Interview experience
Cisco interview experiences covering Online Assessment (“Code with Cisco” test), Technical Round 1, Technical Round 2, HR / Managerial. Round-wise notes, common questions, and what candidates report clears each stage.
Cisco Interview Questions and Answers (2026)
Cisco is a global technology leader in networking hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment for enterprises and service providers. In India, Cisco is a major recruiter for networking, software, cloud, and security engineering roles across its development centers.
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Overview
Cisco’s fresher loop pairs an online coding test with two technical rounds that probe networking and OS depth, not just DSA.
HR interview questions
Cisco HR interview questions with sample answer frameworks - motivation, relocation, STAR stories, and culture-fit prompts.
Cisco interview process at a glance
| Round | Duration | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Online Assessment (“Code with Cisco” test) | 60-90 min | 30-40 MCQs (OS, DBMS, computer networks, OOP) + 2 DSA problems |
| Technical Round 1 | 45-60 min | DSA problem-solving + detailed project/resume discussion |
| Technical Round 2 | 45-60 min | Networking and CS-fundamentals depth; basic system design for some tracks |
| HR / Managerial | 30-45 min | Motivation, culture fit, relocation, logistics |
Cisco online assessment: quick answers
These answers are compiled from Cisco’s Code with Cisco page, public candidate reports and prep guides, and drives differ. The instruction screen of your own test is the final word.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How many questions and how long? | Usually about 40 MCQs plus 2 coding problems in 90 minutes. A 2025 summer-internship test had 42 MCQs and 2 coding problems (one DP, one graph); a September 2024 on-campus test had about 40 networking-heavy MCQs and 2 medium-hard problems. A 2022 on-campus test was 25 MCQs in an hour with no coding. |
| Does it have negative marking? | No. Cisco’s Code with Cisco page states there is no negative marking, and FACE Prep says the same for regular campus tests. |
| Is there a sectional cutoff? | Not published. Candidate reports stress that weak networking MCQs can end your run even with good coding scores, so treat the MCQ block as a real bar. |
| What is the eligibility cutoff? | It depends on the route. Code with Cisco (2026 cycle) had no CGPA cutoff, took any degree or branch with no backlogs, and was open to the 2027 batch at participating universities. Regular campus drives report 7.0 CGPA or 70% throughout, and one 2022 drive set 8.5 CGPA for CSE/ISE only. |
| Which platform is it on? | Not named consistently. Candidates mention HackerRank or Cisco’s own portal, and Code with Cisco uses AI and video proctoring with a 30-minute login window. |
| Is there coding, and how hard? | Yes on most recent drives: 2 problems, easy to LeetCode medium, sometimes medium-hard DP and graph BFS. |
| What happens after Code with Cisco? | The top 75 scorers in the 2026 cycle went to an in-person code-a-thon, then four virtual interviews; selected candidates get a letter of intent for an internship or full-time role and have 24 hours to accept it. |
Cisco interview questions by role
The technical rounds depend on the role. These are questions candidates have reported on GeeksforGeeks, eLitmus Adda and Glassdoor; they show the level and style, not a fixed list.
| Role | Reported questions and topics |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer (full-time) | About 45 minutes on your projects, including code from them and exception handling. Recursive factorial. Implement a linked list. OS questions. A managerial round on team conflict and every line of your resume (2022). DSA, OS, DBMS and networking in depth plus low-level design (2025, Bengaluru). |
| Software / technical intern | Frequency of characters in alphabetical order, then debugging after a wrong output. Networking protocols. A data structure for an employee database with complexities. Design an Instagram competitor. Delay handling in distributed systems. C++ STL map internals. |
| TAC / Technical Consulting Engineer | Explain how a packet travels from your PC to the internet. DHCP, DNS and basic TCP/IP. Scenario-based rounds on VPN, proxy and firewall troubleshooting (2025, Bengaluru). |
Asked across every role: OSI vs TCP/IP, TCP vs UDP, subnetting and what happens when you open a URL, a project deep-dive, process vs thread, ACID and joins, and “Why Cisco?”.
Online Assessment / “Code with Cisco” test
The screening test runs 60-90 minutes on most drives on HackerRank or Cisco’s own portal: a large MCQ section covering OS, DBMS, computer networks, and OOP concepts, plus 2 DSA coding problems (easy-to-medium). Some cycles run this under the “Code with Cisco” branding, a nationwide test Cisco uses for its India campus pipeline. Candidate reports from 2025–2026 emphasise a dual bar - strong coding with weak networking MCQs still ends the loop, because the fundamentals block is where Cisco separates “memorised LeetCode” from engineers who understand the domain.
