CompTIA’s Network+ is the next exam you should consider after becoming A+ certified. The Network+ exam became available in 1999 or several years after A+ and has steadily grown in popularity after backing from Microsoft and Novell. To date, there are more than 75,000 Network+ certified professionals worldwide.

The Network+ exam tests your knowledge of networking protocols, topologies, media, the OSI model, TCP/IP, and other items listed in the objectives below.

This exam can be used as an elective for Novell's CNE and Microsoft’s MCSA certifications and should be considered since it may be easier to pass than these vendor's alternatives.

Like the real exams all our questions are multiple choice and are designed from the objectives set forth by CompTIA who writes the real questions and administers the program. Here is the CompTIA link where they list the objectives of the Network+ Certification Exam:

• Network+

Here is a summary of these objectives:

CompTIA Network+ Objectives

Topologies
Star, bus, mesh, ring, wireless

Protocols
TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk

802 Standards
802.2 (LLC), 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.5 (token ring), 802.6 (MAN), 802.10 (Security), 802.11b (wireless)

Ethernet
10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 10BASE2, 10BASE5, 100BASE-FX, Gigabit Ethernet

Media
Connectors: RJ-11, RJ-45, AUI, BNC, ST, SC Cabling: twisted pair, coaxial, fiber

Network components
Hubs, Switches, Bridges, Routers, Gateways, CSU/DSU, Network Interface Cards/ISDN adapters/system area network cards, Wireless access points, Modems

OSI model
Seven Layers: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Data Link, Physical OSI layers at which the following network components operate: Hubs, Switches, Bridges, Routers, Network Interface Cards

TCP/IP
IP, TCP, UDP, FTP, TFTP, SMTP, HTTP, HTTPS, POP3/IMAP4, TELNET, ICMP, ARP, NTP Ports: 21, 23, 25, 80, 110 Utilities: Tracert, Ping, Arp, Netstat, Nbtstat, Ipconfig/Ifconfig, Winipcfg, Nslookup

Network Services
DHCP, DNS, NAT/ICS, WINS, and SNMP

WANs
Packet switching vs. circuit switching ISDN, FDDI, ATM, Frame Relay, Sonet/SDH, T1/E1, T3/E3, OCx

Remote
RAS, PPP, PPTP, ICA

Security
IPsec, L2TP, SSL, Kerberos, authentication, firewalls, proxy server, encryption, public vs. private networks

Operating Systems
UNIX/Linux, Netware, Windows, Macintosh

RAID fault tolerance
0 (striping), 1 (mirroring), 5 (striped with parity)

Disaster Recovery
Troubleshoot a network failure which could include authentication failure, protocol configuration, insufficient rights/permissions, or physical connectivity and use of the following tools: wire crimper, media tester/certifier, punch down tool, tone generator, optical tester, protocol analyzer, cable tester, TDR, and Oscilloscope to check for bad media, interference, network hardware failure.

To begin our exams you should have a Netscape 4 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or above browser. You have a:

browser.

If scripting is enabled (the default security level of your browser), click START to begin the timer and SCORE to get your grade and the right answers.