software job interview questions Software job interview process

How will be a Software Job Interview Process


What kind of questions are asked in a Software Company Tech job interview

these are the focus of this post

Storage jobs vs Virtualization Jobs vs Jobs combining both

How good are job opportunities in Storage

How about Virtualization job opportunities in comparison

Do you have much better job prospects if you are an expert in both Storage & Virtualization

these are some of the points of focus of this blog post

Web hosting facts you need to know if you want your Own website running

Many of you may love to have your own website. Yes its a cool achievement to have your own website with real good content & lots of fans(visitors of your website). So the essentials to get your own website up & running are a domain name ( www.YourSitename.com) & webhosting.
Domain name is easy to get . Its the webhosting part that you need to know quite a good amount about to get a good offer.

I checked this site for dedicated server & they have lots & lots of info which can get you best website hosting offers. Visiting some of the good blog posts on that site like Reasons to choose unix hosting and Basic ingredients of unix hosting were very informative articles.

I liked this website WebHostingGeeks.COM for they have very technical facts which I value a lot. When I started my website I struggled a lot to learn all these things. I highly encourage people who are interested to have their own website to visit this site WebHostingGeeks.COM & see for themselves various blog articles which are purely on website hosting, domain nmae, website security, E-commerce, SEO/SEM.

For me this website has been a treasure trove of information & they keep updating their site with lots of updates which are really good for newcomers.If you are looking for good website technical information this is the one stop website.

Make sure to keep considerable amount of time to read through all the articles on this site WebHostingGeeks.COM as this info can save you lots of money as well as time. Having complete info when you are choosing your website hosting is essential to your peace of mind.

I care a lot to make sure my website is up all the time 24/7/365 so I did a lot of research when buying my website hosting this website was very helpful for me & I keep referencing this website regularly for hosting/domain/web marketing related info.

If you have a good website hosting provider you can easily setup your website in minutes if not hours so dont hesitate thinking website & etc is too geeky. Its not. Check out the site & get your own website up & running in less than an hour WebHostingGeeks.COM.


This is a sponsored post. But my opinions are not influenced by the sponsor.

Interview Questions in Storage technology area are not that easy to predict

It does not help if you just prepare for a set of interview questions. Specifically in a technology domain like Storage or even Virtualization you need to have strong foundation. You should have got hands on experience. Also you should have spent time to learn many things which can be termed as advance technical skill. Some people just collect interview questions & start attending interviews JUST on the basis of those questions. Its worse. True some questions may repeat. But more than depending on few qustions why not spend some solid hours,days, months if time is available to perfect what you are working on.

I've seen people coming from real experience background in storage not able to clearly explain some of the basics. I've also seen people in FC segment not being aware of anything from iSCSI or FCOE areas. Also many people have forgotten the good old Clariion they just know latest stuff & latest CAS etc.

I would always encourage you to prepare seriously for your storage interviews. Having few questions as refence is fine but in Storage any topic you take can become an interview question. So stop searching for interview questions since I know you came here searching for that in Google. Google thankfully lists this website in Top 1 position for "storage interview questions". I've been forced by some of the blog readers to post more interview questions. So before I do that I just want you to start reading "Storage Complete Reference" by Tata McGraw hill. Also get as much handson experience as possible as there is no replacement for that.

Interview questions most frequently asked for Storage pros but this is just the basics

Many Storage job interviewer ask one or other question about Luns, Lun management, Lun secure,Lun relocation, Lun replication. But the below one is the most frequently asked question in any storage technology interview. So better you get the basics right.

Interview question: What is Lun Mapping,Lun Masking,Persistent Binding,Fabric Zoning.All these are with respect to a FC SAN array. (Fibre Channel Storage Area Network Array)

LUN Mapping:
LUN Mapping is host-centric method of storage LUN visibility management. LUN Mapping selectively allows a system administrator to scan for specified SCSI targets and LUNs at storage-driver boot time and to ignore selectively non-specified SCSI targets and LUNs.

The advantage of LUN Mapping is that it provides a level of security management in SANs where LUN Masking is not an option, perhaps because it is not supported
on the storage hardware.

The disadvantage is that LUN Mapping is configured and enabled on a host-by-host basis. It requires good coordination among the administrators of the systems sharing the storage, which ensures that only one host sees certain storage unless planned, as in a clustered server configuration.

LUN Masking:
LUN Masking is RAID storage subsystem-centric method of LUN visibility management to
hosts or servers.

