Networking Devices

Question 1

What is the main function of a router?

Answer 1

To route data between different IP subnets.

Question 2

At which OSI layer does a router operate?

Answer 2

OSI Layer 3 (Network layer).

Question 3

What information does a router use to determine where to send data?

Answer 3

IP addresses.

Question 4

What is a Layer 3 switch?

Answer 4

A switch that includes routing (Layer 3) functionality in addition to switching (Layer 2).

Question 5

What types of networks can routers connect?

Answer 5

LAN to WAN, or multiple LANs.

Question 6

What OSI layer does a standard switch operate at?

Answer 6

OSI Layer 2 (Data Link layer).

Question 7

What hardware is used in a switch to forward traffic?

Answer 7

ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).

Question 8

What is Power over Ethernet (PoE)?

Answer 8

Technology that allows power to be delivered over Ethernet cables.

Question 9

What is the role of a traditional firewall?

Answer 9

To filter traffic based on TCP/UDP port numbers.

Question 10

What is an NGFW (Next-Generation Firewall)?

Answer 10

A firewall that can identify applications and filter traffic based on the application.

Question 11

What is VPN functionality in firewalls used for?

Answer 11

To encrypt traffic between remote sites.

Question 12

Can firewalls perform routing?

Answer 12

Yes, many operate as Layer 3 devices and support dynamic routing.

Question 13

What is NAT and which device commonly performs it?

Answer 13

Network Address Translation; commonly performed by firewalls.

Question 14

What does IDS stand for?

Answer 14

Intrusion Detection System.

Question 15

What does IPS stand for?

Answer 15

Intrusion Prevention System.

Question 16

What is the key difference between IDS and IPS?

Answer 16

IDS detects and alerts; IPS blocks attacks.

Question 17

What types of attacks can IDS/IPS detect?

Answer 17

Known attacks such as buffer overflows, cross-site scripting, and OS/application exploits.

Question 18

What is the main purpose of a load balancer?

Answer 18

To distribute network traffic across multiple servers.

Question 19

What is SSL offloading in load balancers?

Answer 19

Handling encryption/decryption instead of having servers do it.

Question 20

What is TCP offloading?

Answer 20

A feature to optimize TCP communication to back-end servers.

Question 21

What is caching in the context of a load balancer?

Answer 21

Storing data so repeated requests can be answered quickly.

Question 22

What is QOS (Quality of Service) used for in load balancers?

Answer 22

To prioritize certain types of traffic.

Question 23

What is the role of a proxy server?

Answer 23

To act on behalf of a user to make network requests.

Question 24

What are the benefits of using a proxy?

Answer 24

Caching, access control, content scanning, and malware filtering.

Question 25

What is a transparent proxy?

Answer 25

A proxy that does not require client-side configuration.

Question 26

What does NAS stand for?

Answer 26

Network-Attached Storage.

Question 27

What does SAN stand for?

Answer 27

Storage Area Network.

Question 28

What type of access does NAS provide?

Answer 28

File-level access.

Question 29

What type of access does SAN provide?

Answer 29

Block-level access.

Question 30

Why might a SAN be more efficient than a NAS?

Answer 30

It allows changes to just specific blocks rather than transferring the entire file.

Question 31

What OSI layer does a wireless access point operate at?

Answer 31

OSI Layer 2 (Data Link).

Question 32

What does a wireless access point bridge?

Answer 32

Wireless (802.11) to wired Ethernet (802.3) networks.

Question 33

Why might a business use multiple access points?

Answer 33

To provide seamless wireless coverage in large areas.

Question 34

What is the purpose of a wireless LAN controller?

Answer 34

To centrally manage multiple access points.

Question 35

What functions can a wireless LAN controller perform?

Answer 35

Deploy configurations, monitor performance/security, generate reports, and manage roaming.

Question 36

Are wireless LAN controllers typically vendor-specific?

Answer 36

Yes, they are often proprietary and matched to the same vendor as the APs.