CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) Exam Prep

What's inside

1. Level 1: How the N10-009 Exam WorksFree
   [Exam orientation] Sets out what CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) measures: at most 90 questions in 90 minutes, a pass mark of 720 on a 100-900 scale, multiple-choice and performance-based questions, and five weighted domains, while making clear that this course is independent of CompTIA, uses only original practice questions and promises no pass.
2. Level 2: The OSI Model: Seven LayersFree
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves objective 1.1 by explaining the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model from first principles: Layer 1 Physical, Layer 2 Data link, Layer 3 Network, Layer 4 Transport, Layer 5 Session, Layer 6 Presentation and Layer 7 Application, with what each layer does to data as it is encapsulated and decapsulated.
3. Level 3: Appliances: Routers, Switches and Security
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves objective 1.2 (physical and virtual appliances) by comparing the router, switch, firewall, intrusion detection system (IDS)/intrusion prevention system (IPS), load balancer and proxy: what each does, the OSI layer it works at, and how a physical appliance differs from a virtual one.
4. Level 4: Storage, Wireless Appliances, CDN, VPN, QoS, TTL
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Completes objective 1.2 by comparing network-attached storage (NAS) with a storage area network (SAN), the wireless access point (AP) with the wireless controller, the content delivery network (CDN) as an application, and the functions virtual private network (VPN), quality of service (QoS) and time to live (TTL).
5. Level 5: Cloud Concepts and Connectivity Options
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves objective 1.3 in full: network functions virtualization (NFV), virtual private cloud (VPC), network security groups and network security lists, the internet gateway and network address translation (NAT) gateway, VPN and Direct Connect connectivity, the public, private and hybrid deployment models, the SaaS, IaaS and PaaS service models, and scalability, elasticity and multitenancy.
6. Level 6: Ports I: File Transfer, Remote Access, Web, Mail
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves the first half of objective 1.4's port table: File Transfer Protocol (FTP) 20/21, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) 22, Secure Shell (SSH) 22, Telnet 23, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) 25, Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) 69, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 80, Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) 443, Server Message Block (SMB) 445, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Secure (SMTPS) 587 and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 3389.
7. Level 7: Ports II: Infrastructure and Directory Services
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Completes objective 1.4's port table: Domain Name System (DNS) 53, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) 67/68, Network Time Protocol (NTP) 123, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 161/162, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) 389, Syslog 514, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol over SSL (LDAPS) 636, Structured Query Language (SQL) Server 1433 and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) 5060/5061.
8. Level 8: IP Protocol Types and Traffic Types
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Completes objective 1.4 with the Internet Protocol (IP) types, namely Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) and Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) with its Authentication Header (AH), Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) and Internet Key Exchange (IKE), and the traffic types unicast, multicast, anycast and broadcast.
9. Level 9: Transmission Media: Wireless and Wired
   [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves objective 1.5's media bullets: the wireless media (802.11 standards, cellular, satellite) and the wired media (802.3 standards, single-mode vs. multimode fiber, direct attach copper (DAC) cable and twinaxial cable, coaxial cable, cable speeds, and plenum vs. non-plenum cable).
10. Level 10: Transceivers and Connector Types
    [1.0 Networking Concepts] Completes objective 1.5 with transceivers, by protocol (Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC)) and form factor (small form-factor pluggable (SFP), quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP)), and the connector types subscriber connector (SC), local connector (LC), straight tip (ST), multi-fiber push on (MPO), registered jack (RJ)11, RJ45, F-type and Bayonet Neill–Concelman (BNC).
11. Level 11: Topologies, Architectures and Traffic Flows
    [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves objective 1.6 in full: mesh, hybrid, star/hub and spoke, spine and leaf and point to point topologies, the three-tier hierarchical model (core, distribution, access), collapsed core, and north-south versus east-west traffic flows.
12. Level 12: IPv4 Addresses: Classes, Public and Private
    [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves objective 1.7's addressing bullets: the structure of an IPv4 address and subnet mask in binary, the IPv4 address classes (Class A, B, C, D and E), and public vs. private addressing including RFC1918 ranges, Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) and loopback/localhost.
13. Level 13: Subnetting with CIDR and VLSM: Worked Examples
    [1.0 Networking Concepts] Completes objective 1.7 with subnetting: Classless Inter-domain Routing (CIDR) notation and Variable Length Subnet Mask (VLSM), worked step by step to find the network address, broadcast address, usable host range and host count, as a scenario demands.