LUN Masking makes sure that each RAID controller is configured to allow each host to see only a subset of the actual LUN's & hide all other LUNs from it. so all connected hosts will see only those LUNs that are assigned to them.

The advantage of LUN Masking is easy to implement in storage subsystems and no changes needed in Hosts or servers that are connected to them.
The disadvantage is multi-vendor devices might be present in the real SAN networks & not all the vendors implemented in same way.

Persistent Binding:
It is another host-centric method. This can be implemented in Operating systems (OS) by assigning specific SCSI-Target IDs to the Storage LUNs.

Fabric Zoning:
It is Network-centric method & basically Switch (or Fabric) present in the SAN networks have the capability to allow grouping of Ports from Storage Sub-systems to Connected Hosts in the form of Zoning.
The disadvantage is that Fabric zoning cannot mask individual LUNs that sit behind a port. All hosts connected to the same port will see all the LUNs addressed through that port.

NOTE:
Each of these Host-centric, Storage centric & switch-centric methods provide their own benifits & drawbacks. Usually to provide very good solution, combination of any two methods will be implemented in real SAN networks.

I like Mobile Office Trailers know more about Construction Trailers

Recently I was in a situation where I needed office in a specific place.I wanted my office set fast & had to set it in one specific spot So I went for Mobile office using trailers.Since Im from charlotte I enquired around & found Acton Mobile, a company dealing with Construction Trailers.






I loved what they provided me since it gave so many advantages. The office was set within a week of me finishing their paper work & I was able to move to other priorities.Ofcourse I got the permit & had the utilities officer from my locality do the inspection & mark the spot where the trailer can be set. I got the data jacks & some electricals done. Then it was a complete office & it helped get my work done. So I thought of sharing about the experience of getting such a nice service & also product. Here are some of the advantages of Mobile office trailers from Acton company Construction Trailers Charlotte

- Built-in plan tables
- Built-in desks with file cabinets
- Heat and air conditioning
- Most units have built-in restrooms (Water & sewer hook-ups required) Available options include:
- Steps (OHSA)
- Handicapped Ramps (ADA)
- Anchors (Tie-downs)
- Skirting
- Security Packages

It really helps for someone who needs office movable & also flexible to be setup when needed.I had lots of questions before getting this service so I went over this company's website & specifically their frequently asked questions here http://www.actonmobile.com/faq.php. That answered many of my questions. I took their service on lease for only few months so it also saved me quite a lot of money.

Incase if you are interested to know more Acton Mobile Industries in Charlotte, North Carolina is a provider of quality mobile offices, construction trailers, and custom modular buildings. They are located at 2715 Starita Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. To inquire further about their products and services please them us a call, email, or just navigate their website here Construction Trailers Charlotte


This is a sponsored post. But my opinions are not influenced by the sponsor.

After a long long time im hearing some good news - People are being Hired

I was waiting from a long time to hear news like this.
Yes Companies have started hiring again. Joining the hiring trend are companies starting from Dell,Sun Microsystems,IBM,HP,NetApp,EMC2,Vmware,Cisco,Brocade.

Thats like message from heaven for many of the people who've been struggling just to get their resumes shortlisted. Yes I understand a lot of people's situation. They've been applying like hell but the response was not at all there.I just was getting many emails saying they are not getting interview schedules. They are not being called for any interviews. There was a lot of frustration growing among people who were in a stable domain like Storage technology.

But things are starting to brighten up now.

I'm getting more emails now saying their resume has been shortlisted,they are getting interview schedules, also I got 2 emails saying they got their offer letters & joining in next 15 days. Thats like the best news I've heard from people who read this blog over a long time. Im glad you guys made it. Help others too.

Just to keep you all updated openings are coming up but NOT in large numbers, its appearning more like strategic hirings or replacement hiring. But still atleast people are getting jobs thats what matters to me.

Email me about your job search process in detail & we'll see if there is any way we can be of some help. Remember interviews are dynamic processes so dont just go by theory or small set of questions.

Are EMC NetApp IBM hiring Storage professionals - Yes they do

EMC,NetApp,IBM all these companies were in news sometime back for massive layoffs. Yes even 100 people being laid off I call as massive. I hate Layoffs as much as you do. But this post is not about layoffs. I've also got news that all these companies are hiring for Storage technology openings. There are openings for Storage administrators, Storage Architects, Storage consultants, Storage support engineers.

