If you're like most of us in the networking community, you probably have one or more network certifications. If that's you, you're very wise in choosing a CompTIA Network+ (N10-008) certification to proudly add to your repertoire because this achievement will make you all the more valuable as an employee.
In these challenging economic times, keeping ahead of the competition—even standing out among your present colleagues—could make a big difference in whether you gain a promotion or possibly keep your job instead of being the one who gets laid off! Or maybe this is your first attempt at certification because you've decided to venture into a new career in information technology (IT). You've realized that getting into the IT sector is a good way to go because as the information age marches on, the demand for knowledgeable professionals in this dynamic field will only intensify dramatically.
Either way, certification is one of the best things you can do for your career if you are working in, or want to break into, the networking profession because it proves that you know what you're talking about regarding the subjects in which you're certified. It also powerfully endorses you as a professional in a way that's very similar to a physician being board-certified in a certain area of expertise.
In this book, you'll find out what the Network+ exam is all about because each chapter covers a part of the exam. I've included some great review questions at the end of each chapter to help crystallize the information you learned and solidly prepare you to ace the exam.
A really cool thing about working in IT is that it's constantly evolving, so there are always new things to learn and fresh challenges to master. Once you obtain your Network+ certification and discover that you're interested in taking it further by getting into more complex networking (and making more money), the Cisco CCNA certification is definitely your next step; you can get the skinny on that and even more in-depth certifications on my blog at www.lammle.com
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What Is the Network+ Certification?
Network+ is a certification developed by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) that exists to provide resources and education for the computer and technology community. This is the same body that developed the A+ exam for PC technicians.
The Network+ exam was designed to test the skills of network technicians with 18 to 24 months of experience in the field. It tests areas of networking technologies such as the definition of a protocol, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and its layers, and the concepts of network design and implementation—the minimum knowledge required for working on a network and some integral prerequisites for network design and implementation.
Why Become Network+ Certified?
Because CompTIA is a well-respected developer of vendor-neutral industry certifications, becoming Network+ certified proves you're competent in the specific areas covered by the Network+ objectives.
Four major benefits are associated with becoming Network+ certified:
- Proof of Professional Achievement Networking professionals are pretty competitive when it comes to collecting more certifications than their peers. And because the Network+ certification broadly covers the entire field of networking, technicians want this certification a lot more than they want just Microsoft certifications—Network+ is a lot more prestigious and valuable. Because it's rare to gain something that's worth a lot with little effort, I'll be honest—preparing for the Network+ exam isn't exactly a lazy day at the beach. (However, beaches do happen to be really high on my personal list of great places to study!) And people in IT know that it isn't all that easy to pass the Network+ exam, so they'll definitely respect you more and know that you've achieved a certain level of expertise about vendor-independent, networking-related subjects.
- Opportunity for Advancement We all like to get ahead in our careers—advancement results in more responsibility and prestige, and it usually means a fatter paycheck, greater opportunities, and additional options. In the IT sector, a great way to make sure all that good stuff happens is by earning a lot of technology certifications, including Network+.
- Fulfillment of Training Requirements Network+, because of its wide-reaching industry support, is recognized as a baseline of networking information. Some companies actually specify the possession of a Network+ certification as a job requirement before they'll even consider hiring you, or it may be specified as a goal to be met before your next review.
- Customer Confidence As companies discover the CompTIA advantage, they will undoubtedly require qualified staff to achieve these certifications. Many companies outsource their work to consulting firms with experience working with security. Firms that have certified staff have a definite advantage over firms that don't.
How to Become Network+ Certified
As this book goes to press, Pearson VUE is the sole Network+ exam provider. The following is the necessary contact information and exam-specific details for registering. Exam pricing might vary by country or by CompTIA membership.
When you schedule the exam, you'll receive instructions regarding appointment and cancellation procedures, ID requirements, and information about the testing center location. In addition, you'll receive a registration and payment confirmation letter. Exams can be scheduled up to six weeks out or as soon as the next day (or, in some cases, even the same day).
After you've successfully passed your Network+ exam, CompTIA will award you a certification. Within four to six weeks of passing the exam, you'll receive your official CompTIA Network+ certificate and ID card. (If you don't receive these within eight weeks of taking the test, contact CompTIA directly using the information found in your registration packet.)
Tips for Taking the Network+ Exam
Here are some general tips for taking your exam successfully:
- Bring two forms of ID with you. One must be a photo ID, such as a driver's license. The other can be a major credit card or a passport. Both forms must include a signature.
- Arrive early at the exam center so you can relax and review your study materials, particularly tables and lists of exam-related information. After you are ready to enter the testing room, you will need to leave everything outside; you won't be able to bring any materials into the testing area.
- Read the questions carefully. Don't be tempted to jump to an early conclusion. Make sure you know exactly what each question is asking.
