1. What’s the difference between local, global and universal groups?

Domain
local groups assign access permissions to global domain groups for local domain
resources. Global groups provide access to resources in other trusted domains.
Universal groups grant access to resources in all trusted domains.
2. I am trying to create a new universal user group. Why can’t I? Universal
groups are allowed only in native-mode Windows Server 2003 environments.
Native mode requires that all domain controllers be promoted to Windows Server
2003 Active Directory.
3. What is LSDOU? It’s group policy inheritance model, where the policies are
applied to Local machines, Sites, Domains and Organizational Units.
4. Why doesn’t LSDOU work under Windows NT? If the NTConfig.pol file exist,
it has the highest priority among the numerous policies.
5. Where are group policies stored? %SystemRoot%System32\GroupPolicy
6. What is GPT and GPC? Group policy template and group policy container.
7. Where is GPT stored?
%SystemRoot%\SYSVOL\sysvol\domainname\Policies\GUID
8. You change the group policies, and now the computer and user settings are in
conflict. Which one has the highest priority? The computer settings take
priority.
9. You want to set up remote installation procedure, but do not want the user to
gain access over it. What do you do? gponame–> User Configuration–>
Windows Settings–> Remote Installation Services–> Choice Options is your
friend.
10. What’s contained in administrative template conf.adm? Microsoft NetMeeting
policies
11. How can you restrict running certain applications on a machine? Via group
policy, security settings for the group, then Software Restriction Policies.
12. You need to automatically install an app, but MSI file is not available. What
do you do? A .zap text file can be used to add applications using the Software
Installer, rather than the Windows Installer.
13. What’s the difference between Software Installer and Windows Installer?
The former has fewer privileges and will probably require user intervention. Plus,
it uses .zap files.
14. What can be restricted on Windows Server 2003 that wasn’t there in
previous products? Group Policy in Windows Server 2003 determines a users
right to modify network and dial-up TCP/IP properties. Users may be selectively
restricted from modifying their IP address and other network configuration
parameters.
15. How frequently is the client policy refreshed? 90 minutes give or take.
16. Where is secedit? It’s now gpupdate.
17. You want to create a new group policy but do not wish to inherit. Make sure
you check Block inheritance among the options when creating the policy.
18. What is "tattooing" the Registry? The user can view and modify user
preferences that are not stored in maintained portions of the Registry. If the group
policy is removed or changed, the user preference will persist in the Registry.
19. How do you fight tattooing in NT/2000 installations? You can’t.
20. How do you fight tattooing in 2003 installations? User Configuration -
Administrative Templates - System - Group Policy - enable - Enforce Show
Policies Only.
21. What does IntelliMirror do? It helps to reconcile desktop settings, applications,
and stored files for users, particularly those who move between workstations or
those who must periodically work offline.
22. What’s the major difference between FAT and NTFS on a local machine?
FAT and FAT32 provide no security over locally logged-on users. Only native
NTFS provides extensive permission control on both remote and local files.
23. How do FAT and NTFS differ in approach to user shares? They don’t, both
have support for sharing.
24. Explan the List Folder Contents permission on the folder in NTFS. Same as
Read & Execute, but not inherited by files within a folder. However, newly
created subfolders will inherit this permission.
25. I have a file to which the user has access, but he has no folder permission to
read it. Can he access it? It is possible for a user to navigate to a file for which
he does not have folder permission. This involves simply knowing the path of the
file object. Even if the user can’t drill down the file/folder tree using My
Computer, he can still gain access to the file using the Universal Naming
Convention (UNC). The best way to start would be to type the full path of a file
into Run… window.
26. For a user in several groups, are Allow permissions restrictive or permissive?
Permissive, if at least one group has Allow permission for the file/folder, user will
have the same permission.
27. For a user in several groups, are Deny permissions restrictive or permissive?
Restrictive, if at least one group has Deny permission for the file/folder, user will
be denied access, regardless of other group permissions.
28. What hidden shares exist on Windows Server 2003 installation? Admin$,
Drive$, IPC$, NETLOGON, print$ and SYSVOL.
29. What’s the difference between standalone and fault-tolerant DFS
(Distributed File System) installations? The standalone server stores the Dfs
directory tree structure or topology locally. Thus, if a shared folder is inaccessible
or if the Dfs root server is down, users are left with no link to the shared
resources. A fault-tolerant root node stores the Dfs topology in the Active
Directory, which is replicated to other domain controllers. Thus, redundant root
nodes may include multiple connections to the same data residing in different
shared folders.
30. We’re using the DFS fault-tolerant installation, but cannot access it from a
Win98 box. Use the UNC path, not client, only 2000 and 2003 clients can access
Server 2003 fault-tolerant shares.
31. Where exactly do fault-tolerant DFS shares store information in Active
Directory? In Partition Knowledge Table, which is then replicated to other
domain controllers.
32. Can you use Start->Search with DFS shares? Yes.
33. What problems can you have with DFS installed? Two users opening the
redundant copies of the file at the same time, with no file-locking involved in
 DFS, changing the contents and then saving. Only one file will be propagated
through DFS.
34. I run Microsoft Cluster Server and cannot install fault-tolerant DFS. Yeah,
you can’t. Install a standalone one.
35. Is Kerberos encryption symmetric or asymmetric? Symmetric.
36. How does Windows 2003 Server try to prevent a middle-man attack on
encrypted line? Time stamp is attached to the initial client request, encrypted
with the shared key.
37. What hashing algorithms are used in Windows 2003 Server? RSA Data
Security’s Message Digest 5 (MD5), produces a 128-bit hash, and the Secure
Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1), produces a 160-bit hash.
38. What third-party certificate exchange protocols are used by Windows 2003
Server? Windows Server 2003 uses the industry standard PKCS-10 certificate
request and PKCS-7 certificate response to exchange CA certificates with third-
party certificate authorities.
39. What’s the number of permitted unsuccessful logons on Administrator
account? Unlimited. Remember, though, that it’s the Administrator account, not
any account that’s part of the Administrators group.
40. If hashing is one-way function and Windows Server uses hashing for storing
passwords, how is it possible to attack the password lists, specifically the ones
using NTLMv1? A cracker would launch a dictionary attack by hashing every
imaginable term used for password and then compare the hashes.
41. What’s the difference between guest accounts in Server 2003 and other
editions? More restrictive in Windows Server 2003.
42. How many passwords by default are remembered when you check "Enforce
Password History Remembered"? User’s last 6 passwords.

