Upload Button Icon Add office photos

Cisco

Compare button icon Compare button icon Compare

Filter interviews by

Cisco Network Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Updated 21 Jan 2025

9 Interview questions

A Network Engineer was asked 5mo ago
Q. What is DHCP?
Ans. 

DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, used to automatically assign IP addresses to devices on a network.

  • Automatically assigns IP addresses to devices on a network

  • Helps in managing and organizing IP addresses efficiently

  • Reduces the need for manual configuration

  • Prevents IP address conflicts

  • Example: When a device connects to a network, DHCP assigns it an IP address from a pool of available addresses

A Network Engineer was asked 5mo ago
Q. What is a MAC address?
Ans. 

MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on a network.

  • MAC address stands for Media Access Control address

  • It is a 12-digit hexadecimal number (e.g. 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E)

  • Used to identify devices on a network at the data link layer of the OSI model

Network Engineer Interview Questions Asked at Other Companies

asked in Movate
Q1. TCP/IP layers, why is transport needed for communication? What is ... read more
Q2. Study MPLS deeply: 1. What is MPLS ? 2. Purpose of MPLS ? 3. What ... read more
Q3. What is BGP? What is spilit horizon rule? How you configure BGP r ... read more
asked in Wipro
Q4. What is Stp and how it is work? What is root bridge
asked in BT Group
Q5. What is tenant and types? What will happen if we use same subnet ... read more
A Network Engineer was asked 5mo ago
Q. What are REST APIs?
Ans. 

REST APIs are a set of rules and conventions for building and interacting with web services using HTTP methods.

  • REST stands for Representational State Transfer

  • Uses standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE

  • Data is transferred in JSON or XML format

  • Stateless communication between client and server

  • Example: Twitter API allows developers to access and interact with Twitter data

A Network Engineer was asked 5mo ago
Q. What is a dangling pointer?
Ans. 

A dangling pointer is a pointer that points to a memory location that has been deallocated or freed.

  • Dangling pointers can lead to crashes or unpredictable behavior in a program.

  • They can occur when a pointer is not updated after the memory it points to is freed.

  • Example: accessing a dangling pointer after freeing the memory it points to can result in a segmentation fault.

A Network Engineer was asked 11mo ago
Q. What are routers and switches?
Ans. 

A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks, while a switch is a networking device that connects devices within a network.

  • Router operates at the network layer of the OSI model

  • Switch operates at the data link layer of the OSI model

  • Router connects multiple networks together

  • Switch connects devices within the same network

  • Router uses IP addresses to route traffic

  • Switch uses MAC ...

A Network Engineer was asked 11mo ago
Q. How does routing work?
Ans. 

Routing is the process of selecting the best path for network traffic to reach its destination.

  • Routing involves determining the optimal path for data packets to travel from the source to the destination.

  • Routers use routing tables to make decisions on how to forward packets based on destination IP addresses.

  • Routing protocols like OSPF, BGP, and EIGRP are used to exchange routing information between routers.

  • Static r...

A Network Engineer was asked
Q. What is your understanding of networks?
Ans. 

Networks are a collection of interconnected devices that communicate with each other to share resources and information.

  • Networks can be wired or wireless

  • They can be local (LAN) or wide area (WAN)

  • They use protocols such as TCP/IP to facilitate communication

  • Examples include the internet, corporate networks, and home networks

Are these interview questions helpful?
A Network Engineer was asked
Q. What are the layers of the OSI model?
Ans. 

The OSI model has 7 layers that define how data is transmitted over a network.

  • Layer 1: Physical - deals with the physical connection of devices

  • Layer 2: Data Link - responsible for error-free transfer of data between devices

  • Layer 3: Network - handles routing of data between different networks

  • Layer 4: Transport - ensures reliable delivery of data between applications

  • Layer 5: Session - establishes and manages connect...

A Network Engineer was asked
Q. There are seven layers in OSI model
Ans. 

Yes, there are seven layers in the OSI model.

  • The seven layers are: Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, and Application.

  • Each layer has a specific function and communicates with the layers above and below it.

  • The OSI model is used to standardize communication between different computer systems.

  • Examples of protocols that operate at each layer include Ethernet at the Data Link layer and HTTP...

Cisco Network Engineer Interview Experiences

7 interviews found

Network Engineer Interview Questions & Answers

user image Saiteja Chitturi

posted on 9 Jul 2024

Interview experience
5
Excellent
Difficulty level
Moderate
Process Duration
Less than 2 weeks
Result
Not Selected

I applied via LinkedIn and was interviewed in Jun 2024. There were 2 interview rounds.

Round 1 - Assignment 

It contained networking questions

Round 2 - Technical 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. What is router &switch
  • Ans. 

    A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks, while a switch is a networking device that connects devices within a network.

