After getting the interview call from one’s dream company no one wants to leave any stone unturned in their preparations. This article is written to help the individuals who want to shine in their SCCM interview. To clear an interview the preparation of both technical and soft skills is important. This article has both of these for you. Here, let’s know some SCCM Interview Questions with sample answers.
The first part has the preparation material for the technical part of your interview where one’s knowledge on the subject is asked and evaluated.
SCCM Interview Questions
Q.1: What is a System Center?
System Center is a suite of tools from Microsoft. This helps to manage an organization’s operating servers, client systems, and applications. We don’t need to get the complete suite instead of buying a specific product that can facilitate in fulfilling our requirements is enough, like SCCM.
Q.2: What is a configuration manager?
A configuration manager has the potential to affect every computer in an organization. And if it’s managed properly, it can decrease the administrative overload and the total cost of ownership.
A configuration manager is a system that helps with efficiency following system management activities:
• Increasing IT productivity and effectiveness so that you’ll be able to focus on high-value projects.
• It provides a software package at the right time so that user productivity remains undisturbed.
• To manage multiple devices, Configuration Manager integrates with Microsoft Intune.
Q.3: What will SCCM stand for and what does it mean?
SCCM stands for System Center Configuration Manager. SCCM is a production of Microsoft, and it focuses on managing all devices that have Microsoft Windows installed in it from a single console.
Q.4: Tell us about the different features of the configuration manager.
Broadly, the configuration manager performs the following features:
Creating, managing, and deploying applications. Grouping/collecting resources together which share the same criteria.
The company resources access feature – This lets you access all-important company resources. Such as e-mails, certificates, Wi-Fi, etc.
The compliance setting feature helps to handle the configuration drift within the enterprise. Endpoint protection feature – That permits you to manage anti-malware policies and Microsoft security firewall.
The inventory feature permits you to run inventory on hardware and software devices. Mobile device management feature. Remote connection profiling feature.
Software metering feature for collecting information about software usage so that it can assist you in software licensing and buying.
Q.5: Describe the concept of various sites involved in designing configuration manager hierarchy?
Mainly, there are three sites, viz. Central administrative site (CAS), primary site, and secondary site. The Central Administrative Site is employed for managing the whole hierarchy. It becomes necessary to own CAS when you have over one primary site. Primary site servers synchronize with it, and it can manage up to 25 child primary sites.
Primary site – This is a basic server type that directly supports clients. It’s a mandatory role when deploying configuration managers. It needs a connection between CAS and MS SQL. A primary site will support 250 secondary sites, 250 distribution points, and 15 management points.
Secondary site – The secondary site is optional, and it falls at the bottom of the hierarchy. That’s why it doesn’t support any child site. Once the company has several branches and there’re several servers to manage, then installing a secondary server is a must.
Q.6: Describe primary and secondary sites?
Primary site-
- It serves clients in a socially connected manner.
- Clients are managed directly. It will have CAS as its parent tier.
- Primary sites will manage multiple secondary sites (up to 250)
- Primary sites replicate data to interact with their parent and child sites. These sites can be standalone or site parts of a hierarchy.
Secondary site-
• A secondary site is installed with the help of a configuration management console.
• Secondary sites are used to serve clients at remote locations wherever network management is required.
• The secondary site mechanically configures data replication of the primary site to which it’s a child site. To communicate through its primary site, the secondary site uses data replication.
• The secondary site can’t have its child site.
Q.7: Is the secondary site’s conversion to the primary site possible?
Upgrading a secondary site to a primary site is not possible. It’s only possible by deleting the secondary site and reinstalling it, but after that, all the data will vanish.
Q.8: What is a content library?
It’s a storage format in which all the information is saved only once, in contrast to Configuration Manager 2007, where all the info is employed to replicate. The content library has three components specifically, Datalib, FileLib, and PkgLib for data, files, and knowledge of package stores.
Q.9: What is content validation?
The configuration manager can perform the validity check of the content provided on the distribution point. Generally, it can be done per distribution point or done per package. If the content isn’t found valid, then it’ll be reported within the content status mode in monitoring the work of one of the organizations.