Eligibility (student reports): 7.0+ CGPA or ~70% throughout, CS/IT/ECE/EE and related branches, no active backlogs - confirm your drive mail.
Common questions
- MCQs on OSI layers, DNS, DHCP, and the difference between switches, hubs, and routers
- OS basics: process scheduling, deadlocks, memory management
- DBMS basics: normalization, joins, indexing
- Reverse a linked list / string manipulation coding problems
Full round-by-round accounts are on the Cisco interview experience page.
Technical Round 1
A 45-60 minute round focused on live DSA problem-solving, followed by a detailed walkthrough of a resume project - tech stack choices, the hardest bug you hit, and what you’d change.
Common questions
- Detect a cycle in a linked list
- Binary tree level-order traversal
- Explain the architecture and trade-offs of your most substantial project
- Basic OOP questions: polymorphism, inheritance, abstraction with examples
See how candidates actually handled this stage on the Cisco interview experience page.
Technical Round 2
This round leans further into computer networks and OS than a typical software-company loop, since Cisco’s core business is networking hardware and software. Some tracks add a lightweight system-design or scenario question (URL shortener, simple key-value store) - rarely a full system-design round for pure fresher tracks, but follow-ups on scalability and failure modes are common. Techno-managerial variants blend a hiring manager’s behavioural probes with networking depth in one session.
Common questions
- Explain TCP vs UDP, and where each is used
- Walk through what happens when you type a URL into a browser
- Deadlock conditions and how an OS avoids or recovers from them
- VLANs, subnetting / CIDR, or routing basics (OSPF/BGP at a conceptual level on some panels)
- A short system-design or scenario question (varies by team and role)
HR / Managerial round
The closing round checks motivation, team fit, and logistics rather than technical depth. Managerial variants sometimes fold in a light behavioural question about how you’d approach the role.
Common questions
- Why Cisco, and what do you know about its networking products and culture?
- How would you maximise learning over an internship or first year?
- Are you open to relocation, and what is your notice period?
- Describe a time you resolved a conflict with a teammate
Sample answer frameworks for each of these are on the Cisco HR interview questions page.
Code with Cisco: the campus hiring funnel
Cisco’s India campus hiring runs through a distinct funnel rather than a plain walk-in drive. “Code with Cisco” opens an online test to students at participating universities - in the 2026 cycle, the 2027 batch, with no CGPA cutoff - and the top 75 scorers are invited to an in-person code-a-thon, followed by four virtual interviews. Strong hackathon performance can fast-track candidates toward internship or full-time software-engineering offers, running alongside - not instead of - the standard technical-and-HR loop described above. Treat it as Cisco’s version of a mass campus drive: high volume at the top of the funnel, with the interview rounds still deciding the outcome.
Common question clusters (with frameworks)
TechPrep-style guides weight networking fundamentals alongside DSA. That combination is Cisco’s differentiator.
1. OA coding plus networking MCQs
Framework: Medium DSA AC and OSI/TCP/UDP/subnetting accuracy. Coding-only prep fails the MCQ gate on many reports.
2. Graphs and systems coding
Framework: BFS/DFS, linked lists, DP favourites. Narrate trade-offs; write runnable code.
3. Networking oral for SWE too
Framework: TCP handshake, switch vs router, what happens on Wi-Fi connect, failure if primary link dies. Empty OSI name lists lose points.
4. People Deal behavioural alignment
Framework: Connect, Innovate, Benefit stories. Why Cisco (infrastructure impact) not FAANG-envy language.
Cisco Software Engineer vs TAC (Technical Consulting Engineer)
Both roles sit in Cisco’s Bengaluru offices, but they are hired and interviewed differently.
| Software Engineer | TAC / Technical Consulting Engineer | |
|---|---|---|
| Work | Building Cisco software and platforms | Customer support for Cisco networking and security products |
| Interview | DSA coding, OS, DBMS, networking, low-level design | Scenario-based networking: packet flow, DHCP, DNS, VPN, firewalls |
| Training | Team onboarding | Freshers were grouped by technology and trained on CCNA and CCNP-level material, per an ex-TAC account |
This page covers the Software Engineer route, including Code with Cisco. If your offer letter or job posting says TAC, CX or Technical Consulting Engineer, prepare networking troubleshooting over DSA. One older account says some TAC hiring around 2015 was contract-based through eLitmus, so read the employment terms in your offer.
