Introduction

If you’re like most of us in the networking community, you probably have one or more network certifications. If that’s you, you’re very wise in choosing a CompTIA Network+ (N10-007) certification to proudly add to your repertoire because that achievement will make you all the more valuable as an employee. In these challenging economic times, keeping ahead of the competition—even standing out among your present colleagues—could make a big difference in whether you gain a promotion or possibly keep your job instead of being the one who gets laid off! Or maybe this is your first attempt at certification because you’ve decided to venture into a new career in information technology (IT). You’ve realized that getting into the IT sector is a good way to go because as the information age marches on, the demand for knowledgeable professionals in this dynamic field will only intensify dramatically.

Either way, certification is one of the best things you can do for your career if you are working in, or want to break into, the networking profession because it proves that you know what you’re talking about regarding the subjects in which you’re certified. It also powerfully endorses you as a professional in a way that’s very similar to a physician being board certified in a certain area of expertise.

In this book, you’ll find out what the Network+ exam is all about because each chapter covers a part of the exam. I’ve included some great review questions at the end of each chapter to help crystallize the information you learned and solidly prepare you to ace the exam.

A really cool thing about working in IT is that it’s constantly evolving, so there are always new things to learn and fresh challenges to master. Once you obtain your Network+ certification and discover that you’re interested in taking it further by getting into more complex networking (and making more money), the Cisco CCNA certification is definitely your next step; you can get the skinny on that and even more in-depth certifications on my blog at www.lammle.com.

For Network+ training with Todd Lammle, both instructor-led and online, please see www.lammle.com/network+.

What Is the Network+ Certification?

Network+ is a certification developed by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) that exists to provide resources and education for the computer and technology community. This is the same body that developed the A+ exam for PC technicians.

The Network+ exam was designed to test the skills of network technicians with 18 to 24 months of experience in the field. It tests areas of networking technologies such as the definition of a protocol, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and its layers, and the concepts of network design and implementation—the minimum knowledge required for working on a network and some integral prerequisites for network design and implementation.

Why Become Network+ Certified?

Because CompTIA is a well-respected developer of vendor-neutral industry certifications, becoming Network+ certified proves you’re competent in the specific areas covered by the Network+ objectives.

Four major benefits are associated with becoming Network+ certified:

Proof of Professional Achievement Networking professionals are pretty competitive when it comes to collecting more certifications than their peers. And because the Network+ certification broadly covers the entire field of networking, technicians want this certification a lot more than just Microsoft certifications—Network+ is a lot more prestigious and valuable. Because it’s rare to gain something that’s worth a lot with little effort, I’ll be honest—preparing for the Network+ exam isn’t exactly a lazy day at the beach. (However, beaches do happen to be really high on my personal list of great places to study!) And people in IT know that it isn’t all that easy to pass the Network+ exam, so they’ll definitely respect you more and know that you’ve achieved a certain level of expertise about vendor-independent, networking-related subjects.

Opportunity for Advancement We all like to get ahead in our careers—advancement results in more responsibility and prestige, and it usually means a fatter paycheck, greater opportunities, and added options. In the IT sector, a great way to make sure all that good stuff happens is by earning a lot of technology certifications, including Network+.

Fulfillment of Training Requirements Network+, because of its wide-reaching industry support, is recognized as a baseline of networking information. Some companies actually specify the possession of a Network+ certification as a job requirement before they’ll even consider hiring you, or it may be specified as a goal to be met before your next review.

Customer Confidence As companies discover the CompTIA advantage, they will undoubtedly require qualified staff to achieve these certifications. Many companies outsource their work to consulting firms with experience working with security. Firms that have certified staff have a definite advantage over firms that don’t.

How to Become Network+ Certified

As this book goes to press, Pearson VUE is the sole Network+ exam provider. The following is the necessary contact information and exam-specific details for registering. Exam pricing might vary by country or by CompTIA membership.

Vendor Website Phone Number
Pearson VUE www.pearsonvue.com/comptia US and Canada: 877-551-PLUS (7587)

When you schedule the exam, you’ll receive instructions regarding appointment and cancellation procedures, ID requirements, and information about the testing center location. In addition, you’ll receive a registration and payment confirmation letter. Exams can be scheduled up to six weeks out or as soon as the next day (or, in some cases, even the same day).