Q.10: What is a Distribution Point?
It’s one role of Configuration Manager, where it stages packages to the clients. These packages may be applications, software packages, package updates, boot images, etc.
Q.11: Suggest some SCCM server troubleshooting tools?
Tools like DP Job Queue manager, Content evaluation viewer, Content Library explorer, security configuration wizard, Run metering summarization tool.
Q.12: Tell us something about hidden files from Configuration Manager.
There are three hidden files within the configuration manager, and they can affect the way the product performs. These files are empty, and either from the two configuration manager clients or server processes will identify them.
Q.13: Which operating system does the configuration manager support?
Configuration Manager supports many Operating Systems for different devices. It supports Windows versions ranging from Windows 7 to 10.
Q.14: What are the features that had been removed from the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager?
There are two features, Network Access Protection, and out-of-Band management, that had been removed.
Q.15: What is WMI and tell its relation to the Configuration Manager?
WMI stands for Windows Management Instrumentation. It plays an important role in storing site-specific and client-related information. WMI complements other systems, such as DMI and SNMP, by providing a uniform model.
Q.16: Tell us about distribution points in SCCM.
The distribution point handles data delivery to the clients for OS and application deployment. Some of its features are
- It provides permission to stream applications using App-V
- Permits PXE connections using Unicast or multi-cast.
- It can support 4,000 clients.
- It supports 10,000 applications and packages.
Q.17: What is WSUS?
WSUS stands for Windows Server Update Services. WSUS and software update points integrate and provide updates to the clients using the configuration manager.
It serves 25,000 clients when the site server is installed, whereas it can serve 100,000 clients when installed on a server where the site server is not installed.
Q.18: What is the inventory function?
Configuration Manager offers the ability to do inventory on hardware and software devices within the organization. So that you can know the software and hardware that is being used.
Hardware inventory – Through hardware inventory, you can gather information from the system, such as processor information, installed memory, and computer manufacturer.
Software inventory – By software inventory, you can gather lists of different file types and their versions stored in your computer.
Q.19: What is BranchChache?
BrancheChache cannot be enabled via the configuration manager since BrancheChache is not a feature of the configuration manager. Its primary function is to reduce the WAN utilization and intensify accessibility to data at the central office branch from the other office branches.
Enable the deployments for downloading and running applications. BranchChache works in combination with Windows 7 clients and Windows Server 2008 R2 and higher.
Q.20: What is a Software Update Point?
Software Update Point integrates with Windows Server Update. And this integration performs the function of managing and deploying software updates in the Configuration Manager.
Q21: What are the best practices of capacity planning for SCCM?
The capacity planning should be based on hardware, network infrastructure, and our demands, but while capacity planning we should ensure the following things for smooth SCCM.
- Adding extra management points.
- Adding extra SMS providers.
- Clustering of configuration manager database.
- Adding extra distribution points.
Q.22: How many companies use SCCM?
According to HG Insights, currently, 25 companies are using System Center Configuration Manager.
After fully preparing for the upcoming interview one should focus on the soft skill. Soft skills are equally important in a potential employee. Here the interviewer checks the problem-solving, coordination, and communication skills of the person. So given below are some tips to present oneself in front of an interviewer.
Basic interview tips
Self-presentation- wear clean formal clothes. It indicates one’s interest and seriousness toward their profession.
A well-designed resume- the resume and cover letter reaches the employer before you and tells the information about you. A good cover letter and resume can help you in getting plus points during the interview.
Work on communication skills- good communication skills help someone convey their point easily. it helps during the interview as well as after the interview in getting professional works done.
Also, one’s ability to handle pressure and work in a team environment is evaluated during the interview.
Mock-interviews- by sitting and giving mock interviews one can test their knowledge and work on the mistakes so that they do well during the actual interview.
Conclusion
This article presents the important questions one might get asked during the SCCM interview. To clear the interview there’s another important thing one should prepare for and that is soft skills. Balancing the knowledge of both things can help someone in clearing their interview.