As per my source the hiring is mainly for experienced pros with more than 3 years experience in this core field. Atleast there is some good news so I thought of sharing with you all.

Dont loose hope I got news that even HP,Accenture are hiring for Storage technology, Data Center Admin roles. Just make your job hunt accelerate with more speed. I'll get you more details soon on which other storage companies are hiring now.

Main Tip : For sure upload your resumes to Major Job websites. Not just that apply through the career sections of each of these Company websites. Also reach out more to hiring consultants(head hunters) the more you network the better in these times.

Interviews for these openings are going little more tough, there will be more rounds of technical interviews. Dont expect it to be easy & dont neglect your interview preparations. There will be more emphasis on practical handson experience coupled with good skill in troubleshooting & advanced configurations, support issues awareness. Keep trying & dont loose hope.

Disclosure Policy about some of the blog posts on this Technology Blog

This policy is valid from 01 April 2009

This blog is a sponsored blog created or supported by a company, organization or group of organizations. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Bond between a mother & her baby is beyond words a post for expectant mothers

This post is dedicated to all mothers. I just want to show that you are invaluable. I dont want this website to be just junky technical hence sharing some of the social thoughts too.My brother is expecting a baby. When I see his & his wife's preparations, anxiety,dreaming I get overwhelmed.Parenthood is holy, its also a challenge. Aptly said Joys of parenthood can never be expressed in words.

He spends more time planning for his expected baby than he does for himself.His wife too is happy that they are having a baby after soo many years after their marriage. They both were busy in their work & now something other than work has been of importance.Sometimes I feel they are acting like babies in their excitement & tantrums to buy ahead of time all the essential clothes,cradle,soft mats.... I'm really happy seeing them. I frankly feel I've never seen them so happy before. They are saying in silence words "I Love this experience".

This is an emotional & sensitive subject as its also an essential subject considering your baby's future & health. So I think its important that expectant parents should be aware of cord blood. By storing baby’s umbilical cord blood, parents can take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve their baby’s valuable stem cells. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood are known to treat more than 75 diseases, and have been used in more than 10,000 transplants worldwide. From blood disorders, malignancies, immunodeficiencies and other inherited disorders, to promising developments on the horizon for dozens of new potential uses in the near future, stems cells are helping people all over the world.Im talking about stem cells & why its important for your baby's future. Every parent should know about cord blood, if you are an expectant parent take time to know about it at Cryo-Cell. Its worth all the time.

Read these Cryo-Cell testimonials.

Its important that you know more about Cryo-Cell Cord Blood Bank services. Before the birth of your baby & after the birth of your baby this service helps in several scenarios.preserving them at birth may provide future opportunities for medical treatments that may not otherwise exist.This process is beneficial to other children in the family too.

There are many precautions & pre-paredness a parent must do & I believe this one is important if you can understand its advantages. This company is providing services in this area get to know more about its current services, current offers .

Parenthood is a real joy I wish you a very happy experience of Parenthood when you are ready for it.

request more information about the precious services of Cryo-Cell Cord Blood Bank by visiting their website http://www.cryo-cell.com . There is a lot there which a parent should know.

Read these Cryo-Cell testimonials.

This is a sponsored post. But my opinions are not influenced by the sponsor.

Storage Company Job Interview experience Interview Questions & Signs that you got the job

People often email with these questions so I'll give brief answers to them

1. Which companies are hiring now. What kind of openings are there.
Many storage companies (more than 40% are still hiring) but it may not be for entry level openings. Mid level,higher management is whats being hired right now. But give a good fight & u may get ur shot.
Several openings starting from consultant, support engineer,L2/L3, Developer, Quality, Implementation,Pre Sales lots of options are there.But check out your city specific job portal for the latest info. As far as I got the info through out US though there is a slump Storage pros are still in demand (those who have good years of experience & expertise).

2. How much is being paid? What is the pay package?

Will take a day to update on this since Im waiting for some inputs.

3. How are the interview process in these Storage Companies?
Expect & be ready for several technical interview rounds. Manager/ above rounds are nothing compared to the kind of bashing you'll recieve at tech rounds. So prepare well. Nothing to fear they treat you nice & gentle. But they want you to give the expected solutions/answers.

Dont expect any company hiring for not less than 3 tech rounds. Some companies do 7 rounds or more. Its a norm ,dont panic or act wierd when they ask you to wait a whole day before calling for a 40 min tech discussion.