14. Level 14: SDN, SD-WAN, VXLAN, Zero Trust and SASE/SSE
    [1.0 Networking Concepts] Serves the first half of objective 1.8: software-defined network (SDN) and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) with application aware, zero-touch provisioning, transport agnostic and central policy management; Virtual Extensible Local Area Network (VXLAN) with data center interconnect (DCI) and Layer 2 encapsulation; zero trust architecture (ZTA) with policy-based authentication, authorization and least privilege access; and Secure Access Secure Edge (SASE)/Security Service Edge (SSE).
15. Level 15: Infrastructure as Code and IPv6 Addressing
    [1.0 Networking Concepts] Completes objective 1.8: infrastructure as code (IaC) through automation (playbooks/templates/reusable tasks, configuration drift/compliance, upgrades, dynamic inventories) and source control (version control, central repository, conflict identification, branching), and IPv6 addressing for mitigating address exhaustion with the compatibility requirements tunneling, dual stack and NAT64.
16. Level 16: Static and Dynamic Routing: BGP, EIGRP, OSPF
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Opens objective 2.1 by explaining how a router builds its routing table through static routing and dynamic routing, and by contrasting Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF).
17. Level 17: Route Selection: AD, Prefix Length and Metric
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Continues objective 2.1 with route selection: how a router chooses one path when several match, using prefix length (longest match), administrative distance and metric.
18. Level 18: NAT, PAT, FHRP, Virtual IP and Subinterfaces
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Completes objective 2.1 with address translation, namely network address translation (NAT) and port address translation (PAT), plus First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP), virtual IP (VIP) and subinterfaces.
19. Level 19: VLANs, the VLAN Database and SVIs
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Opens objective 2.2 with the Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN): how a switch forwards frames by MAC address, how a VLAN splits one switch into separate broadcast domains, what the VLAN database holds, and how a Switch Virtual Interface (SVI) gives a VLAN a Layer 3 address for management and inter-VLAN routing.
20. Level 20: 802.1Q Tagging, Native VLAN and Voice VLAN
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Continues objective 2.2's interface configuration with 802.1Q tagging on trunk links, the native VLAN and the voice VLAN, showing how frames from many VLANs share one link and how a phone and a PC share one switch port.
21. Level 21: Spanning Tree, MTU and Jumbo Frames
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.2: how spanning tree stops switching loops by blocking redundant links, and how the maximum transmission unit (MTU) and jumbo frames must match along a path.
22. Level 22: Wireless Channels, Width and Frequency Bands
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.3: selecting channels, channel width and non-overlapping channels across the 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz frequency options, including regulatory impacts (802.11h) and band steering.
23. Level 23: SSID, BSSID, ESSID and Wireless Network Types
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.3: how the service set identifier (SSID), basic service set identifier (BSSID) and extended service set identifier (ESSID) name a wireless network, and how mesh, ad hoc, point to point and infrastructure network types differ.
24. Level 24: WPA2, WPA3, PSK vs. Enterprise and Guest Networks
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.3: choosing wireless encryption with Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) or WPA3, authentication by pre-shared key (PSK) vs. Enterprise, and building guest networks with captive portals.
25. Level 25: Antennas and Autonomous vs. Lightweight APs
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.3: selecting omnidirectional vs. directional antennas for coverage, and choosing between an autonomous and a lightweight access point managed by a controller.
26. Level 26: MDF, IDF, Racks and Cabling Installations
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.4: the important installation implications of locations (main distribution frame (MDF), intermediate distribution frame (IDF)), rack size, port-side exhaust/intake, patch panel and fiber distribution panel cabling, and lockable enclosures.
27. Level 27: Power and Environmental Factors
    [2.0 Network Implementation] Objective 2.4: planning power with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a power distribution unit (PDU), power load and voltage, and controlling the environmental factors of humidity, fire suppression and temperature.
28. Level 28: Network Diagrams: Physical, Logical and Layers 1-3
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.1: the purpose of documentation, covering physical vs. logical diagrams, rack diagrams, cable maps and diagrams, and Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3 network diagrams.
29. Level 29: Asset Inventory, IPAM, SLAs and Wireless Surveys
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.1: documentation that records what the organization owns and has promised, covering asset inventory (hardware, software, licensing, warranty support), IP address management (IPAM), the service-level agreement (SLA) and the wireless survey/heat map.
30. Level 30: Life Cycle, Change and Configuration Management
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.1: life-cycle management (end-of-life (EOL), end-of-support (EOS), software management of patches and bug fixes, operating system (OS) and firmware, decommissioning), change management with request process tracking/service request, and configuration management of production, backup and baseline/golden configurations.
31. Level 31: SNMP: Traps, MIBs, v2c and v3
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.2: monitoring with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), covering traps, the management information base (MIB), versions v2c and v3, community strings and authentication.