Common technical interview questions and answers
Q: Explain the OSI model and which protocol lives at each layer
The OSI model has seven layers: Physical (cables, signalling), Data Link (MAC addressing, framing, switches - Ethernet, ARP), Network (logical addressing and routing - IP, ICMP, routers), Transport (end-to-end delivery - TCP, UDP), Session (connection management), Presentation (encryption and encoding - TLS, JPEG), and Application (HTTP, DNS, SMTP, FTP). The practical TCP/IP model collapses these into four: Link, Internet, Transport and Application. The distinction Cisco interviewers push on is Layer 2 versus Layer 3: a switch forwards frames using MAC addresses within a single broadcast domain, while a router forwards packets using IP addresses between networks and separates broadcast domains.
Q: What is the difference between a hub, a switch and a router?
A hub is a Layer 1 device that simply repeats every incoming signal out of all other ports, so all devices share one collision domain and one broadcast domain - it is effectively obsolete. A switch is a Layer 2 device that learns MAC addresses into a CAM table and forwards a frame only out of the port where the destination lives, giving every port its own collision domain while keeping one broadcast domain per VLAN. A router is a Layer 3 device that forwards between different IP networks using a routing table, and it does not forward broadcasts, so each interface is a separate broadcast domain. The follow-up is usually VLANs - they let one physical switch host multiple broadcast domains, and traffic between VLANs still needs a router or a Layer 3 switch.
Q: Explain TCP versus UDP and the three-way handshake
TCP is connection-oriented and reliable: it numbers bytes, acknowledges them, retransmits losses, reorders segments, and applies flow control through a receive window plus congestion control through slow start and congestion avoidance. UDP is connectionless with just ports and a checksum, an 8-byte header against TCP’s 20-byte minimum, and no delivery guarantee. The three-way handshake establishes a TCP connection: the client sends SYN with its initial sequence number, the server replies SYN-ACK with its own sequence number and an acknowledgement, and the client sends a final ACK - after which data flows. Teardown takes four segments using FIN and ACK in each direction, and the closing side sits in TIME_WAIT for twice the maximum segment lifetime so stray duplicate segments cannot corrupt a new connection on the same port pair.
Q: What happens when you type a URL into a browser?
The browser first checks its own cache, then the OS cache and hosts file, then queries DNS - the resolver walks from root to TLD to authoritative nameserver unless a cached answer short-circuits it - returning an IP address. With the IP, the OS uses ARP to find the MAC address of the next hop (the default gateway if the destination is off-subnet), then opens a TCP connection with the three-way handshake, and for HTTPS follows with a TLS handshake that authenticates the server certificate and agrees on a session key. The browser sends an HTTP GET, the server responds with status, headers and HTML, and the browser parses it into the DOM, fetching CSS, JavaScript and images as sub-resources before rendering. Cisco interviewers usually stop you to go deeper at one specific hop - most often DNS resolution or the routing decision at Layer 3.
Q: How does DHCP assign an IP address?
DHCP uses a four-message exchange remembered as DORA. The client broadcasts a DHCPDISCOVER because it has no address yet, a server replies with DHCPOFFER containing a candidate IP, the client broadcasts DHCPREQUEST to formally accept one offer (broadcast so other servers know their offers were declined), and the server confirms with DHCPACK. The lease carries not just the address but the subnet mask, default gateway, DNS servers and a lease duration, and the client tries to renew at 50 percent of the lease via unicast. Since DISCOVER is a broadcast and routers do not forward broadcasts, a client on a different subnet from its DHCP server needs a DHCP relay agent, configured on Cisco routers with the ip helper-address command.
Q: How do you detect a cycle in a linked list?
Use Floyd’s tortoise-and-hare algorithm: advance a slow pointer one node and a fast pointer two nodes per step. If the fast pointer reaches null the list is acyclic; if the two pointers ever meet, a cycle exists. To find the cycle’s starting node, reset one pointer to the head and advance both one step at a time - they meet at the entry point, which follows from the distance relationship between the head, the loop start, and the meeting point. This is O(n) time and O(1) space, versus a hash-set approach that is also O(n) time but costs O(n) space. Counting the loop length is a follow-up: keep one pointer at the meeting point and walk until it returns.
