Commvault Interview Experience (On-Campus) 2023

There were a total of 3 rounds: Online assessment round, long coding round and technical interview.

350+ students were appeared for the round 1 and only 10 were selected for the next round. I was selected for round 2 but did not make it. The package offered was around 33 Lac which include Base 16 Lac, Stocks (19k USD) , Relocation , SIGN ON BONUS etc. with 50K pm during internship.

• Job profile – SDE c++/java & SDET
• Eligibility Criteria:
• B.Tech With Computer Science or Information Technology
• 8 CGPA / 80 % and above in B.Tech

There are three rounds: an online assessment, a long coding round, and a technical interview. The eligibility criterion was 8+ CGPA and more than 350 students from my college participated in the online assessment.

Round 1: Online Assessment

• Duration: 65 minutes (40 minutes for coding, 25 minutes for MCQs)
  MCQs: 15 questions, each worth 1 mark
  Coding: 3 questions, total of 21 marks

The online assessment had two sections – MCQs and coding, with a total of 78 marks to be completed in 65 minutes. While the coding questions were moderate, the time was limited, and I managed to solve only two coding questions. I was among the ten students selected for the second round. (Important question list of this round is attached with this article)

Round 2: Long Coding Round

• 6-7 hours long coding challenge in a VM environment
• Assigned a mentor who provided continuous support during coding.
• Focused on designing data structures and functions before coding.

The long coding round was an on-campus drive starting at 8 AM and lasted for 6-7 hours. We were required to complete the coding challenge in a virtual machine environment. The HR team held a meeting a day before to set up the VM on our laptops. On the day of the coding round, we had a detailed problem description session and an opportunity to clarify doubts. The instructions were well-presented, which helped me during coding. Following this, we joined a mentor meet, where we were divided into individual meet to work with a mentor who guided and resolved doubts for three candidates.

During these meetings, we had the opportunity to interact with our mentors, where we discussed our progress and sought assistance with doubts. The mentors emphasized the importance of meticulously designing data structures, elements, and functions to devise an efficient problem-solving approach. Once we completed the design, we were required to discuss it with our mentors for their approval, after which we could proceed with coding. However, if any candidate faced difficulties and couldn’t find a viable solution, they were politely asked to leave the meeting, resulting in their elimination from the process.

I successfully designed the problem and implemented 2-3 functions but encountered challenges with memory optimization. As a consequence, my code took up more memory than required. My mentor provided additional time for me to think of an alternative approach, but unfortunately, I couldn’t arrive at a solution at that moment. Consequently, at 12.30 PM, I was requested to leave the meeting. At that point, there were only 3-4 candidates still participating in the round. In the end, only one person was selected to proceed to the technical interview round. Although I wasn’t selected for the next round, I don’t know about the next round.

Long Coding Round Question: OS-related

• Memory based problem.
• Tasked with managing code and data segments with specified sizes.

The long coding round question revolved around managing code and data segments with specific sizes. The data segment had a size of 64 KB, whereas the code segment had a size of 2048 KB. Each segment could store only four processes at a time, with the code segment being capable of storing a process size of 512 KB and the data segment a size of 16 KB. Code segments stored char array values, while data segments stored only int values. The task was to create a process represented by a char array that stored arithmetic statements, such as calculations for the area of circles or rectangles.

These processes needed to be stored in both code and data segments. In the code segment, each statement needed to be stored from index 0 to 512 KB. If the statement size was less than 512 KB, the remaining space needed to be left empty, and the subsequent process statements were stored from the 512 index onwards. The data segment, on the other hand, only allowed integer values to be pushed. For instance, if a process statement had the form “l = 5;”, only the integer value 5 needed to be pushed into the data segment, while the entire statement was stored in the code segment.
However, in cases like “p = l + 5;”, where a value was calculated, the entire statement was stored in the code segment, and the resulting value of “p” had to be pushed into the data segment (e.g., the value 10 if “l” was 5). In this regard, I encountered a challenge as I inadvertently stored all calculated values like “l = 5” but failed to account for “p = l + 5” entirely. My initial approach involved storing the value of “l” in the “p[l – ‘a’]” using an additional vector “p” of size 26. Regrettably, this method consumed extra memory, prompting my mentor to suggest exploring an alternative approach. However, at that moment, I was unable to devise a new strategy, leading to my departure from the meeting.
I had spent 3.30 hours on the round. I designed the coding problem, including all required functions, data types, and methods, which I discussed with my mentor for approval. after approving, i coded two to three functions, but the memory optimization challenge became a hurdle in making further progress.

During the entire interview process, I deeply valued the support and guidance provided by my mentor. Their assistance played a crucial role in my understanding of the problem and finding possible solutions. As I had thoroughly prepared for the Commvault interview, I had compiled a list of essential questions that I found to be relevant and important. I believe this compilation could be valuable for future candidates preparing for the interview.

Important question with solution.