4. Interview questions being asked in such Storage job interviews.
Interview is a very dynamic process,they mainly ask based on your experience, prior projects,strengths, tech accomplishments, Skillset they need for the opening.

Storage career in recession yes there are jobs hang on

Job seekers you are my 1st focus.People who lost jobs I'm here to support you in whatever little capacity I can. I know how hard its been. Dont let the situation drag you down. Yes I know there are layoffs, yes I know there are no interview calls, yes I know you are not being short listed or even your resume is not being accepted.

But come on dont loose hope. Dont let it overcome you.

Email me in detail writing what you are trying. Where you've been. Where you feel there is hope. Where you think you need help. I want to help but there is a limitation. Dont help me to do A-Z for you. Dont ask me to search for jobs, write your resumes, train you or send you docs, keep you updated etc etc. Let me know what you've done so far. Let me know how many interviews or companies you tried so far & write in detail. I can easily spot a fake story. I will support the people who are genuinely trying for a job, who deserve a job but are not getting an opportunity.

Also please mention your place,city,location of preference,present/previous salary,minimum expected pay package.Any other concerns in detail. This helps to get to the point & not to beat around the bush.

There are some jobs, these jobs are having a little higher expectations, please keep yourself on a steady learning path.Dont get obsolete. Dont let what you've gained as experience go due to inactivity/not revising.

Keep me updated even though I may delay in replying. Let me see what I can do to be of help.

Storage Pros start your own website & choose web hosting on this best offer site

Storage professionals many of them are starting their own websites, I cant say they are inspired by this blog or website. But im glad to say many people creating their own websites & expressing/sharing their experiences, in the process helping others who are looking for a career,job in this bleak time.

Many of you emailed asking how to start your own website , where to buy your own domain name, where to get dedicated server hosting. How to choose the best & affordable website hosting provider.

For real beginners :
Domain Name is just the address like mystorageinterviewexperiences.com Just address

U need to buy space on a server to store all the articles,images,videos which we call Webserver hosting space. So there are 2 things you need to purchase 1. Domain Name 2. Web hosting.

So I found a cool website which gives u all these basic info about different options to choose while buying a domain name & also website hosting. Here is that site http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/.

I learnt some real cool lessons on how to choose b/w performance & bandwidth, how to make money using just domain names, cloud hosting, database hosting, exchange hosting (Email server). For those who are eagerly searching for the best yet affordable hosting this is definitely a site to check out. Also for those who are just there to learn do learn a ton. Hope u implement it some day & have your own independent website which you can be proud of.

Make sure to write lots of useful & informative articles & share from your experiences.Storage Technology has still potential even in this recession to get you jobs & a good career. Having your own website with real quality content written definitely gives a huge boost to your resume. Tech Blogs being written & updated by you constantly are a big advantage to give a good impression. Start your own website soon.


This is a sponsored post. But my opinions are not influenced by the sponsor.

Learn Software Testing in 2 Days crash course for a very reasonable fee

Learn Software Testing in 2 Days for a very reasonable fee
Many job seekers who are interested to do Job supporting course are blocked by some obstacles:
One of the major obstacle is money [Can not pay the high fees]
Another major obstacle for few is time [Can not attend for courses which stretch over several days ]

To over come these obstacles & to help people gain an advantage in their Job hunting here is a simple and effective solution.

Learn "Essentials of Software Testing" in only 2 days crash course.Usually will be conducted on a weekend (Saturday,Sunday).

Yes this is a "Manual Software Testing Concepts Course" conducted for nearly 6 hours a day for 2 consecutive days. So you get nearly 12 hours of class from a Professional who is actually working as a "Software Testing Engineer" for last 6+ years.

The fees is only 4,000 Rupees .

The course for now will be conducted in Bangalore only.

This course is for anybody who is interested to learn about "Software Testing Fundamentals" & also coverage will be on What to expect in Software Testing Job Interviews. .

The course will cover many real industry testing project examples & many real Software company testing job interview experiences. Also there will be more than 100 to 200 testing job interview questions shared in this "Software Testing Crash Course" .

The topics which will be covered in this course will be :

1.Testing Process - Answer to question "How do you test in your team ? How your team handles this testing Project" .

2.Test Life Cycle [What are the different phases of Test Life Cycle? how are these implemented in your company? What are the deliverable coming out of each phase ?]