Q: Perform a level-order traversal of a binary tree
Use a queue: push the root, then while the queue is non-empty pop a node, visit it, and push its non-null left and right children. That visits nodes breadth-first in O(n) time with O(w) space, where w is the maximum width of the tree - which is roughly n/2 for a complete tree, so space is O(n) in the worst case. To group the output by level, record the queue size at the start of each outer iteration and process exactly that many nodes before starting a new level list. Common follow-ups build directly on this: zigzag traversal reverses alternate levels, and the right-side view takes the last node of each level.
Q: What are the four deadlock conditions and how does an OS handle deadlock?
Deadlock needs all four Coffman conditions simultaneously: mutual exclusion, hold-and-wait, no preemption, and circular wait. An OS can respond in four ways. Prevention structurally denies one condition, most practically circular wait by forcing a global lock-acquisition order. Avoidance uses runtime information, as in the Banker’s algorithm, which grants a request only if the resulting state remains safe. Detection lets deadlock happen, runs a wait-for graph cycle check periodically, and recovers by killing a process or rolling back a transaction. The fourth option is what general-purpose systems like Linux and Windows actually do - ignore it, the ostrich algorithm - because prevention costs more than the rare deadlock, while databases use detection and abort one transaction as the victim.
Q: What is a VLAN and why is inter-VLAN routing needed?
A VLAN (Virtual LAN) is a Layer 2 broadcast domain configured on a switch so devices in the same VLAN can reach each other at MAC level without crossing into other groups. VLANs improve security and reduce broadcast noise on large campuses. Traffic between VLANs must be routed - typically by a Layer 3 switch or router - because switches do not forward frames between VLANs at Layer 2. Cisco panels often follow up with which device breaks broadcast domains (router) versus collision domains (switch per port).
Q: Longest substring without repeating characters
Use a sliding window with a hash map or array tracking the last index of each character. Expand the right pointer; when you see a duplicate inside the window, move the left pointer to one past the previous occurrence of that character. Track the maximum window length. Time O(n), space O(min(n, alphabet size)). This pattern appears frequently in Cisco OAs alongside tree BFS problems.
Q: How do you reverse a linked list iteratively?
Maintain three pointers: prev (null), curr (head), and next. While curr is non-null, save next = curr.next, set curr.next = prev, advance prev to curr and curr to next. Return prev as the new head. O(n) time, O(1) space. Interviewers often ask for recursive variant or reverse in groups of k as follow-ups.
Q: Detect a cycle in a directed graph
Use DFS with three-colour marking (white unvisited, grey in current stack, black finished) or Kahn’s topological sort. If DFS finds an edge to a grey node, a cycle exists. Course Schedule-style problems map directly to hiring-cycle reports for Cisco SWE OAs.
Frequently asked questions about Cisco interviews
Does the Cisco online test have negative marking?
No. Cisco’s Code with Cisco page states there is no negative marking, and FACE Prep says the same for regular campus tests, which usually have about 40 MCQs (networking, OS, DBMS, OOP) and 2 coding problems in 90 minutes.
What is the CGPA cutoff for Cisco?
It depends on the route. Code with Cisco (2026 cycle) had no CGPA cutoff and took any branch with no backlogs, while regular campus drives report 7.0 CGPA or 70% throughout and one 2022 drive set 8.5 CGPA for CSE/ISE only.
What is the Cisco interview process for freshers?
Cisco’s campus loop usually runs: 1. Online Assessment / “Code with Cisco” test (60-90 min) - 30-40 MCQs on OS, DBMS, computer networks, and OOP, plus 2 DSA coding problems. 2. Technical Round 1 (45-60 min) - DSA problem-solving and a detailed project/resume walkthrough. 3. Technical Round 2 (45-60 min) - networking and CS-fundamentals depth, sometimes basic system design. 4. HR / Managerial (30-45 min) - motivation, culture fit, relocation. End-to-end timeline is commonly reported as 2-8 weeks.
What questions are asked in Cisco interviews?
Expect DSA basics (linked lists, trees, strings), and a heavier-than-usual computer networks section - OSI layers, DNS, DHCP, switches vs routers vs hubs - alongside OS (process/memory management, deadlocks) and DBMS. Technical rounds also dig into your resume project in detail, and HR asks about relocation, notice period, and why Cisco.
How many rounds are there in the Cisco interview?
Typically 4 stages for freshers: Online Assessment, Technical Round 1, Technical Round 2, and HR/Managerial. Experienced-hire loops reported on Blind commonly compress this to a recruiter screen plus two technical rounds and one system-design round, then a hiring-manager conversation. Exact composition varies by team and by hiring cycle.
What is “Code with Cisco”?