32. Level 32: Flow Data, Packet Capture, Logs and API Integration
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.2: the monitoring methods of flow data, packet capture, port mirroring, log aggregation with a syslog collector and security information and event management (SIEM), and application programming interface (API) integration.
33. Level 33: Baselines, Alerting and Monitoring Solutions
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.2: using baseline metrics with anomaly alerting/notification, and the monitoring solutions of network discovery (ad hoc and scheduled), traffic analysis, performance monitoring, availability monitoring and configuration monitoring.
34. Level 34: Disaster Recovery: Metrics, Sites, HA and Testing
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.3: disaster recovery (DR) concepts, covering the metrics recovery point objective (RPO), recovery time objective (RTO), mean time to repair (MTTR) and mean time between failures (MTBF); cold, warm and hot DR sites; active-active vs. active-passive high availability; and tabletop exercises and validation tests.
35. Level 35: DHCP Scopes, Options, Relay and SLAAC
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.4: dynamic addressing with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) reservations, scope, lease time, options, relay/IP helper and exclusions, and IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC).
36. Level 36: DNS Records, Zones and Resolution
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.4: name resolution with the Domain Name System (DNS), covering record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, PTR), forward and reverse zone types, authoritative vs. non-authoritative answers, primary vs. secondary servers and recursive queries.
37. Level 37: Securing DNS, the Hosts File and Time Protocols
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.4: Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), DNS over HTTPS (DoH), DNS over TLS (DoT), the hosts file, and the time protocols Network Time Protocol (NTP), Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and Network Time Security (NTS).
38. Level 38: VPNs, Connection Methods and Out-of-Band Access
    [3.0 Network Operations] Objective 3.5: network access and management methods, covering site-to-site and client-to-site virtual private networks (VPN) including clientless, split tunnel vs. full tunnel; the connection methods Secure Shell (SSH), graphical user interface (GUI), API and console; the jump box/host; and in-band vs. out-of-band management.
39. Level 39: Security Terminology, Encryption and Certificates
    [4.0 Network Security] Objective 4.1: common security terminology (risk, vulnerability, exploit, threat, and the confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) triad) and logical security through encryption of data in transit and data at rest and certificates from a public key infrastructure (PKI) or self-signed.
40. Level 40: Identity and Access Management (IAM)
    [4.0 Network Security] Objective 4.1: identity and access management (IAM), covering authentication, multifactor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS), LDAP, Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus (TACACS+), time-based authentication, authorization, least privilege, role-based access control and geofencing.
41. Level 41: Physical Security, Deception, Compliance, Segmentation
    [4.0 Network Security] Completes objective 4.1 by explaining physical security (cameras, locks), deception technologies (honeypot, honeynet), audits and regulatory compliance (data locality, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)), and network segmentation enforcement for Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), industrial control system (ICS), operational technology (OT), guest and bring your own device (BYOD) networks.
42. Level 42: Layer 2 Attacks: VLAN Hopping, MAC Flooding, ARP
    [4.0 Network Security] Serves objective 4.2 by explaining from first principles how virtual local area network (VLAN) hopping, media access control (MAC) flooding, and Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) poisoning and ARP spoofing abuse normal switch behaviour, and what a technician sees on the switch and on hosts.
43. Level 43: DoS/DDoS, DNS Attacks, Rogue Devices, On-Path
    [4.0 Network Security] Serves objective 4.2 by covering denial-of-service (DoS) and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, Domain Name System (DNS) poisoning and DNS spoofing, rogue devices and services (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server and access point (AP)), evil twin, and on-path attacks.
44. Level 44: Social Engineering and Malware
    [4.0 Network Security] Completes objective 4.2 by explaining the social engineering attacks the objectives list (phishing, dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, tailgating) and malware, with their impact on the network.
45. Level 45: Device Hardening, NAC and Key Management
    [4.0 Network Security] Serves objective 4.3 by applying device hardening (disable unused ports and services, change default passwords), network access control (NAC) through port security, 802.1X and MAC filtering, and key management.
46. Level 46: Security Rules and Zones
    [4.0 Network Security] Completes objective 4.3 by applying security rules (access control list (ACL), uniform resource locator (URL) filtering, content filtering) and zones (trusted vs. untrusted, screened subnet), including the rule-ordering reasoning used in performance-based questions.
47. Level 47: Methodology I: Identify the Problem, Establish a Theory
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.1 by teaching the first two steps of the troubleshooting methodology: identify the problem (gather information, question users, identify symptoms, determine if anything has changed, duplicate the problem if possible, approach multiple problems individually) and establish a theory of probable cause (question the obvious; top-to-bottom/bottom-to-top OSI model and divide and conquer approaches).