Exam prices and codes may vary based on the country in which the exam is administered. For detailed pricing and exam registration procedures, refer to CompTIA’s website at www.comptia.org.

After you’ve successfully passed your Network+ exam, CompTIA will award you a certification. Within four to six weeks of passing the exam, you’ll receive your official CompTIA Network+ certificate and ID card. (If you don’t receive these within eight weeks of taking the test, contact CompTIA directly using the information found in your registration packet.)

Tips for Taking the Network+ Exam

Here are some general tips for taking your exam successfully:

  • Bring two forms of ID with you. One must be a photo ID, such as a driver’s license. The other can be a major credit card or a passport. Both forms must include a signature.
  • Arrive early at the exam center so you can relax and review your study materials, particularly tables and lists of exam-related information. After you are ready to enter the testing room, you will need to leave everything outside; you won’t be able to bring any materials into the testing area.
  • Read the questions carefully. Don’t be tempted to jump to an early conclusion. Make sure you know exactly what each question is asking.
  • Don’t leave any unanswered questions. Unanswered questions are scored against you. There will be questions with multiple correct responses. When there is more than one correct answer, a message at the bottom of the screen will prompt you to either “choose two” or “choose all that apply.” Be sure to read the messages displayed to know how many correct answers you must choose.
  • When answering multiple-choice questions you’re not sure about, use a process of elimination to get rid of the obviously incorrect answers first. Doing so will improve your odds if you need to make an educated guess.
  • On form-based tests (nonadaptive), because the hard questions will take the most time, save them for last. You can move forward and backward through the exam.

Who Should Read This Book?

You—if want to pass the Network+ exam, and pass it confidently! This book is chock-full of the exact information you need and directly maps to Network+ exam objectives, so if you use it to study for the exam, your odds of passing shoot way up.

And in addition to including every bit of knowledge you need to learn to pass the exam, I’ve included some really great tips and solid wisdom to equip you even further to successfully work in the real IT world.

What Does This Book Cover?

This book covers everything you need to know to pass the CompTIA Network+ exam. But in addition to studying the book, it’s a good idea to practice on an actual network if you can.

Here’s a list of the 20 chapters in this book:

Chapter 1, “Introduction to Networks” This chapter includes an introduction to what a network is and an overview of the most common physical network topologies you’ll find in today’s networks.

Chapter 2, “The Open Systems Interconnection Specifications” This chapter covers the OSI model, what it is, what happens at each of its layers, and how each layer works.

Chapter 3, “Networking Topologies, Connectors, and Wiring Standards” This chapter covers the various networking media and topologies, plus the cable types and properties used in today’s networks.

Chapter 4, “The Current Ethernet Specifications” This chapter covers how a basic Ethernet LAN works and describes and categorizes the different Ethernet specifications.

Chapter 5, “Networking Devices” It’s important for you to understand all the various devices used in today’s networks, and this chapter will describe how hubs, routers, and switches and some other devices work within a network.

Chapter 6, “Introduction to the Internet Protocol” This is your introduction to the all-important IP protocol stack.

Chapter 7, “IP Addressing” This chapter will take up from where Chapter 6 left off and move into IP addressing. It also contains information about public versus private addressing and DHCP.

Chapter 8, “IP Subnetting, Troubleshooting IP, and Introduction to NAT” Beginning where Chapter 7 ends, we’ll be tackling IP subnetting in this one. But no worries here—I’ve worked hard to make this not-so-popular-yet-vital topic as painless as possible.

Chapter 9, “Introduction to IP Routing” This is an introduction to routing that basically covers what routers do and how they do it. This chapter, along with Chapter 10 and Chapter 11, cover routing and switching in much more detail than what is necessary to meet the CompTIA Network+ objectives because this knowledge is so critical to grasp when working with today’s networks.

Chapter 10, “Routing Protocols” This chapter goes into detail describing the protocols that run on routers and that update routing tables to create a working map of the network.

Chapter 11, “Switching and Virtual LANs” This chapter covers Layer 2 switching, the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), and virtual LANs. I went deeper than needed for the exam with the routing chapters, and I’ll cover switching and virtual LANs (which are also vital in today’s corporate networks) more thoroughly as well.

Chapter 12, “Wireless Networking” Because wireless is so important for both home and business networks today, this chapter is loaded with all the information you need to be successful at wireless networking at home and work.