43. What is Active Directory?

44. What is LDAP?
45. Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a
few options.

Yes. Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) is one of the options you can use to act as an intermediary between
two directories (including directories used by SAP, Domino, etc).

46. Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?

NTDS.DIT is our main Database file. It's stored (by default) in C:\Windows\NTDS

Other folders would include SYSVOL, and perhaps NETLOGON (even though it's a sub-folder of SYSVOL it's
important as a share).

47. What is the SYSVOL folder?

Correctly termed System Volume, primarily used for Group Policies and Scripts

48. Name the AD NCs and replication issues for each NC

 NC is Naming Context. There are 5 of these in Windows 2003 Domains / Forests to consider:

Directory - Replicated to all DCs in the Domain

Configuration - Replicated to all DCs in the Forest
Schema - Replicated to all DCs in the Forest
DomainDNSZones - Replicated to all Windows 2003 DC / DNS Servers in the Domain
ForestDNSZones - Replicated to all Windows 2003 DC / DNS Servers in the Forest

49. What are application partitions? When do I use them

Application Directory Partition is a partition space in Active Directory which an

application can use to store that application specific data. This partition is then replicated
only to some specific domain controllers.

The application directory partition can contain any type of data except security principles
(users, computers, groups).

50. How do you create a new application partition

members of the Enterprise Admins group can manually create or manage application directory
partitions using the Ntdsutil command-line tool.

51. How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?

Replmon.exe: Active Directory Replication Monitor

This GUI tool enables administrators to view the low-level status of Active Directory replication, force
synchronization between domain controllers, view the topology in a graphical format, and monitor the
status and performance of domain controller replication.

52. What is the Global Catalog?

53. How do you view all the GCs in the forest?

A global catalog server is a domain controller that contains full and writable replica of
its domain directory, and a partial, read-only replica of all other domain directory
partitions in the forest

54. Why not make all DCs in a large forest as GCs?

You can use a variety of GUI, command-line, and scripting methods to determine which of your DCs are currently
configured as GCs. In addition to the Sites and Services snap-in, you can also use Repadmin, a command-line tool in
the Support Tools folder on the Win2K CD-ROM. To launch Repadmin, use the command

C:\>repadmin /showreps
domain_controller
where domain_controller is the DC you want to query to determine whether it's a GC. The output will include the text
DSA Options: IS_GC if the DC is a GC. . . .

55. Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?

Adsiedit.exe

56. What are the Support Tools? Why do I need them?

The Windows Support Tools assist support personnel and network

administrators in managing their networks and troubleshooting problems

57. What is LDP? What is REPLMON? What is ADSIEDIT? What is NETDOM?

What is REPADMIN?

NETDOM: This command-line tool enables administrators to manage Windows Server 2003 and
Windows 2000 domains and trust relationships from the command line

Repadmin.exe: Replication Diagnostics Tool

This command-line tool assists administrators in diagnosing replication problems between Windows
domain controllers

58. What are sites? What are they used for?

59. What’s the difference between a site link’s schedule and interval?
60. What is the KCC?
61. What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
62. What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
63. What can you do to promote a server to DC if you’re in a remote location with
slow WAN link?
64. How can you forcibly remove AD from a server, and what do you do later? • Can
I get user passwords from the AD database?
65. What tool would I use to try to grab security related packets from the wire?
66. Name some OU design considerations.
67. What is tombstone lifetime attribute?
68. What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 DC in a Windows 2000 AD?
69. What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows 2003 AD?
70. How would you find all users that have not logged on since last month?
71. What are the DS* commands?
72. What’s the difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE? Usage considerations?
73. What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens when each
one fails?
74. What FSMO placement considerations do you know of?
75. I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
76. What’s the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing one? Which
one should you NOT seize? Why?
77. How do you configure a “stand-by operation master” for any of the roles?
78. How do you backup AD?
79. How do you restore AD?
80. How do you change the DS Restore admin password?
81. Why can’t you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
82. What are GPOs?
83. What is the order in which GPOs are applied?
84. Name a few benefits of using GPMC.
85. What are the GPC and the GPT? Where can I find them?
86. What are GPO links? What special things can I do to them?
87. What can I do to prevent inheritance from above?
88. How can I override blocking of inheritance?
89. How can you determine what GPO was and was not applied for a user? Name a
few ways to do that.
90. A user claims he did not receive a GPO, yet his user and computer accounts are in
the right OU, and everyone else there gets the GPO. What will you look for?
91. Name a few differences in Vista GPOs
92. Name some GPO settings in the computer and user parts.
93. What are administrative templates?
94. What’s the difference between software publishing and assigning?
95. Can I deploy non-MSI software with GPO?
96. You want to standardize the desktop environments (wallpaper, My Documents,
Start menu, printers etc.) on the computers in one department. How would you do
that?