Aptitude Test : 60 Minutes
Quantitative : 0 Minutes
Reasoning / Analytical : 0 Minutes
Verbal English : 0 Minutes
Technical : 0 Minutes
Details of types of questions asked in each of the sections:
The paper had 4 sections.
1.apti(regarding probability..time and distance)
2.logical reasoning (a bit lengthy)
3.ece related questions(1.zener diodes(working principle)..adc converter(no.of comparotors in 4 bit flash ADC).. 85
can be represented 1n 4421code as??...regarding multiplexer)
4.microprocessors(1.given addresses find invalid address(constraints mentioned)2.next instruction stored in which
register )
5.c concepts(what is the output 4 a.pointer modifying a constant data variable (it can be modified)b.regarding int
*const p && const int *p)
OS..concepts in THREADS..(pretty good ones)
1st round:
1.what type of data structure used in windows search? i said may be B+ trees.i explained the theoretical part of B+
trees(y preferred over binary trees) and about Tries and stuff.
2.how PING works? ICMP protocol.so add ICMP header to ip payload field and stuff.
3.write code a simple program.(when he saw in my resume Datastructures written in bold ..so take care of it..lucky
4 me it was ds not some ece subject)
rest all questions were HR type
why CISCO? i said i wanna work with innovative ideas in CLOUD computing,etc
any references? i mentioned my current senior
tell about yourself.
explain me DS in nutshell. i mentioned trees,linked lists,sorting algos,graphs,etc
2nd interview:
Q0.how www.google.com typed in browser works??(abt dns server,etc)
Q1.tell about different OSI layers.
Q1 continued.....explain ARP. why is udp used? Explain PORT addressing.
Q2.tell about scheduling algos(round robin etc),context switching
Q3.what is critical section?
Networking:
i answered as fast as i could.and in 5 min,i was explaining abt transport layer, starting 4m physical layer.
i explained them in 1. datalink layer a.fragmantation(bit stuffing,etc)b. error control(crc,etc) c.flow control(1 bit
sliding window,go back N,etc) 2.network layer (routing
protocols,ICMP,ARP,RARP,BOOTP,DHCP)..thi s is when he 2.asked me to explain ARP.i did that and explained why
RARP is used.whts it drawback. then why BOOTP..its drawbacks..then DHCP
in transport layer(HE asked where UDP is used?..Then abt connection setup using 3 way handshake..release
overcoming Army problem).
3.Explain PORT addressing? i did and explained abt IP and MAC-id too.
OS:
1.he asked me abt Round robin,SJF,FCFS. i explained how premptive round robin works. and how in schedular
queue PROC stuctures get attached(doubly linked list way)..to this structure(queue)
how premptive Round Robin works?
2.Tell regarding CONTEXT SWITCHIING.(i mentioned about storing register values in Uarea,then proc area ptrs to
scheduler queue changed,State in proc changed 4m running to ready to run,the
next process PCB values got 4m ptrs in scheduler queue>proc->uarea and mmu mapping)
3.tell about Critical section?(i gave an example regarding unsteady state in removal of node in linked list) and
mentioned about semaphores,etc
my 1st interviewer was technical guy but he was asked a few HR questions too.
1.why CISCO?(NETWORKING,os r my fav subjects.interest in Cloud computing,etc.perfect platform 4 fresher)
2.y not go 4 Ms?(Noooooo..when i can get a job in R&D in cisco,Bang then y do a ms and try 4 a job at companies
like cisco abroad.[basically they r believe that cisco,india is as big Cisco,usa branch])
3.tell abt ur family.
4.did u apply 4 oracle?(cgpa cut-off was 8.0)[be honest]
i had another HR round when i was at my home during winter vacation.
Q1.tell me about urself.
Q2.did u watch any recent movies?give review about the movie.
Q3.y not go 4 ms?
