Akamai - interview guide

Akamai interview questions - a complete guide

Akamai keeps a large part of the internet fast and secure, so networking and Linux questions here matter as much as DSA.

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About Akamai

Akamai is a CDN (content delivery network), cyber security (DDoS protection, web firewall) and cloud computing company. Websites and videos are delivered to users from servers near them around the world. It has a large engineering centre in Bengaluru.

This guide covers 13 Akamai interview questions with answers - what each question checks and how to answer it - plus the Akamai interview process, round by round, a 7-day preparation plan for freshers, tips and the mistakes to avoid.

Akamai hiring process

  1. Online assessment

    MCQs on HackerRank (DSA, Linux, networking, OS, DBMS) and coding.

  2. Technical interview

    Arrays/DSA, SQL, DBMS and computer networks.

  3. Manager round

    Projects, behavioural and team fit.

Akamai does not publish its India fresher interview process in detail (as of our check). This is based on candidate reports - many of them for experienced roles, so the fresher process can differ. Confirm with the recruiter.

Sources (checked 16 October 2026): Akamai Careers. Hiring processes change - read the official notice before you apply.

Akamai interview questions and answers

Networking and CDN

  1. 1.How does a CDN work - how does a user get content from a nearby server?

    What they're checking
    Akamai's core business.
    How to answer
    DNS gives the user the address of the nearest edge server. If the content is in the edge cache, it is served from there; if not, it is fetched from the origin server and cached. Less distance = faster.

  2. 2.What is a TTL in a cache, and how do you remove the old copy when content changes?

    What they're checking
    The real difficulty of caching.
    How to answer
    The TTL says how long a copy is valid. To change it at once, send a purge/invalidate request, or put a version in the file name (app.v2.js).

  3. 3.What is a DDoS attack, and how does a CDN help against it?

    What they're checking
    Understanding the security product.
    How to answer
    So much traffic from many machines that the server collapses. A CDN's large distributed network spreads and absorbs the traffic, and bad traffic is filtered at the edge.

  4. 4.Describe the steps of the TLS handshake in an HTTPS connection.

    What they're checking
    Security + networking.
    How to answer
    Client hello (supported ciphers), server hello + certificate, the client verifies the certificate, both create a shared secret through key exchange, then encrypted data. In TLS 1.3 this takes one round-trip.

Linux and OS

  1. 5.How would you find which process is using the most CPU on Linux?

    What they're checking
    Practical debugging.
    How to answer
    top or htop (sorted by CPU), or ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head. Then that process's logs, and strace if needed.

  2. 6.What is the difference between a hard link and a soft link in Linux?

    What they're checking
    File system basics.
    How to answer
    A hard link is another name for the same inode - the data stays even if the original is deleted. A soft (symbolic) link is just a pointer to a path - it breaks if the original is removed.

  3. 7.Find the 5 IP addresses that sent the most requests in a log file (command line).

    What they're checking
    Linux tools - very useful at Akamai.
    How to answer
    awk '{print $1}' access.log | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head -5. Explain each part in a line.

Coding, SQL and DBMS

  1. 8.In an array of 1 to n, one number appears twice and one is missing - find both.

    What they're checking
    Maths/XOR thinking.
    How to answer
    Form two equations from the expected sum and sum of squares, or use XOR. Or mark indices (by negating values) - O(n) time, O(1) extra space.

  2. 9.Write a function to check whether a string is a valid IPv4 address.

    What they're checking
    Networking + edge cases.
    How to answer
    4 parts split by dots; each part non-empty, digits only, 0-255, and no leading zero ('01' is invalid). Test '1.2.3', '256.1.1.1', '1.2.3.04'.

  3. 10.SQL: count unique visitors per day from a logs table.

    What they're checking
    Analytics SQL.
    How to answer
    SELECT DATE(visited_at), COUNT(DISTINCT ip) FROM logs GROUP BY DATE(visited_at) ORDER BY 1.

  4. 11.What is an isolation level - give an example of a dirty read.

    What they're checking
    Depth in DBMS.
    How to answer
    One transaction reads another's uncommitted change, which is later rolled back = a dirty read. Levels from Read Committed upwards prevent it.

Manager round

  1. 12.When did something break and you had to fix it fast?

    What they're checking
    Working under pressure.
    How to answer
    What broke, how big the impact was, how you found the cause, what you fixed, and what you changed so it doesn't happen again.

  2. 13.Why Akamai?

    What they're checking
    Motivation.
    How to answer
    Your interest in networking, security or internet infrastructure - a related project or course.

7-day preparation plan for the Akamai interview

  1. Day 1: Networking - DNS, HTTP, TLS, TCP.
  2. Day 2: CDN, caching, DDoS - understand Akamai's work.
  3. Day 3: Linux commands and OS basics.
  4. Day 4: Arrays and strings - six problems.
  5. Day 5: SQL and DBMS (transactions, isolation).
  6. Day 6: MCQ practice (timed).
  7. Day 7: A mock interview + manager stories.

Preparation tips

  • Networking (DNS, HTTP, TLS, TCP) matters as much as DSA.
  • Practise Linux commands by running them - reading isn't enough.
  • Explain the basic idea of CDNs and caching in your own words.
  • SQL and DBMS basics come up in both the MCQs and the interview.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Skipping networking as a 'small CS subject'.
  • Knowing Linux commands only by name, not use.
  • Listing security on your resume without knowing the basics.

Frequently asked questions

What is in the Akamai online test?

According to reports, MCQs on DSA, Linux, networking, OS and DBMS, and coding.

How important is networking in the Akamai interview?

Very - the company's work is CDN and security, so topics such as DNS, HTTP and TLS are commonly asked.

Where is Akamai in India?

A large engineering centre in Bengaluru is reported.

How many rounds are there at Akamai?

Commonly an online test, one or two technical rounds and a manager round.

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