Introduction

The CompTIA Network+ exam has become the leading introductory-level network certification available today. Network+ is recognized by both employers and industry giants such as Microsoft and Novell as providing candidates with a solid foundation of networking concepts, terminology, and skills. The Network+ exam covers a broad range of networking concepts to prepare candidates for the technologies they are likely to be working with in today’s network environments.

This book is your one-stop shop. Everything you need to know to pass the exam is in here. You do not have to take a class in addition to buying this book to pass the exam. However, depending on your personal study habits or learning style, you might benefit from buying this book and taking a class.

Exam Preps are meticulously crafted to give you the best possible learning experience for the particular characteristics of the technology covered and the actual certification exam. The instructional design implemented in the Exam Preps reflects the task- and experience-based nature of CompTIA certification exams. The Exam Preps provide the factual knowledge base you need for the exams but then take it to the next level, with exercises and exam questions that require you to engage in the analytic thinking needed to pass the Network+ exam.

CompTIA recommends that the typical candidate for this exam have a minimum of nine months of experience in network support and administration. In addition, CompTIA recommends that candidates have preexisting hardware knowledge such as CompTIA A+ certification.

How This Book Helps You

This book takes you on a self-guided tour of all the areas covered by the Network+ exam and teaches you the specific skills you need to achieve your certification. The book also contains helpful hints, tips, real-world examples, and exercises, as well as references to additional study materials.

Organization

This book is organized by individual exam objectives. Every objective you need to know for the Network+ exam is covered in this book. We present the objectives in an order as close as possible to that listed by CompTIA. However, we do not hesitate to reorganize them where needed to make the material as easy as possible for you to learn. We also make the information accessible in the following ways:

• The full list of exam objectives is included in this introduction.

• Each chapter begins with a list of the objectives to be covered.

• Each chapter also begins with an outline that provides an overview of the material and the page numbers where particular topics can be found.

• The objectives are repeated where the material most directly relevant to it is covered.

Instructional Features

This book provides multiple ways to learn and reinforce the exam material. Following are some of the helpful methods:

• Study and Exam Tips—Read this section early on to help you develop study and test-taking strategies. This section provides valuable exam-day tips and information on the exam.

• Objective explanations—As mentioned previously, each chapter begins with a list of the objectives covered in the chapter.

• Study strategies—The beginning of each chapter also includes strategies for studying and retention of the material in the chapter, particularly as it is addressed on the exam, but also in ways that will benefit you on the job.

• Exam Alerts—These provide specific exam-related advice. Such tips might address what material is covered (or not covered) on the exam, how it is covered, mnemonic devices, or particular quirks of that exam.

• Review breaks and summaries—Crucial information is summarized at various points in the book in lists or tables. Each chapter ends with a summary, as well.

• Key terms—A list of key terms appears at the end of each chapter.

• Notes—Notes contain various kinds of useful or practical information, such as tips on technology or administrative practices, historical background on terms and technologies, or side commentary on industry issues.

• Warnings—When using sophisticated information technology, the potential always exists for mistakes or even catastrophes to occur because of improper application of the technology. Warnings alert you to such potential problems.

• Sidebars—These relatively extensive discussions cover material that might not be directly relevant to the exam but that is useful as reference material or in everyday practice. In the Field sidebars also provide useful background or contextual information necessary for understanding the larger topic under consideration.

• Exercises—Found at the end of the chapters in the “Apply Your Knowledge” section and in the “Challenge Exercises” found throughout chapters, exercises are performance-based opportunities for you to learn and assess your knowledge.

Extensive Practice Test Options and Final Review

The book provides numerous opportunities for you to assess your knowledge and practice for the exam. The practice options include the following:

• Exam questions—These questions appear in the “Apply Your Knowledge” section. You can use them to help determine what you know and what you need to review or study further. Answers and explanations for these questions are provided in a separate section, titled “Answers to Exam Questions.”

• Practice exam—A practice exam is included in the “Final Review” section of the book. Questions on this practice exam are written in styles similar to those used on the actual exam. Use the practice exam to assess your readiness for the real thing. Use the extensive answer explanations to improve your retention and understanding of the material.

• Fast Facts—This condensed version of the information contained in the book is useful for last-minute review.

• MeasureUp—A CD-ROM from MeasureUp is included, and it offers even more practice questions for your study.

The book includes several other features, such as a “Suggested Readings and Resources” section at the end of most chapters that directs you to additional information that can aid you in your exam preparation and your real-life work. Valuable appendixes are provided as well, including a glossary and a description of what is on the CD-ROM (Appendix A).

For more information about the exam or the certification process, refer to the CompTIA website, at www.comptia.org/certification.

Network Hardware and Software Requirements

As a self-paced study guide, Network+ Exam Prep, Third Edition, is meant to help you understand concepts that must be refined through hands-on experience. To make the most of your studying, you need to have as much background and experience as possible with both common operating systems and network environments. The best way to do this is to combine studying with work on actual networks. These networks need not be complex; the concepts involved in configuring a network with only a few computers follow the same principles as those involved in configuring a network that has hundreds of connected systems. This section describes the recommended requirements you need to form a solid practice environment.

To fully practice some of the exam objectives, you need to create a network with two (or more) computers networked together. To do this, you need an operating system. CompTIA maintains that the exam is vendor neutral, and for the most part it appears to be. However, if there were a slight tilt in the exam questions, it would be toward Microsoft Windows. Therefore, you would do well to set up a small network using a Microsoft server platform such as Windows servers. In addition, you need clients with operating systems such as Windows Vista, Linux, and Mac. When you really get into it, you might want to install a Linux server as well because you are most certainly going to be working with it in the real world. The following is a detailed list of the hardware and software requirements needed to set up your network:

• A network operating system such as Windows Server or Linux

• Client operating system software such as Windows XP, Mac OS X, or Linux

• Modern PC offering up-to-date functionality including wireless support

• A minimum 1.5GB of free disk space

• A CD-ROM or DVD drive

• A network interface card (NIC) for each computer system

• Network cabling such as Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair

• A two-port (or more) miniport hub to create a test network

• Wireless devices

It’s easy to obtain access to the necessary computer hardware and software in a corporate business environment. It can be difficult, however, to allocate enough time within the busy workday to complete a self-study program. Most of your study time will occur after normal working hours, away from the everyday interruptions and pressures of your regular job.

Advice on Taking the Exam

More extensive tips are found in the “Study and Exam Preparation Tips” section, but keep this advice in mind as you study:

• Read all the material—CompTIA has been known to include material that is not expressly specified in the objectives. This book includes additional information that is not reflected in the objectives, in an effort to give you the best possible preparation for the examination—and for your real-world experiences to come.

• Complete the exercises in each chapter—They will help you gain experience in using the specified methodology or approach. CompTIA exams may require task- and experienced-based knowledge and require you to have an understanding of how certain network procedures are accomplished.

• Use the exam questions to assess your knowledge—Don’t just read the chapter content; use the exam questions to find out what you know and what you don’t know. If you are struggling, study some more, review, and then assess your knowledge again.

• Review the objectives—Develop your own questions and examples for each objective listed. If you can develop and answer several questions for each objective, you should not find it difficult to pass the exam.

Remember that the primary objective is not to pass the exam but to understand the material. When you understand the material, passing the exam should be simple. Knowledge is a pyramid; to build upward, you need a solid foundation. This book and the Network+ certification are designed to ensure that you have that solid foundation.

Good luck!