CompTIA Network+ exam is for developing a career in IT infrastructure covering troubleshooting, configuring, and managing networks. This exam ensures that an IT professional has the knowledge and skills for:

• Designing and implementing functional networks

• Configuring, managing, and maintaining the essential network devices

• Using devices that include switches and routers to segment network traffic and create resilient networks

• Identifying the benefits and drawbacks of existing network configurations

• Implementing network security, standards, and protocols

• Troubleshooting network problems

• Supporting the creation of virtualized networks

CompTIA Network+ Job Areas

Passing this exam can help you get the role of:

• Junior Network Administrator

• Computer Technician

• Help Desk Technician

• Junior System Engineer

• System Engineer

• IS Consultant

• Network Field Engineer

• Network Analyst

What’s new in the Network+ exam?

This exam has been updated with level of the current networking technologies that includes:

• Concepts of Critical security for helping networking professionals work with security practitioners

• Best practice and coverage of Cloud computing with new hardware and virtualization techniques

• Concepts to give individuals the skills to keep the network resilient

Skills Enhancement

In this candidates will learn about:

• Explaining the purpose of a variety of networking concepts and implement them appropriately

• Determining the appropriate cabling, device and storage technologies

• Using best practices for managing the network, determine policies & ensure business continuity

• Summarizing the physical security and common attacks while securing the wired and wireless network

• Explaining the network troubleshooting methodology & appropriate tools to support connectivity & performance

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Topic 1 :Networking Concepts

1.1 Explaining the purposes and uses of ports and protocols.

• Protocols and ports

• Protocol types

• Connection-oriented vs. connectionless

1.2 Explaining the devices, applications, protocols and services at their appropriate OSI layers.

• Physical

• Data link

• Network

• Transport

• Session

• Presentation

• Application

1.3 Describing the concepts and characteristics of routing and switching.

• Properties of network traffic

• Segmentation and interface properties

• Routing

• IPv6 concepts

• Performance concepts

• NAT/PAT

• Port forwarding

• Access control list

• Distributed switching

• Packet-switched vs. circuit- switched network

• Software-defined networking

1.4 Given a scenario for configuring the appropriate IP addressing components.

• Private vs. public

• Loopback and reserved

• Default gateway

• Virtual IP

• Subnet mask

• Subnetting

• Address assignments

1.5 Comparing and contrasting the characteristics of network topologies, types and technologies.

• Wired topologies

• Wireless topologies

• Types

• Technologies that facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT)

