Network+ (N10-009)
Articles covering CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) exam objectives. These guides focus on networking concepts, infrastructure, network operations, network security, and network troubleshooting essential for Network+ certification.
Objective 1.1: Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model
Comprehensive guide to the seven layers of the OSI model, their functions, protocols, and how data flows between layers for Network+ certification.
Objective 1.2: Networking Appliances, Applications, and Functions
Detailed comparison of physical and virtual networking appliances, applications like CDN, and essential network functions including VPN, QoS, and TTL.
Objective 1.3: Cloud Concepts and Connectivity Options
Comprehensive guide to cloud computing concepts including NFV, VPC, security groups, gateways, deployment models, service models, and connectivity options.
Objective 1.4: Common Networking Ports, Protocols, Services, and Traffic Types
Complete reference guide to networking protocols, port numbers, services, IP protocol types, and traffic types essential for Network+ certification.
Objective 1.5: Compare and Contrast Transmission Media and Transceivers
Comprehensive guide to wireless and wired transmission media, 802.11/802.3 standards, fiber types, transceivers, and connector types for Network+ certification.
Objective 1.6: Compare and Contrast Network Topologies, Architectures, and Types
Comprehensive guide to network topologies including mesh, star, spine-leaf, three-tier hierarchical, collapsed core, and traffic flow patterns for Network+ certification.
Objective 1.7: IPv4 Network Addressing
Complete guide to IPv4 addressing including public vs. private addresses, subnetting, VLSM, CIDR, address classes, APIPA, and loopback addresses for Network+ certification.
Objective 1.8: Evolving Use Cases for Modern Network Environments
Comprehensive guide to modern network technologies including SDN/SD-WAN, VXLAN, zero trust architecture, SASE/SSE, infrastructure as code, and IPv6 addressing for Network+ certification.
Objective 2.1: Routing Technologies
Comprehensive guide to routing technologies including static and dynamic routing, BGP, EIGRP, OSPF, route selection, NAT/PAT, FHRP, and subinterfaces for Network+ certification.
Objective 2.2: Configure Switching Technologies and Features
Complete guide to switching technologies including VLANs, VLAN database, SVI, interface configuration, native VLAN, voice VLAN, 802.1Q tagging, link aggregation, spanning tree, and MTU for Network+ certification.
Objective 2.3: Select and Configure Wireless Devices and Technologies
Comprehensive guide to wireless technologies including channels, frequency bands (2.4/5/6 GHz), SSID types, network architectures, encryption (WPA2/WPA3), authentication methods, antennas, and access point types for Network+ certification.
Objective 2.4: Explain Important Factors of Physical Installations
Complete guide to physical network infrastructure including distribution frames (MDF/IDF), rack configurations, power systems (UPS/PDU), environmental controls (temperature/humidity), cable management, and security considerations for Network+ certification.
Objective 3.1: Explain the Purpose of Organizational Processes and Procedures
Comprehensive guide to organizational processes including documentation (physical/logical diagrams, asset inventory, IPAM, SLA), lifecycle management (EOL/EOS, software management, decommissioning), change management, and configuration management for Network+ certification.
Objective 3.2: Use Network Monitoring Technologies
Complete guide to network monitoring including SNMP (traps, MIB, versions v2c/v3), flow data, packet capture, baseline metrics, log aggregation (syslog, SIEM), API integration, port mirroring, and monitoring solutions for Network+ certification.
Objective 3.3: Explain Disaster Recovery (DR) Concepts
Comprehensive guide to disaster recovery including DR metrics (RPO, RTO, MTTR, MTBF), DR sites (cold, warm, hot), high-availability approaches (active-active, active-passive), and testing methods (tabletop exercises, validation tests) for Network+ certification.
Objective 3.4: Implement IPv4 and IPv6 Network Services
Complete guide to IPv4 and IPv6 network services including dynamic addressing (DHCP, SLAAC), name resolution (DNS with DNSSEC, DoH, DoT), and time protocols (NTP, PTP, NTS) for Network+ certification.
Objective 3.5: Compare and Contrast Network Access and Management Methods
Comprehensive guide to network access and management including VPN types (site-to-site, client-to-site), connection methods (SSH, GUI, API, console), jump boxes, and management approaches (in-band vs. out-of-band) for Network+ certification.
Objective 4.1: Explain the Importance of Basic Network Security Concepts
Comprehensive guide to network security including logical security (encryption, certificates, IAM), physical security, deception technologies, security terminology (CIA triad), compliance (PCI DSS, GDPR), and network segmentation for Network+ certification.
Objective 4.2: Summarize Various Types of Attacks and Their Impact to the Network
Complete guide to network attacks including DoS/DDoS, VLAN hopping, MAC flooding, ARP poisoning/spoofing, DNS poisoning/spoofing, rogue devices, evil twin, on-path attacks, social engineering, and malware for Network+ certification.
Objective 4.3: Apply Network Security Features, Defense Techniques, and Solutions
Comprehensive guide to network security including device hardening, network access control (NAC), key management, security rules (ACLs, URL filtering, content filtering), and network zones (trusted vs. untrusted, screened subnet) for Network+ certification.
Objective 5.1: Explain the Troubleshooting Methodology
Complete guide to systematic troubleshooting methodology including problem identification, information gathering, theory development, testing approaches (top-to-bottom/bottom-to-top OSI model, divide and conquer), solution implementation, verification, and documentation for Network+ certification.
Objective 5.2: Troubleshoot Common Cabling and Physical Interface Issues
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting physical layer issues including cable problems (incorrect cable types, signal degradation, improper termination), interface issues (CRC errors, runts, giants, drops, port status), and hardware issues (PoE problems, transceiver mismatches) for Network+ certification.
Objective 5.3: Troubleshoot Common Issues with Network Services
Complete guide to troubleshooting network service issues including switching problems (STP loops, VLAN assignment, ACLs), routing issues (route selection, routing tables, default routes), and addressing problems (DHCP exhaustion, gateway issues, IP conflicts, subnet masks) for Network+ certification.
Objective 5.4: Troubleshoot Common Performance Issues
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting network performance issues including congestion/contention, bottlenecking, bandwidth limitations, latency, packet loss, jitter, and wireless performance problems (interference, signal degradation, coverage issues, client disassociation, roaming misconfiguration) for Network+ certification.
Objective 5.5: Use the Appropriate Tool or Protocol to Solve Networking Issues
Complete guide to networking tools and protocols including software tools (protocol analyzers, command-line utilities, nmap, LLDP/CDP, speed testers), hardware tools (toner, cable testers, taps, Wi-Fi analyzers, visual fault locators), and basic device commands (show mac-address-table, show route, show interface, show config, show arp, show vlan, show power) for Network+ certification.