Code with Cisco is Cisco India’s campus hiring route built around an online test and a code-a-thon. In the 2026 cycle, pre-final-year students (2027 batch) at participating universities took a 90-minute MCQ-and-coding test with no negative marking and no CGPA cutoff; the top 75 went to an in-person code-a-thon and then four virtual interviews, ending in a letter of intent for an internship or full-time role.
What is the Cisco fresher salary package?
Student reports put fresher India packages in the roughly ₹20-30 LPA range, though this varies by role, location, and hiring cycle. Confirm exact figures on your own offer letter rather than relying on aggregated estimates.
Is Cisco’s process different for freshers vs experienced hires?
Yes. Fresher/campus loops lean on the Online Assessment plus two structured technical rounds and HR. Experienced-hire loops reported on Blind and Glassdoor skew toward a recruiter screen, two technical rounds, and a dedicated system-design round before a hiring-manager conversation - with less emphasis on CS-fundamentals MCQs and more on architecture and prior-project depth.
How should I prepare for Cisco interviews?
Practise timed DSA on arrays, strings, linked lists, and trees; revise computer networks in real depth (OSI model, DNS, DHCP, routing basics) since Cisco weighs this more than most software-only companies; keep one clear project narrative ready; and prepare STAR-style answers for the HR round.
Do Cisco software interviews still ask networking?
Often yes, even for SWE roles. Treat TCP, routing basics, and failure scenarios as first-class prep alongside DSA.
What is Code with Cisco?
A commonly referenced campus hiring funnel name for coding assessments and subsequent interviews. Confirm the exact stages on your campus mail or careers invite.
How to prepare for Cisco interviews
- Loop map: Online Assessment (“Code with Cisco” test); Technical Round 1; Technical Round 2; HR / Managerial. Confirm timings from the drive mail.
- Technical depth: Drill the Q&A section until answers are spoken, not read. Know every resume project cold.
- Experiences: Study round-wise notes on the interview experience page - real prompts beat generic lists.
- HR: Three STAR stories + a specific “Why Cisco?” on the HR page.
Who usually fits and who struggles
Good fit: You enjoy debugging systems end-to-end, you can live in Bangalore/Chennai/Hyderabad, and you are curious how packets and services fail in production. You will practise explaining networks to non-specialists because interviewers reward clarity.
Harder path: You want FAANG-only prestige language without caring about infrastructure; you freeze when asked “what happens if the primary link fails?”; you only memorised OSI layer names without examples. Cisco panels notice empty acronyms quickly.
A practical Cisco prep plan
Use this as a default four-week loop before a Cisco drive. Adjust to your invite timeline.
- Week 1: Language fluency: rewrite 10 old solutions in one language until you stop hunting syntax. Open the Cisco previous-year sets on this site and mark which sections ate your time. Write the timing on a sticky note. That number is more useful than a 200-problem LeetCode streak you never timed.
- Week 2: Most Cisco drives fail people on the first timed paper or OA. Do three timed sits this week. After each one, log every miss in a two-column note: topic and why (slow, wrong formula, bad edge case, panic). The next sit should only add problems from that log.
- Week 3: Technical interviews at Cisco usually want a clean project story, one or two CS fundamentals, and (if the process has it) a behavioral or values round. Write STAR stories on paper, not in your head. Practise “Why Cisco?” with one concrete product, lab, or business line - not a slogan.
- Week 4: Sleep, id photocopies, and a dry run of the oa platform if the invite names one. If you still have energy, redo only the questions you failed in week 2.
10-day crash version: Days 1-4 timed DSA, days 5-7 resume projects + CS fundamentals, days 8-9 mock interviews out loud, day 10 HR STAR stories on the HR page.
Compensation notes
Candidate-reported fresher/early-career packages for Cisco often cite ₹20-30 LPA CTC. Treat forum numbers as ranges, not guarantees - confirm the written offer letter for your team and location.
Sources
Interview process details and sample questions on this site are editorially organized from public candidate reports and hiring write-ups, with round structure, prep notes, and company-specific framing added by our team. For round-by-round stories, see the Cisco interview experience page. For OA papers and coding drills, use Cisco on placementpapers.app. OA quick answers and role-wise questions draw on Cisco’s Code with Cisco careers page, FACE Prep’s 2026 Cisco hiring guide, GeeksforGeeks interview experiences for Cisco’s 2022 on-campus and 2025 summer-internship drives, an ex-TAC account on eLitmus Adda and Glassdoor candidate reviews.