Back to certifications
CompTIA certification
CompTIA Network+
The premier certification for validating essential networking skills.CompTIA Network+ is the premier certification for validating your knowledge of essential networking tools and concepts. You will be assessed on your abilities in network connectivity, documentation, service configuration, data centers, cloud, virtual networking, monitoring, troubleshooting, and security hardening. This certification prepares you for jobs in technical support, network operation, and system administration.
Exam version: V9
Target roleNetwork administrator
Skills you'll
learn
Deploy wired and wireless devices, covering IP addressing, ports, protocols, and network architecture for network deployment.
Understand documentation, life-cycle, change, and configuration management processes and procedures.
Grasp virtualization, cloud service models, elasticity, and scalability to apply cloud concepts.
Monitor networks for high availability and resolve connectivity issues to maintain network performance.
Establish secure networks and mitigate vulnerabilities to strengthen security.
Diagnose and resolve network issues using appropriate tools for effective troubleshooting.
Exam
details
Exam versionV9
Exam series codeN10-009
Launch dateJune 20, 2024
Number of questionsMaximum of 90 questions
Types of questionsMultiple-choice and performance-based
Duration90 minutes
Passing score720 (on a scale of 100–900)
LanguagesEnglish, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish
Recommended experienceCompTIA A+ certification, with 9 to 12 months of hands-on experience in a junior network administrator or network support technician role
RetirementUsually three years after launch (estimated 2027)
DoD 8140 approved work rolesTechnical support specialist, network operations specialist, and system administrator (NICE and DoD 8140)
Exam
objectives
1
Networking concepts
23%- OSI model layers: physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, application.
- Networking appliances: routers, switches, firewalls, IDS/IPS, load balancers, proxies, NAS, SAN, and wireless devices.
- Cloud concepts: NFV, VPC, network security groups, cloud gateways, deployment models (public, private, hybrid), service models (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS).
- Ports and protocols: FTP, SFTP, SSH, Telnet, SMTP, DNS, DHCP, HTTP, HTTPS, SNMP, LDAP, RDP, SIP.
- Traffic types: unicast, multicast, anycast, broadcast.
- Transmission media: wireless (802.11, cellular, satellite), wired (fiber, coaxial, DAC).
- Transceivers and connectors: SC, LC, ST, MPO, RJ11, RJ45, F-type, BNC.
- Network topologies: mesh, hybrid, star/hub and spoke, spine and leaf, point-to-point, three-tier, and collapsed core.
- IPv4 addressing: public vs. private, APIPA, RFC1918, loopback, subnetting (VLSM, CIDR), and address classes (A, B, C, D, E).
2
Network implementation
20%- Routing technologies: static and dynamic routing (BGP, EIGRP, OSPF), route selection, NAT, PAT, FHRP, VIP, and subinterfaces.
- Switching technologies: VLANs, interface configuration, spanning tree, MTU, and jumbo frames.
- Wireless devices: channels, frequency options, SSID, network types, encryption, guest networks, authentication, antennas, and access points.
- Physical installations: installation implications, power considerations, and environmental factors.
3
Network operations
19%- Documentation: physical vs. logical diagrams, rack diagrams, cable maps, network diagrams, asset inventory, IPAM, SLA, and wireless surveys.
- Life-cycle management: EOL, EOS, software management, and decommissioning.
- Change management: request process tracking.
- Configuration management: production, backup, baseline configurations.
- Network monitoring: SNMP, flow data, packet capture, baseline metrics, log aggregation, API integration, and port mirroring.
- Disaster recovery: RPO, RTO, MTTR, MTBF, cold/warm/hot sites, active-active/passive, and testing.
- Network services: DHCP, SLAAC, DNS, NTP, PTP, and NTS.
- Access and management: VPNs, SSH, GUI, API, and console.
4
Network security
14%- Logical security: encryption (data in transit/rest), PKI, IAM, MFA, SSO, RADIUS, LDAP, SAML, TACACS+, time-based authentication, authorization, least privilege, role-based access control, and geofencing.
- Physical security: cameras and locks.
- Deception technologies: honeypot and honeynet.
- Security terminology: risk, vulnerability, exploit, threat, and CIA triad.
- Audits and compliance: data locality, PCI DSS, and GDPR.
- Network segmentation: IoT, IIoT, SCADA, ICS, OT, guest, and BYOD.
- Types of attacks: DoS/DDoS, VLAN hopping, MAC flooding, ARP poisoning/spoofing, DNS poisoning/spoofing, rogue devices/services, evil twin, on-path attack, and social engineering (phishing, dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, tailgating).
- Security features and defense: device hardening, NAC, key management, ACL, URL/content filtering, trusted vs. untrusted zones, and screened subnet.
5
Network troubleshooting
24%- Troubleshooting methodology: identifying the problem, establishing a theory, testing, planning, and implementing a solution, verifying functionality, and documenting findings.
- Cabling and physical interface issues: cable issues (incorrect type, signal degradation, improper termination, TX/RX transposed), interface issues (increasing counters, port status), and hardware issues (PoE, transceiver mismatch, signal strength).
- Network services issues: switching issues (STP, VLAN assignment, ACLs), routing issues (routing table and default routes), address pool exhaustion, and incorrect gateway/IP/subnet mask.
- Performance issues: congestion, latency, packet loss, and wireless interference.
- Tools and protocols: protocol analyzers, command line tools, cable testers, and Wi-Fi analyzers.
Exam information is published by CompTIA and may change. Contact us for the current exam version and available sessions.
Take CompTIA Network+ at NEXERA Institute
Training and certification center in Sfax: professional courses, Certiport and VTest exams, and a coworking space.