3. Bug Life Cycle [ How defects are tracked in your project ? How you search for previous bugs filed in your testing project & make sure you are not filing a duplicate bug ? Explain all the factors you consider before filing a CR/Defect report]

4. Types of Testing [ What is Sanity testing, Functionality Testing, Regression Testing , Security Testing , Integration Testing, Documentation Testing , Positive & Negative Testing , System Testing , End to End testing , Aplha testing, Beta testing and many more ]

5. Testing essentials / Terminologies
[ What is a Test plan ? How test plans are written ? Write a Test plan for testing Antivirus ?
What is a Test case ? How do you write test cases ? Write 10 test cases ?
What is a Test setup ? Test environment ? Test Suite ? Test Script ?
What is Entry Criteria and Exit Criteria ?
How does the development team & Testing team interact in your company ?
many many more detailed terminologies in Testing

6. Testing types each type explained in detail.

7. Software Development Life Cycle & Different Models of SDLC [In brief]

8. White Box Testing, Black Box Testing . Manual Testing & Automated Testing [in brief]

9. Interview questions with answers [ More than 200 ]

10. Interview experiences from more than 5 companies [ How many rounds , what each round of interview expected , what salary was offered ]

There will be some surprise bonuses & also good material to study for future reference reading. The material hard copy itself is worth all the fees you pay.

If you guys are interested email & book your seats in advance . This is a very very limited seats session so not many seats are taken . So email today roger.smithson@gmail.com .

If anybody is NOT happy or not satisfied with the course his money will be returned 100% . [ only condition is he should report his displeasure within 4 hours in the first day itself & 100 % of the fees paid by him will be returned] . This course is not being conducted to make quick money. The same course done over a month is worth double/triple this fee. The team involved can do better things in the same time & still earn more money.This course is being conducted so people who are constrained by time & money can still get the benefit . But it is not made fully free because people should respect the efforts being put & also should take this seriously. It has been learnt in the hardway that people are serious only when they put their money. Anything you give for free or for cheap people handle it badly.

This course is NOT cheap but it is reasonable at only 4,000 [ Yes only Four thousand Rupees] You yourself will say at the end of the second day that you gained a lot of knowledge in Software testing job segment.

Check http://www.SoftwareTestingVideos.com
Read http://Storage-jobs.blogspot.com [Storage technology & Software Salary ]
Read http://Storagejobs.blogspot.com [Lots of Storage Job Openings info articles]

There are people travelling & attending this course from hyderabad,chennai,mysore,hubli in bangalore they felt it was worth it hence no one asked for a refund. But if you want refund you can ask for that in first 4 hours of the start of the session. You'll get your refund without any questions asked if you are not satisfied & express your concern within 4 hours of start of the 1st day session.

I'm waging a WAR to get People Jobs To Get people their Life Back

Yes I'm waging a WAR against these Massive Layoffs, against this Recession.

Here is what is my Mission to Get Jobs to as many worthy people as possible.

What I expect from people who want to take my help - A lot of effort,dedication,not giving up on yourself, following some of the steps I ask you to do(This list may grow,cause we are in a WAR to get you Your Job)

What am I doing for that. I will help Job seekers in whatever possible way I can.

I will rewrite the resumes of people for Free (Only for those who do what I ask them to do - which does not involve paying me , which does not involve anything illegal). I may ask them to refresh on some areas in their resume,learn new related technologies,provide pointers to help them learn things fast. Post their resume on places where they may get response.

I will create exclusive websites for them to help them get more visibility. To help them reach to recruiters,companies which are still hiring.

I will write articles for them to showcase their strengths.

I will ask them to create videos of themselves - I will write your Video script to make it reach the intended.

I will do SEO- Search Engine Optimization so your website receives thousands if not millions of visitors

I will track your progress & instruct on how to prepare for interview for specific companies.

I will push you to overcome your limits & see your best potential to get your Job/Career.

I will utilize my Network of Storage,Virtualization,System Administrators to get you some references or some job interviews scheduled.

All I ask you in return is BE WORTHY, work hard, never giveup. Do whatever in the legal limit to get your job.

If you are willing to wage this WAR & Get a better Job email roger.smithson@gmail.com & write in detail. - Expect delay since there are quite a number of emails already. I will still reply. Email again & again if there is any delay in me replying.

I want to make sure I help more than 1000 Get jobs.

I've already helped more than 100s to get job - I will post a video of their testimonial soon.

I'm doing this to give back to this community & if you are lazy dont bother to take the trouble.