1 07 Mock interview
Stefan Tanta edited this page 2026-10-08 20:29:19 +02:00

Mock interview

Goal

Give clear, honest answers in English. Explain evidence and decisions rather than reciting commands.

Allow about 40 minutes. Your mentor should ask follow-up questions and record gaps. Review the gaps after the interview.

Questions

  1. Describe your Linux lab and what you configured yourself.
  2. Explain a switch, router, default gateway, and VLAN.
  3. What happens when you request a web page by hostname?
  4. Explain TCP versus UDP and name uses of each.
  5. Show the VM's IP address and default route.
  6. DNS resolution succeeds but a web request fails. What would you check next?
  7. How do you determine whether a service is running and listening?
  8. What does a full filesystem affect? Which evidence would you collect?
  9. Describe one lab fault: symptom, evidence, cause, fix, and verification.
  10. Explain your Bash script and its limitations.
  11. What information belongs in a bug report to engineering?
  12. How would you prepare for a hardware or software upgrade?
  13. What do you know about video delivery and RF measurement?
  14. Which networking vendors and models have you actually used?
  15. Explain an unfamiliar result to a customer without guessing at its cause.

Practical task

Inspect the working lab server. Identify its address, default route, web listener, service state, and root filesystem space.

Explain what each result proves. Then investigate one mentor-provided fault using the troubleshooting report template.

Experience answers

Use specific, true examples. Say “In my Debian lab” when describing lab work. Do not present Proxmox practice as production employment.

For unfamiliar equipment, state that you have not used it. Explain which concepts transfer and which documentation or assistance you would need.

For each command you claim to know, be ready to explain one use, one option, and one output example.

Completion check

Your mentor should assess accuracy, reasoning, English clarity, and independence separately. Revisit incorrect answers before repeating the interview.

Passing this practice does not guarantee an interview outcome. It identifies what you can currently demonstrate.

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