- Don't leave any unanswered questions. Unanswered questions are scored against you. There will be questions with multiple correct responses. When there is more than one correct answer, a message at the bottom of the screen will prompt you to either “choose two” or “choose all that apply.” Be sure to read the messages displayed to know how many correct answers you must choose.
- When answering multiple-choice questions you're not sure about, use a process of elimination to get rid of the obviously incorrect answers first. Doing so will improve your odds if you need to make an educated guess.
- On form-based tests (nonadaptive), because the hard questions will take the most time, save them for last. You can move forward and backward through the exam.
Who Should Read This Book?
You—if want to pass the Network+ exam, and pass it confidently! This book is chock-full of the exact information you need and directly maps to Network+ exam objectives, so if you use it to study for the exam, your odds of passing shoot way up.
And in addition to including every bit of knowledge you need to learn to pass the exam, I've included some really great tips and solid wisdom to equip you even further to successfully work in the real IT world.
What Does This Book Cover?
This book covers everything you need to know to pass the CompTIA Network+ exam. But in addition to studying the book, it's a good idea to practice on an actual network if you can.
Here's a list of the 25 chapters in this book:
- Chapter 1, “Introduction to Networks” This chapter includes an introduction to networks and an overview of the most common physical network topologies you'll find in today's networks.
- Chapter 2, “The Open Systems Interconnection Specifications” This chapter covers the OSI model, what it is, what happens at each of its layers, and how each layer works.
- Chapter 3, “Networking Connectors and Wiring Standards” This chapter covers the various networking media and topologies, plus the cable types and properties used in today's networks.
- Chapter 4, “The Current Ethernet Specifications” This chapter covers how a basic Ethernet LAN works and describes and categorizes the different Ethernet specifications.
- Chapter 5, “Networking Devices” It's important for you to understand all the various devices used in today's networks, and this chapter will describe how hubs, routers, switches, and some other devices work within a network.
- Chapter 6, “Introduction to the Internet Protocol” This is your introduction to the all-important IP protocol stack.
- Chapter 7, “IP Addressing” This chapter will take up from where Chapter 6 left off and move into IP addressing. It also contains information about public versus private addressing and DHCP.
- Chapter 8, “IP Subnetting, Troubleshooting IP, and Introduction to NAT” This chapter will continue the subject from Chapter 7 and also will tackle IP subnetting. But no worries here—I've worked hard to make this not-so-popular-yet-vital topic as painless as possible.
- Chapter 9, “Introduction to IP Routing” This is an introduction to routing that basically covers what routers do and how they do it. Along with Chapter 10 and Chapter 11, this chapter covers routing and switching in much more detail than what is necessary to meet the CompTIA Network+ objectives because this knowledge is so critical to grasp when working with today's networks.
- Chapter 10, “Routing Protocols” This chapter goes into detail describing the protocols that run on routers and that update routing tables to create a working map of the network.
- Chapter 11, “Switching and Virtual LANs” This chapter covers layer 2 switching, the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), and virtual LANs. I went deeper than needed for the exam with the routing chapters, and in this chapter I'll cover switching and virtual LANs (which are also vital in today's corporate networks) more thoroughly as well.
- Chapter 12, “Wireless Networking” Because wireless is so important for both home and business networks today, this chapter is loaded with all the information you need to be successful at wireless networking at home and work.
- Chapter 13, “Using Statistics and Sensors to Ensure Network Availability” In this chapter you'll learn what sort of data you should be monitoring and some of the ways to do so.
- Chapter 14, “Organizational Documents and Policies” In this chapter you'll learn that plans and procedures should be developed to manage operational issues such as change management, incident response, disaster recovery, business continuity, and the system life cycle. You'll also learn the standard operating procedures that should be developed to guide each of these processes.
- Chapter 15, “High Availability and Disaster Recovery” In this chapter you will learn about redundancy concepts, fault tolerance, and the process of disaster recovery.
- Chapter 16, “Common Security Concepts” In this chapter you will learn the basic concepts, terms, and principles that all network professionals should understand to secure an enterprise network.
- Chapter 17, “Common Types of Attacks” In this chapter you will learn the common types of attacks that all network professionals should understand to secure an enterprise network.
- Chapter 18, “Network Hardening Techniques” In this chapter you'll learn best practices for hardening devices and for hardening the network environment in which these devices reside. At the end of the chapter, you'll learn about the newest challenge to secure, the Internet of Things (IoT).
- Chapter 19, “Remote Access Security” In this chapter you'll learn the importance of providing both fault tolerance and high availability. You'll also learn about VPN architectures. These include site-to-site VPNs, client-to-site VPNs, clientless VPNs, split tunnel vs. full VPN, and SSH VPNs.
- Chapter 20, “Physical Security” In this chapter you will learn the basic concepts, terms, and principles that all network professionals should understand to physically secure a network.
- Chapter 21, “Data Center Architecture and Cloud Concepts” In this chapter, I'll talk a lot about the documentation aspects of network administration. The chapter will start off discussing physical diagrams and schematics and move on to the logical form as well as configuration-management documentation. You'll learn about the importance of these diagrams as well as the simple to complex forms they can take and the tools used to create them—from pencil and paper to high-tech AutoCAD schematics. You'll also find out a great deal about creating performance baselines.