    • Router operates at the network layer of the OSI model

    • Switch operates at the data link layer of the OSI model

    • Router connects multiple networks together

    • Switch connects devices within the same network

    • Router uses IP addresses to route traffic

    • Switch uses MAC addre...

  • Answered by AI
  • Q2. How is routing done
  • Ans. 

    Routing is the process of selecting the best path for network traffic to reach its destination.

    • Routing involves determining the optimal path for data packets to travel from the source to the destination.

    • Routers use routing tables to make decisions on how to forward packets based on destination IP addresses.

    • Routing protocols like OSPF, BGP, and EIGRP are used to exchange routing information between routers.

    • Static routin...

  • Answered by AI

Skills evaluated in this interview

Interview experience
5
Excellent
Difficulty level
Moderate
Process Duration
Less than 2 weeks
Result
Selected Selected

I appeared for an interview before Jan 2024.

Round 1 - Aptitude Test 

Online Aptitude test for 1 hour.

Round 2 - One-on-one 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. What is MAC address
  • Ans. 

    MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on a network.

    • MAC address stands for Media Access Control address

    • It is a 12-digit hexadecimal number (e.g. 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E)

    • Used to identify devices on a network at the data link layer of the OSI model

  • Answered by AI
  • Q2. What is DHCP
  • Ans. 

    DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, used to automatically assign IP addresses to devices on a network.

    • Automatically assigns IP addresses to devices on a network

    • Helps in managing and organizing IP addresses efficiently

    • Reduces the need for manual configuration

    • Prevents IP address conflicts

    • Example: When a device connects to a network, DHCP assigns it an IP address from a pool of available addresses

  • Answered by AI
Round 3 - Technical 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. What is a dangling pointer
  • Ans. 

    A dangling pointer is a pointer that points to a memory location that has been deallocated or freed.

    • Dangling pointers can lead to crashes or unpredictable behavior in a program.

    • They can occur when a pointer is not updated after the memory it points to is freed.

    • Example: accessing a dangling pointer after freeing the memory it points to can result in a segmentation fault.

  • Answered by AI
  • Q2. What are REST APIs
  • Ans. 

    REST APIs are a set of rules and conventions for building and interacting with web services using HTTP methods.

    • REST stands for Representational State Transfer

    • Uses standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE

    • Data is transferred in JSON or XML format

    • Stateless communication between client and server

    • Example: Twitter API allows developers to access and interact with Twitter data

  • Answered by AI
Round 4 - HR 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. Why do you want to do job in the networking industry
  • Ans. 

    I am passionate about designing and troubleshooting complex networks to ensure seamless communication and connectivity.

    • I enjoy the challenge of solving technical problems and optimizing network performance

    • I am fascinated by the constantly evolving technology in the networking industry

    • I value the opportunity to work with cutting-edge equipment and software

    • I appreciate the importance of reliable and secure networks in to...

  • Answered by AI
  • Q2. What are your goals
  • Ans. 

    My professional goal is to become a certified network expert and lead a team in implementing cutting-edge networking solutions.

    • Obtain certifications such as CCNA, CCNP, or JNCIA to enhance my skills

    • Lead a team in designing and implementing network infrastructure upgrades

    • Stay updated on the latest networking technologies and trends

    • Contribute to the success of the organization by optimizing network performance

  • Answered by AI

Network Engineer Interview Questions & Answers

user image Sarvodaya us

posted on 22 Oct 2024

Interview experience
4
Good
Difficulty level
Easy
Process Duration
4-6 weeks
Result
No response

I applied via Approached by Company and was interviewed before Oct 2023. There was 1 interview round.

Round 1 - Technical 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. Siwtching - STP,VLAN,
  • Q2. Routing - BGP, RIP, IP

I applied via Recruitment Consulltant and was interviewed in Sep 2021. There were 4 interview rounds.

Round 1 - Resume Shortlist 
Pro Tip by AmbitionBox:
Keep your resume crisp and to the point. A recruiter looks at your resume for an average of 6 seconds, make sure to leave the best impression.
View all tips
Round 2 - Technical 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. CCNA RELATED QUESTIONS
  • Q2. Practical and theoretical questions
Round 3 - One-on-one 

(1 Question)

  • Q1. Manager call related to work.
Round 4 - HR 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. What are your salary expectations?
  • Q2. Old company experience

Interview Preparation Tips

Topics to prepare for Cisco Network Engineer interview:
  • CCNA
  • Attitude
  • Passion
  • Self confidence
  • CCNA certification
Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - I always want to learn new things and used to implement for company growth.

I applied via Monster and was interviewed before Feb 2021. There was 1 interview round.

Round 1 - One-on-one 

(2 Questions)

  • Q1. The networking and it's communicating way and about network and it's type.
  • Q2. What are you understand by networks.

