup if somethinggoes wrong"5ystem .dministration #osition
Here are a few more *uestions that are a little bit more difficult"5ystem .dmins should know all these answers by heart in addition tothe /etwork .dministrator *uestions"9F" What is the subnet for a class $ network? NLL"NLL"NLL"P 8 NK9N" Have you configured a /I5 server8client before? If so, describe whatyou did"99" Have your configured a /(5 server?9K" What are .ID F and .ID L?
9L" What are the re*uired components of Windows 5erver NPP9 forinstalling )xchange NPP9?)xchange 5erver&s primary role is to store e7mail but it can also storecalendars, contacts, schedules, etc o properly set up D/5, you need to define an 1U 1ail eUchange0
record in D/5 with the external I# address of the )xchange server onwhich you will be running the 51# service" he D/5 server with the1U record must be accessible to anyone who wishes to send you amessage" (or smaller organizations, D/5 services are generally housedexternally, so you will need to contact your I5# or other provider whohosts your D/5 in order to make this change"
#ut cd , do next next
(igure $
his screen is used to select the type of installation desired"
.t the top level of every )xchange server environment is anorganization that must be named" he default name of (irst<rganization will work, but what makes more sense is the name of thecompany or part of the domain name" 1y Windows domain is
Cslowe"com,C so I will name my )xchange organization CsloweC see(igure D0"
(igure D
6ou should rename the organization to reflect your company ordomain name"
he next step asks whether or not you agree to be bound by)xchange&s per seat licensing model" I recommend that you choose toagree if you wish to continue with the installation" 6ou will then see ascreen that provides an overview of the selections that were made inthe wizard see (igure )0" $lick /ext to continue"
his screen provides an overview of the selections made in thewizard"
.t this point, the installer does its duty and installs )xchange, andshows you the progress see (igure (0" he installation takes *uitesome time as the .ctive Directory schema is updated before the)xchange components are installed"
his screen tracks the progress of the installation as schemas areupdated and components are installed"
)xchange 5erver NPP9 is now installed and running" However, this isonly the beginning of the setup process"
1anaging )xchange NPP9.fter )xchange is installed, you will notice that user accounts nowhave mailboxes associated with them in .ctive Directory ;sers and$omputers, as shown in (igure V"
he new featuresIn addition, a number of new features are available upon initialinstallation, including <utlook Web .ccess, which formerly re*uired aseparate installation" Wireless access capability is also available" )achof these new features can be enabled or disabled on a user7by7userbasis (igure H0"
In (igure H, you may notice that there are three new services availableon the user profileWireless 3rowse, ;ser Initiated 5ynchronization,and .lways ;p7to7date /otifications" hese are part of the new mobilityfeatures, which have undergone extensive improvements in thisversion of )xchange, and all of the various mobility services areinstalled by default when you install )xchange NPP9"
he )xchange 5ystem 1anager
<f course, there&s a lot more to maintaining an )xchange server than +ust user administration" )xchanges management tool utility E the)xchange 5ystem 1anager see (igure I0is located at 5tart @ .ll#rograms @ 1icrosoft )xchange @ 5ystem 1anager"
he )xchange 5ystem 1anager is key to maintaining your
)xchange server"
Xueue maintenance<ne area of consternation for )xchange administrators has been in thearea of message *ueue maintenance" In previous versions of)xchange, the administration of the *ueues was buried within othersettings and not convenient to access" In )xchange NPP9, 1icrosoftrecognized this as an area needing attention and created a Xueuesoption see (igure J0 on the server branch in the 5ystem 1anager" hisoption lists all of the message *ueues"
he Xueues option helps admins with *ueue maintenance"
;sing )xchange! he client perspective here are a lot of ways in which you can handle the client side of)xchange, but the full <utlook client is still definitely the most robustand flexible option available" If your employees are based on thenetwork with the )xchange server or are connected by a #/ or someother kind of high7speed connection, then I recommend using the full
<utlook client, especially if the employees need to use the additionalgroupware features e"g", tasks, contacts, and calendars0 provided by)xchange"
With )xchange NPP9, <utlook clients can make a secure connection tothe )xchange server from outside the firewall without the need for a#/" If you want to make use of this functionality, the clients must berunning Windows U# 5#F with <utlook FF and the )xchange servermust be running Windows NPP9 and not Windows NPPP 5#9"
#erhaps one of the most noticeable improvements to )xchange NPP9 is
with the <utlook Web .ccess component, which has undergone ama+or overhaul" 3oth from an interface and a performance perspective,this is a whole new <W." (rom the beginning, it is definitely moreresponsive than prior versions of <W., and it now sports an interfacesee (igure Q0 very much like that of <utlook FF"
<utlook Web .ccess has undergone a ma+or overhaul"
9M" What must be done to an .D forest before )xchange can bedeployed?5etup"exe 8forestprep
9O" What )xchange process is responsible for communication with .D?D5.$$)559S" What connector type would you use to connect to the Internet, andwhat are the two methods of sending mail over that connector?LL" What is a site?LM" Which is the command used to remove active directory from adomain controller?)xplain 7 5trong hands on experience in Windows NPP98NPPS serveradministration with .ctive directory, (ailover $lusteringimplementation and administration, 15 )xchange NPP98NPPO and I5.server NPPP8NPPM administration, )xchange migration, 1ac.fee
5ecure1ail administration, 3luecoat #roxy 5erver, 5hare#oint portalserver installation Y administration"