48. Level 48: Methodology II: Test, Plan, Implement, Verify, Document
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Completes objective 5.1 with the remaining steps: test the theory to determine the cause (confirm and determine next steps, or establish a new theory or escalate), establish a plan of action and identify potential effects, implement the solution or escalate as necessary, verify full system functionality and implement preventive measures, and document findings, actions, outcomes and lessons learned.
49. Level 49: Cable Issues: Incorrect Cable
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.2 by troubleshooting the incorrect-cable issues it lists: single-mode vs. multimode fiber, Category 5/6/7/8 copper, and shielded twisted pair (STP) vs. unshielded twisted pair (UTP), with likely causes and the next step for each symptom.
50. Level 50: Signal Degradation, Termination and TX/RX Faults
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.2 by troubleshooting signal degradation (crosstalk, interference, attenuation), improper termination, and transmitter (TX)/receiver (RX) transposed, giving the likely causes and next step for each.
51. Level 51: Interface Counters and Port Status
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.2 by reading interface issues: increasing interface counters (cyclic redundancy check (CRC), runts, giants, drops) and port status (error disabled, administratively down, suspended), using sample interface output.
52. Level 52: Hardware Issues: PoE and Transceivers
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Completes objective 5.2 with hardware issues: Power over Ethernet (PoE) problems (power budget exceeded, incorrect standard) and transceiver problems (mismatch, signal strength).
53. Level 53: Switching Issues: STP, VLAN Assignment and ACLs
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.3 by troubleshooting switching issues: Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) problems (network loops, root bridge selection, port roles, port states), incorrect VLAN assignment, and ACLs that block wanted traffic.
54. Level 54: Route Selection: Routing Tables and Default Routes
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.3 by troubleshooting route selection using the routing table and default routes to explain why traffic takes the wrong path or none at all.
55. Level 55: Addressing Faults: Pools, Gateways, IPs and Masks
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Completes objective 5.3 with address pool exhaustion, incorrect default gateway, incorrect IP address, duplicate IP address and incorrect subnet mask, each with likely causes and the next step.
56. Level 56: Performance: Congestion, Latency, Loss and Jitter
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.4 by troubleshooting congestion/contention, bottlenecking, bandwidth (throughput capacity), latency, packet loss and jitter, defining each from first principles and tying each to what users report.
57. Level 57: Wireless Performance Issues
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Completes objective 5.4 with wireless issues: interference (channel overlap), signal degradation or loss, insufficient wireless coverage, client disassociation issues and roaming misconfiguration.
58. Level 58: Commands I: ping, traceroute, ipconfig/ip and arp
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.5 by using and reading sample output from the command-line tools ping, traceroute/tracert, ip/ifconfig/ipconfig and arp.
59. Level 59: Commands II: nslookup, dig, netstat, tcpdump, Analyzers
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.5 by using and reading sample output from nslookup, dig, netstat and tcpdump, and by explaining what a protocol analyzer shows.
60. Level 60: Nmap, LLDP/CDP, Speed Testers and Hardware Tools
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.5 by selecting the remaining software tools (Nmap, Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)/Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), speed tester) and the hardware tools (toner, cable tester, taps, Wi-Fi analyzer, visual fault locator) for a given fault.
61. Level 61: Basic Networking Device Commands: Reading show Output
    [5.0 Network Troubleshooting] Serves objective 5.5 (basic networking device commands): you learn what a technician types on a switch or router and how to read sample output from show mac-address-table, show route, show interface, show config, show arp, show vlan and show power to pin a symptom on a cause and choose the next step.
62. Level 62: Exam Craft: Performance-Based Questions and Pacing
    [Exam craft, all five domains 1.0-5.0] You learn what performance-based questions are and practise the reasoning they demand on original practice scenarios (subnetting, configuration and troubleshooting), plus a time plan for at most 90 questions in 90 minutes; this is independent practice, not real exam questions, and it does not guarantee a pass.
63. Level 63: Acronym Review: RFID, UTM and WPS
    [Acronym list] Reviews the three acronyms on CompTIA's N10-009 acronym list that no earlier level spells out, so the learner recognises each one in a question.
64. Level 64: Timed Mock Exam: 90 Questions in 90 Minutes Timed mock
    [All domains 1.0-5.0] The timed mock exam of 90 original practice questions in 90 minutes with an 80% pass mark tests every N10-009 objective in the exam's domain proportions (Networking Concepts 23%, Network Implementation 20%, Network Operations 19%, Network Security 14%, Network Troubleshooting 24%); it is independent of CompTIA, contains no real exam questions, and does not guarantee a pass.

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