Find Maiximum Number Drop Points Connected
Reported by candidates from Cisco's online assessment. Pattern, common pitfall, and the honest play if you blank under the timer.
Cisco's August OA included a graph problem about finding the maximum number of drop points connected. You're looking at a connectivity question where nodes represent drop points and edges represent links between them. The real task is identifying the largest connected component or cluster. If you blank on the approach, StealthCoder will feed you the pattern in real time so you can code with confidence instead of guessing at adjacency lists.
Pattern and pitfall
This is a connected components problem. You'll build a graph from the input, then traverse it using DFS or BFS to find all connected subgraphs. The answer is the size of the largest component. The trick candidates miss: not initializing visited tracking correctly, or confusing node count with component count. Code it as: parse input into an adjacency list, iterate through unvisited nodes, run DFS/BFS from each, track the max size. Off-by-one errors are common when returning the result. StealthCoder handles the scaffolding so you focus on the logic.
Drill it cold or hedge it with StealthCoder. Either way, don't walk into the OA hoping you remember the trick.
You can drill Find Maiximum Number Drop Points Connected cold, or you can hedge it. StealthCoder runs invisibly during screen share and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. The proctor sees the IDE. They don't see what's behind it. Made for the candidate who got the OA invite this morning and has 72 hours, not six months.
Get StealthCoderRelated leaked OAs
This OA pattern shows up on LeetCode as number of connected components in an undirected graph. If you have time before the OA, drill that.
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Cisco reuses patterns across OAs. Made for the candidate who got the OA invite this morning and has 72 hours, not six months. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Find Maiximum Number Drop Points Connected FAQ
Is this just counting connected components?+
Not exactly. You're finding the size of the largest connected component, not the total number of components. Run DFS/BFS on each unvisited node, track the component size, and return the max. The problem is asking for a single number, not a breakdown.
Do I need to build the graph explicitly?+
Yes. Parse the input into an adjacency list or dictionary. If the input is an edge list, build it. If it's a matrix, treat rows and columns as connections. This step is non-negotiable and often trips people up if they try to shortcut it.
What's the time complexity I should aim for?+
O(V+E) where V is nodes and E is edges. DFS or BFS visits each node and edge once. Cisco won't penalize you for this. Anything worse than O(V^2) is a red flag that you're over-complicating it.
Will there be isolated drop points?+
Possibly. A node with no edges is its own connected component of size 1. If you're asked for the maximum, isolated nodes won't be the answer unless all nodes are isolated. Handle them without crashing.
Is a union-find approach better than DFS?+
Not for this problem. DFS or BFS is cleaner and just as fast. Union-find adds overhead and mental load. Stick with graph traversal, iterate through nodes, run DFS/BFS on unvisited ones, track max size.