Q4.looking 4 any other job openings?
etc...
dont worry abt the hr...be cool.
i got the news that i got selected a week later.
two rounds of interviews were there...They were planning on taking 3 interviews.But the number of shortlisted
candidates were many,nearly 24.
First:never just give up when u asked a question that u donot know much abt.
those who gave up saying,no idea,were rejected right away.so try to answer.in my case i said the search was B+
trees,but i had no idea.
i recalled what KR sir taught us and replied with confidence.
BE familiar with networking and OS concepts.
when i wrote the code 4 the prgm..he kept on asking me whether i was sure the code would work.
i gave a confident yes in reply.
regarding PING also, i mentioned each and every detail,4m sending to receiving,its use,etc ..
2nd interview:
they were running late so 15-20 min interviews at max.
i had to talk as fast as i could..i covered every detail in OSI layer.
he interrupted me during ARP and UDP.
The key is selling urself.
when he asked abt ARP..i said everything about ARP,RARP,BOOTP,DHCP.
when he asked abt round robin..i explained about scheduler queue structure..and PROC stucture ptrs. then i took an
example and explained preemptive RR 4 it.
then in it he asked how context switching works? i explained how MMU mapping to page tables get flushed and
altered, proc, uarea involvement,etc
when i answered about PROC and priorities(p_pri,p_nice,etc)..he kept on saying "Very good"
i didnt know the definition of Critical section..so i improvised and gave an example regarding doubly Linked list node
removal requiring two steps ..1 for changing front ptr and 1 for back ptr..and if
contex switch occurs in between those steps then LL is in unsteady state..
He was so impressed that he was saying out loud "THAT's IT"
though the questions asked were easy..but presenting it and sticking to your strengths is the key.try not to give
short two marks answer type..but explain with passion and clarity.
if u learn something,learn with dedication..not just 4 marks.
every answer that i gave i could see the satisfaction on my interviewer's face.
i made a few mistakes in my earlier interviews sticking only to short answers but got kicked out.
4 Cisco,CGPA is a very important criteria.a friend of mine was rejected just coz of his low cgpa.
lucky 4 me when Cisco came,there were not many high ptr fundoos around.
read well.i am good at ds,os ,networking.so understand ur strengths.
4 os read Galwin and refer uresh walia(unix )[everything i answered regarding os,is mentioned there] or bash
4 networking prefer ferozeon.
but whatever u read ,read with dedication and be clear.Beware:they will try to confuse u.
learn about cloud computing and stuff..only abt their use,etc.
be patient. i always thought "mera number kab ayega".
though my air aieee rank was 500+(5th in my clas)..my cgpa was low.. the recruiters clearly felt our Cg's were low.
at first they wanted to shortlist based on CGPA..i thought i lost another company on cgpa shortlisting basis.
but at the final moment they changed their mind,and though over 7.5 were only 15 cse students..they didnt reduce
the cut-off.CISCO cares 4 cgpa.if urs is low, try to defend urself by showing good
grades in subjects they require like networking,ds,os,etc.
questions asked to others:
how hub functions?(must be sure of hubs,switches,bridges,gateways and their differences)
how to ensure compiler optimizes inline functions every time(may be using #pragma)
learn about DBX debuggers,epilogue in functions(advanced compiler stuff).
activation records, AVL trees, SPLAY trees,use of fibnacci heaps in Djstras(read weiss carefully)
For other companies://plzz dont ignore these things
virual functions(a must 4 ECE guys..polymorphism,inheritance) refer "LET us learn c++"(yashwant khanitkar
VIRTUAL functions chapter..and *this,Vtable,vptr..4 full clarity)
PAGING(page table types,page faults,thrashing)
they ask about LOW pass filters,etc
read morris mano..brush up some concepts..coz for PD(platform dependant jobs)knowledge of hardware(ECE) can
be a criteria.
i didnt get into Qualcomm,citrix,etc(all related to networking )..but finally got my dream job.
lessons to learn 4m me.. take resume(hard copy)..reason 4 not getting into qualcomn.
so take care of little things.