Interview Preparation Tips

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - It was a great weekend and communication skills and experience

Skills evaluated in this interview

I applied via Campus Placement and was interviewed before Jan 2021. There were 3 interview rounds.

Interview Questionnaire 

2 Questions

  • Q1. What are he layers of the OSI model?
  • Q2. There are seven layers in OSI model
  • Ans. 

    Yes, there are seven layers in the OSI model.

    • The seven layers are: Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, and Application.

    • Each layer has a specific function and communicates with the layers above and below it.

    • The OSI model is used to standardize communication between different computer systems.

    • Examples of protocols that operate at each layer include Ethernet at the Data Link layer and HTTP at t...

  • Answered by AI

Interview Preparation Tips

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Interview was very nice and they asked all related questions.

Skills evaluated in this interview

I applied via Company Website and was interviewed before Feb 2021. There were 3 interview rounds.

Round 1 - Resume Shortlist 
Pro Tip by AmbitionBox:
Keep your resume crisp and to the point. A recruiter looks at your resume for an average of 6 seconds, make sure to leave the best impression.
View all tips
Round 2 - Technical 

(1 Question)

  • Q1. Network related qs and Ans
Round 3 - HR 

(1 Question)

  • Q1. Your physiology-based scenario with your future career.

Interview Preparation Tips

Topics to prepare for Cisco Network Engineer interview:
  • All networking basis questions
Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - It was very supportive during the interview

Top trending discussions

View All
Interview Tips & Stories
2w
timepasstiwari
·
A Digital Markter
ChatGPT prepped me HARD for my interview!
Spent like two hours on chatgpt yesterday prepping for an interview. First, the usual, copy-pasted my resume and the job description, telling it to "upload this to your memory 'cause we are going to talk about it later". Then I grilled it with questions about stuff I didn't get in the job spec, and chatgpt helped me figure things out. I asked it to list the four or five key things they are looking for in the role. Then I told chatgpt to quiz me with ten questions, one at a time, to help me think about how I have gained experience in those areas. After the ten questions, it gave me strengths/weaknesses and a summary. Finally, I had chatgpt summarize each of my answers into three bullet points. Now have got a list of stories ready to go for any interview. No matter the question, I can steer the convo toward one of these success stories.
Got a question about Cisco?
Ask anonymously on communities.

Interview questions from similar companies

I appeared for an interview in Jul 2017.

Interview Questionnaire 

1 Question

  • Q1. What is your favorite day
  • Ans. 

    My favorite day is Sunday because it's a day of relaxation and spending time with loved ones.

    • I enjoy sleeping in and having a leisurely breakfast on Sundays.

    • I like to spend time outdoors or engage in hobbies on Sundays.

    • Sunday is a day for family gatherings and quality time with loved ones.

  • Answered by AI

Interview Preparation Tips

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Any thoughts
Tips: No

Round: Test
Experience: Any thoughts
Tips: No
Total Questions: 20

Round: Test
Experience: No
Tips: No
Duration: 1 hour
Total Questions: 20

Interview Questionnaire 

3 Questions

  • Q1. Why do you want to join this company?
  • Ans. 

    I am excited to join this company because of its reputation for innovation and commitment to employee growth.

    • I am impressed by the company's track record of developing cutting-edge software solutions.

    • I appreciate the emphasis on professional development and growth opportunities for employees.

    • I am excited about the prospect of working with a talented and dedicated team.

    • I believe that this company's values align with my ...

  • Answered by AI
  • Q2. Who is your role model?
  • Ans. 

    My role model is Elon Musk.

    • I admire his innovative thinking and determination to push boundaries.

    • His ability to lead multiple successful companies is inspiring.

    • His focus on sustainable energy and space exploration aligns with my values.

    • I strive to emulate his work ethic and passion for making a positive impact on the world.

  • Answered by AI
  • Q3. What extra-curricular activities have you been involved in?
  • Ans. 

    I have been involved in various extra-curricular activities such as volunteering, sports, and music.

    • Volunteered at local animal shelter

    • Played on intramural basketball team

    • Participated in school choir

    • Attended coding workshops and hackathons

  • Answered by AI

Interview Preparation Tips

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I consulted my seniors for preparation of my resume. I believe that seniors provide the best possible insights in this regards. I had a standard resume for all the companies.

Round: Test
Experience: I had prepared for the CAT examination which helped me in these written tests. The first round was the written test. The criterion for the written test was to have a CGPA more than 6.0. There was an aptitude test and a technical test. The technical test consisted of programming questions based on C++ and data structures. From data structures they asked a lot questions based on tree traversals and from C++. A large number of questions from pointers and arrays were also asked.
The aptitude test was slightly easier than the CAT examination standards. Majority of the questions were related to data interpretation and some were of based on logical reasoning. The total duration of the both the tests combined was 90 minutes.