- Chapter 22, “Ensuring Network Availability” In this chapter you'll learn about network availability and some of the ways to achieve a stable network. I'll talk about how environmental parameters, CPU load, and memory utilization can cause low-performance problems.
- Chapter 23, “Cable Connectivity Issues and Tools” Specialized tasks require specialized tools, and installing network components is no exception. We use some of these tools on an everyday basis, but most of the hardware tools I'll be covering in this chapter are used mainly in the telecommunications industry.
- Chapter 24, “Network Troubleshooting Methodology” In this chapter, you'll learn about all things troubleshooting, such as how to sleuth out and solve a lot of network problems.
- Chapter 25, “Network Software Tools and Commands” This chapter introduces you to the network tools you will use to help you run your networks. Specialized tasks require specialized tools and installing network components is no exception. We use some of these tools, like network scanners, on an everyday basis, but as with the hardware tools covered in Chapter 23, most of the software tools I'll be covering in this chapter are used mainly in the telecommunications industry.
What's Included in the Book
I've included several study tools throughout the book:
- Assessment Test At the end of this introduction is an assessment test that you can use to check your readiness for the exam. Take this test before you start reading the book; it will help you determine the areas you might need to brush up on. The answers to the assessment test questions appear on a separate page after the last question of the test. Each answer includes an explanation and a note telling you the chapter in which the material appears.
- Objective Map and Opening List of Objectives Later in this introduction is an objective map showing you where each of the exam objectives is covered in this book. In addition, each chapter opens with a list of the exam objectives it covers. Use these to see exactly where each of the exam topics is covered.
- Exam Essentials Each chapter includes a number of exam essentials. These are the key topics you should take from the chapter in terms of areas to focus on when preparing for the exam.
- Written Lab Each chapter includes a written lab. These are short exercises that map to the exam objectives. The answers to these can be found in Appendix A.
- Chapter Review Questions To test your knowledge as you progress through the book, there are review questions at the end of each chapter. As you finish each chapter, answer the review questions and then check your answers—the correct answers and explanations are in Appendix B. You can go back to reread the section that deals with each question you got wrong to ensure that you answer correctly the next time you're tested on the material.
Interactive Online Learning Environment and Test Bank
The interactive online learning environment that accompanies CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-008 provides a test bank with study tools to help you prepare for the certification exam and increase your chances of passing it the first time! The test bank includes the following tools:
- Sample Tests All of the questions in this book are provided, including the assessment test, which you'll find at the end of this introduction, and the chapter tests that include the review questions at the end of each chapter. In addition, there are six practice exams. Use these questions to test your knowledge of the study guide material. The online test bank runs on multiple devices.
- Flashcards Approximately 300 questions are provided in digital flashcard format (a question followed by a single correct answer). You can use the flashcards to reinforce your learning and provide last-minute test prep before the exam.
- Glossary A glossary of key terms from this book and their definitions are available as a fully searchable PDF.
How to Use This Book
If you want a solid foundation for the serious effort of preparing for the Network+ exam, then look no further because I've spent countless hours putting together this book with the sole intention of helping you pass it!
This book is loaded with valuable information, and you will get the most out of your study time if you understand how I put the book together. Here's a list that describes how to approach studying:
- Take the assessment test immediately following this introduction. (The answers are at the end of the test, but no peeking!) It's okay if you don't know any of the answers—that's what this book is for. Carefully read over the explanation for any question you get wrong and make note of the chapter where that material is covered.
- Study each chapter carefully, making sure you fully understand the information and the exam objectives listed at the beginning of each one. Again, pay extra-close attention to any chapter that includes material covered in questions you missed on the assessment test.
- Complete the written lab at the end of each chapter. Do not skip these written exercises because they directly map to the CompTIA objectives and what you've got to have nailed down to meet them.
- Answer all the review questions related to each chapter. Specifically note any questions that confuse you, and study the corresponding sections of the book again. And don't just skim these questions—make sure you understand each answer completely.
- Try your hand at the practice exams. Before you take your test, be sure to visit my website for questions, videos, audios, and other useful information.
- Test yourself using all the electronic flashcards. This is a brand-new and updated flashcard program to help you prepare for the latest CompTIA Network+ exam, and it is a really great study tool.
I tell you no lies—learning every bit of the material in this book is going to require applying yourself with a good measure of discipline. So try to set aside the same time period every day to study, and select a comfortable and quiet place to do so. If you work hard, you will be surprised at how quickly you learn this material.
If you follow the steps listed here and study with the review questions, practice exams, electronic flashcards, and all the written labs, you would almost have to try to fail the CompTIA Network+ exam. However, studying for the Network+ exam is like training for a marathon—if you don't go for a good run every day, you're not likely to finish very well.