Agent Ambo · Upskill
IT interview cheat sheet
The IT facts interviewers expect you to know cold. Ten minutes of revision the night before.
AmboQuick revision
- OSI layers
- Physical, Data link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, Application.
- Common ports
- HTTP 80, HTTPS 443, SSH 22, RDP 3389, DNS 53, SMTP 25.
- ipconfig / ifconfig
- Show IP configuration; ipconfig /release and /renew refresh a DHCP lease.
- ping vs tracert
- ping checks reachability; tracert (traceroute) shows each hop on the path.
- nslookup
- Queries DNS to check if a name resolves to the right IP.
- RAID 1 vs RAID 5
- RAID 1 mirrors; RAID 5 stripes with parity. Neither replaces a backup.
- Incident vs problem
- An incident is restoring service now; a problem is finding the root cause.
- SLA
- The agreed response and resolution time for a ticket priority.
- Least privilege
- Give each user only the access they need.
- 3-2-1 backup rule
- 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 off-site.
Must-know topics
Rehearse these out loud
- A user says the internet is not working. How do you troubleshoot it?
- What is the difference between DNS and DHCP?
- How do you prioritise five urgent tickets at once?
Revision is good. Practice is better.
- 1Ambo reads your resumeYour skills, projects, years and the role you want next.
- 2Then where you’re interviewingAnd how interviewers there question people like you.
- 3It maps every topic they could askMust-know first, your own projects included, built into short daily lessons.
- 4You practise, then get certifiedInterview Q&A after every lesson, then three proctored rounds ending in a voice interview with Ambo.
Questions, answered.
How should I use this IT cheat sheet?
Revise it the night before and the morning of your interview, then say each answer out loud. It covers OSI layers, Common ports and ipconfig / ifconfig and more.
Is a cheat sheet enough to clear the interview?
It helps you recall facts quickly, but interviewers test how you apply them and follow up on your answers. Practise answering, not just reading.
How is this different from a list of interview questions?
A list is the same for everyone. Ambo builds your course from your resume, your target role and where you're interviewing, then writes every lesson from the interviewer's point of view: what they'll ask, a strong answer, and the follow-up they'll use to test you.
What is the certification test?
Three camera-proctored rounds that unlock one after another: an objective round, a hands-on round (coding or practical tasks for your role) and a voice interview with Ambo, who asks live follow-ups on your answers. Pass all three within 14 days to become TickBig Certified for 12 months.
Revise it, then rehearse it.
Ambo interviews you on IT topics and follows up on what you say.