Around 50 people appeared for the first round and nearly 13 got shortlisted for the next round.
Tips: For the written tests, particularly the aptitude section, if would really help if you have prepared for the CAT examination. There is a book written by an author named R.S. Agarwal which would prove to be beneficial from the point of view of these written tests.
Duration: 90 minutes

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: I did not prepare much for the GD’s. However I did keep myself abreast with certain latest happenings.There were no group activities conducted in the recruitment process of Century Link.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: For HR interviews I prepared answers to some frequently asked HR questions. I found these questions on the internet. Generally the questions asked in the interviews are related to the profile on offer; for instance in A2Z interview I was asked a lot of questions from power systems since it was a core company and in Century Links I was asked questions from C++ and data structures since they had come to recruit for a software engineering profile.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: In this interview I was questioned on my C++ and data structure knowledge. They asked me questions on pointers and further asked me to explain the concept of dangling pointers. They did not want me to write down the complete code with proper syntax's of the problems asked to me. They only asked me to write the algorithms of the various problems.
They also asked me some puzzles. Unfortunately, I was not able to solve any of them. During the course of the interview they asked me to specify the reason for my keen interest in joining an IT company.
At the end of first interview some candidates were shortlisted and called for the second round of interview.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The second interview was conducted by a senior company official. He enquired about my project and again, like in the first interview, asked me to state the reason for my interest in joining an IT company.This interview round was an elimination round.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The interview was an HR interview. Candidates who reached till this interview were all selected; basically this interview was like a formality to check the candidate’s fit with the company.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: I had never heard of the company before the recruitment season. I attended the PPT organised by the company, I found the company to be a well reputed/established company and thus applied to it. The profile was open for Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical and Electronics engineering students.

Interview Preparation Tips

Round: PRE placement
Experience: Was accepted through the pre placement offer after a satisfactory internship during the summer.
There was a small test after the internship. Work done in the internship in co-ordination with mentor, employees and manager has more weight-age.

General Tips: Just brush up on your fundamentals. The questions asked will just be a direct or indirect applications of what you have learnt. Good programming practice is also needed.
Good knowledge about Operating systems, Data structures, Networking and Programming is what they generally look for while hiring.
A good internship project helped in securing the PPO.
Skills:
College Name: NIT Surathkal

Cisco Interview FAQs

How many rounds are there in Cisco Network Engineer interview?
Cisco interview process usually has 2-3 rounds. The most common rounds in the Cisco interview process are Technical, One-on-one Round and HR.
How to prepare for Cisco Network Engineer interview?
Go through your CV in detail and study all the technologies mentioned in your CV. Prepare at least two technologies or languages in depth if you are appearing for a technical interview at Cisco. The most common topics and skills that interviewers at Cisco expect are Network Engineering, Active Directory, Artificial Intelligence, Basic and Cisco.
What are the top questions asked in Cisco Network Engineer interview?

Some of the top questions asked at the Cisco Network Engineer interview -

  1. What are he layers of the OSI mod...read more
  2. What are you understand by networ...read more
  3. There are seven layers in OSI mo...read more

Tell us how to improve this page.

Overall Interview Experience Rating

4.9/5

based on 7 interview experiences

Difficulty level

Easy 25%
Moderate 75%

Duration

Less than 2 weeks 50%
2-4 weeks 25%
4-6 weeks 25%
View more
Cisco Network Engineer Salary
based on 404 salaries
₹3.8 L/yr - ₹13.1 L/yr
67% more than the average Network Engineer Salary in India
View more details

Cisco Network Engineer Reviews and Ratings

based on 39 reviews

4.9/5

Rating in categories

4.3

Skill development

4.8

Work-life balance

4.5

Salary

4.1

Job security

4.6

Company culture

4.3

Promotions

4.5

Work satisfaction

Explore 39 Reviews and Ratings
Director of Global Lab Network Engineering

Bangalore / Bengaluru

14-18 Yrs

Not Disclosed

Explore more jobs
Software Engineer
2.8k salaries
unlock blur

₹12 L/yr - ₹44 L/yr

Technical Consulting Engineer
677 salaries
unlock blur

₹9.8 L/yr - ₹30 L/yr

Senior Software Engineer
672 salaries
unlock blur

₹14 L/yr - ₹52 L/yr

Network Engineer
404 salaries
unlock blur

₹3.8 L/yr - ₹13.1 L/yr

Technical Lead
349 salaries
unlock blur

₹19 L/yr - ₹70 L/yr

Explore more salaries
Compare Cisco with

Google

4.4
Compare

Microsoft Corporation

3.9
Compare

Sterlite Technologies

3.8
Compare

Nokia Networks

4.2
Compare
write
Share an Interview