1.6 A scenario for implementing the appropriate wireless technologies and configurations.

• 802.11 standards

• Cellular

• Frequencies

• Speed and distance requirements

• Channel bandwidth

• Channel bonding

• MIMO/MU-MIMO

• Unidirectional/omnidirectional

• Site surveys

1.7 Summarizing the cloud concepts and their purposes.

• Types of services

• Cloud delivery models

• Connectivity methods

• Security implications/considerations

• Relationship between local and cloud resources

1.8 Explaining the functions of network services.

• DNS service

• DHCP service

• NTP

• IPAM

Topic 2: Infrastructure 18%

2.1 Given a scenario for deploying the appropriate cabling solution.

• Media types

• Plenum vs. PVC

• Connector types

• Transceivers

• Termination points

• Copper cable standards

• Copper termination standards

• Ethernet deployment standards

2.2 Scenario for determining the appropriate placement of networking devices on a network and install/configure them.

• Firewall

• Router

• Switch

• Hub

• Bridge

• Modems

• Wireless access point

• Media converter

• Wireless range extender

• VoIP endpoint

2.3 Explaining the purposes and use cases for advanced networking devices.

• Multilayer switch

• Wireless controller

• Load balancer

• IDS/IPS

• Proxy server

• VPN concentrator

• AAA/RADIUS server

• UTM appliance

• NGFW/Layer 7 firewall

• VoIP PBX

• VoIP gateway

• Content filter

2.4 Describing the purposes of virtualization and network storage technologies.

• Virtual networking components

• Network storage types

• Connection type

• Jumbo frame

2.5 Comparing and contrasting WAN technologies.

• Service type

• Transmission mediums

• Characteristics of service

• Termination

Topic 3: Network Operations 17%

3.1 Given a scenario for using appropriate documentation and diagrams to manage the network.

• Diagram symbols

• Standard operating procedures/ work instructions

• Logical vs. physical diagrams

• Rack diagrams

• Change management documentation

• Wiring and port locations

• IDF/MDF documentation

• Labeling

• Network configuration and performance baselines

• Inventory management

3.2 Contrasting and comparing business continuity and disaster recovery concepts.

• Availability concepts

• Recovery

• MTTR

• MTBF

• SLA requirements

3.3 Explaining common scanning, monitoring and patching processes and summarize their expected outputs.

• Processes

• Event management

• SNMP monitors

• Metrics

3.4 Given a scenario for using remote access methods.

• VPN

• RDP

• SSH

• VNC

• Telnet

• HTTPS/management URL

• Remote file access

• Out-of-band management

3.5 Identifying policies and best practices.

• Privileged user agreement

• Password policy

• On-boarding/off-boarding procedures

• Licensing restrictions

• International export controls

• Data loss prevention

• Remote access policies

• Incident response policies

• BYOD

• AUP

• NDA

• System life cycle

• Safety procedures and policies

Topic 4: Network Security 20%

4.1 Summarizing the purposes of physical security devices.

• Detection

• Prevention

4.2 Explaining authentication and access controls.

• Authorization, authentication and accounting

• Multi-factor authentication

• Access control

4.3 Given a scenario to secure a basic wireless network.

• WPA

• WPA2

• TKIP-RC4

• CCMP-AES

• Authentication and authorization

• Geofencing

4.4 Summarizing common networking attacks.

• DoS

• Social engineering

• Insider threat

• Logic bomb

• Rogue access point

• Evil twin

• War-driving

• Phishing

• Ransomware

• DNS poisoning

• ARP poisoning

• Spoofing

• Deauthentication

• Brute force

• VLAN hopping

• Man-in-the-middle

• Exploits vs. vulnerabilities

4.5 Scenario for implementing network device hardening.

• Changing default credentials

• Avoiding common passwords

• Upgrading firmware

• Patching and updates

• File hashing

• Disabling unnecessary services

• Using secure protocols

• Generating new keys

• Disabling unused ports

4.6 Explaining common mitigation techniques and their purposes.

• Signature management

• Device hardening

• Change native VLAN

• Switch port protection

• Network segmentation

• Privileged user account

• File integrity monitoring

• Role separation

• Restricting access via ACLs

• Honeypot/honeynet

• Penetration testing

Topic 5: Network Troubleshooting and Tools

5.1 Explaining the network troubleshooting methodology.

• Identifying the problem

• Establish a theory of probable cause

• Test the theory to determine the cause

• Establishing a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects

• Implement the solution or escalate as necessary

• Verifying full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures

• Document findings, actions, and outcomes

5.2 Given a scenario for using the appropriate tool.

• Hardware tools

• Software tools

5.3 Scenario for troubleshooting common wired connectivity and performance issues.

• Attenuation

• Latency

• Jitter

• Crosstalk

• EMI

• Open/short

• Incorrect pin-out

• Incorrect cable type

• Bad port

• Transceiver mismatch

• TX/RX reverse

• Duplex/speed mismatch

• Damaged cables

• Bent pins

• Bottlenecks

• VLAN mismatch

• Network connection LED status indicators

5.4 A scenario to troubleshoot common wireless connectivity and performance issues.

• Reflection

• Refraction

• Absorption

• Latency

• Jitter

• Attenuation

• Incorrect antenna type

• Interference

• Incorrect antenna placement

• Channel overlap

• Overcapacity

• Distance limitations

• Frequency mismatch

• Wrong SSID

• Wrong passphrase

• Security type mismatch

• Power levels

• Signal-to-noise ratio

5.5 Scenario for troubleshooting common network service issues.

• Names not resolving

• Incorrect gateway

• Incorrect netmask

• Duplicate IP addresses

• Duplicate MAC addresses

• Expired IP address

• Rogue DHCP server

• Untrusted SSL certificate

• Incorrect time

• Exhausted DHCP scope

• Blocked TCP/UDP ports

• Incorrect host-based firewall settings

• Incorrect ACL settings

• Unresponsive service

• Hardware failure