5 Network Engineer Interview Questions You'll Likely Be Asked

When interviewing for a network engineer position, you want to do everything you can to show the interviewer your knowledge of network design and server architecture. While you should always be prepared for common job interview questions, there are engineer-specific questions that you’ll want to make sure you have practiced before hand.

What steps would you take to solve Internet connectivity issues?

As a network engineer, you should know how to handle common issues such as this one and the interviewer wants to ensure that.

"Sometimes a simple reboot is all that is necessary. However, if that doesn't do the trick I would run a trace route on the problem. Then, I would run a ping test to see if the user can access internal areas of the network. If I have no success with those tests, I would check for hardware issues such as a bad network card or broken cable."

What are some basic ways to speed up network performance?

The interviewer is gauging your level of proactivity and your problem-solving skills.

"Network performance is reliant upon user activity. A few ways to speed up the performance include restricting media streaming and peer-to-peer downloading. Also, adding compression to files to reduce the amount of bandwidth being used. Lastly, timed backups and large data transfers should be conducted at slow network times, preferably overnight."

Have you managed heterogeneous networks and environments?

Companies vary with the types of networks and systems they use. The interviewer wants to know what environments you have previously worked in and if it coincides with theirs.

"In my previous role, I was working in a heterogenous environment with multiple server and client platforms. There was a combination of Windows and Linux servers and desktops, with a few Mac desktops as well. Throughout my 11 years of experience in network engineering, I have always worked in hybrid environments so I am proficient in both Windows and Linux."

Explain why Ethernet protocol uses physical addresses.

It's not uncommon to be asked specific questions about your knowledge of the field. You want the interviewer to see you have a solid grasp on the concepts and protocols.

"The use of physical addresses is beneficial for a couple of reasons. First, it gives us the ability to uniquely identify devices at layer two. Also, it allows for communication to occur between different devices on the same network."

What are the benefits of VLAN's?

You want to show the interviewer that you are knowledgeable about the in's and out's of network engineering. Simply having a general understanding of the field is extremely limiting.

"One benefit is that they allow a logical grouping of users by function. Additionally, VLAN's increase the number of broadcast domains thus reducing their size and mitigating broadcast storms. Lastly, VLAN's enhance network security by separating sensitive data traffic from other network traffic, which is crucial for a business of your magnitude."