Chapter 13, “Authentication and Access Control” This is the first of three security chapters. There are tons of exam objectives about network security that are so important that I took three chapters to cover all of them. In this chapter, I’ll introduce security, security filtering, tunneling, and user authentication.

Chapter 14, “Network Threats and Mitigation” This is probably the most fun of the three security chapters because I’ll tell you all about security threats and how to stop them. The only way to get good at network security is to implement it, and this chapter shows you how.

Chapter 15, “Physical Security and Risk” This chapter’s focus is on explaining basic firewalls, security devices, and device security.

Chapter 16, “Wide Area Networks” In this chapter, you get to learn all about things like Frame Relay, E1/T1, DSL, cable modems, and more. All of the CompTIA Network+ WAN objectives are covered in this chapter.

Chapter 17, “Troubleshooting Tools” This is also a fun chapter because, again, you can follow along and run all the commands yourself. And I repeat, it’s a really good idea to run through all the commands in this chapter!

Chapter 18, “Software and Hardware Tools” This chapter introduces you to the network tools you will use to help you run your networks. Both software and hardware tools will be discussed.

Chapter 19, “Network Troubleshooting” In almost every chapter, I discuss how to verify and fix problems, but this chapter will really get into the nuts and bolts of detailed network troubleshooting and documentation.

Chapter 20, “Management, Monitoring, and Optimization” This last chapter will provide configuration-management documentation and covers wiring, logical diagrams, baselines, policies, and regulations.

What’s Included in the Book

I’ve included several study tools throughout the book:

Assessment Test At the end of this introduction is an assessment test that you can use to check your readiness for the exam. Take this test before you start reading the book; it will help you determine the areas you might need to brush up on. The answers to the assessment test questions appear on a separate page after the last question of the test. Each answer includes an explanation and a note telling you the chapter in which the material appears.

Objective Map and Opening List of Objectives On the inside front cover of this book is a detailed exam objective map showing you where each of the exam objectives is covered in this book. In addition, each chapter opens with a list of the exam objectives it covers. Use these to see exactly where each of the exam topics is covered.

Exam Essentials Each chapter, just after the summary, includes a number of exam essentials. These are the key topics you should take from the chapter in terms of areas to focus on when preparing for the exam.

Written Lab Each chapter includes a written lab. These are short exercises that map to the exam objectives. Answers to these can be found in Appendix A.

Chapter Review Questions To test your knowledge as you progress through the book, there are review questions at the end of each chapter. As you finish each chapter, answer the review questions and then check your answers—the correct answers and explanations are in Appendix B. You can go back to reread the section that deals with each question you got wrong to ensure that you answer correctly the next time you’re tested on the material.

Interactive Online Learning Environment and Test Bank

The interactive online learning environment that accompanies CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-007 provides a test bank with study tools to help you prepare for the certification exam—and increase your chances of passing it the first time! The test bank includes the following tools:

Sample Tests All of the questions in this book are provided, including the assessment test, which you’ll find at the end of this introduction, and the chapter tests that include the review questions at the end of each chapter. In addition, there are two practice exams. Use these questions to test your knowledge of the study guide material. The online test bank runs on multiple devices.

Flashcards Approximately 100 questions are provided in digital flashcard format (a question followed by a single correct answer). You can use the flashcards to reinforce your learning and provide last-minute test prep before the exam.

Other Study Tools A glossary of key terms from this book and their definitions are available as a fully searchable PDF.

Go to http://www.wiley.com/go/netplustestprep to register and gain access to this interactive online learning environment and test bank with study tools.

How to Use This Book

If you want a solid foundation for the serious effort of preparing for the Network+ exam, then look no further because I’ve spent countless hours putting together this book with the sole intention of helping you pass it!

This book is loaded with valuable information, and you will get the most out of your study time if you understand how I put the book together. Here’s a list that describes how to approach studying:

  1. Take the assessment test immediately following this introduction. (The answers are at the end of the test, but no peeking!) It’s okay if you don’t know any of the answers—that’s what this book is for. Carefully read over the explanations for any question you get wrong, and make note of the chapters where that material is covered.
  2. Study each chapter carefully, making sure you fully understand the information and the exam objectives listed at the beginning of each one. Again, pay extra-close attention to any chapter that includes material covered in questions you missed on the assessment test.
  3. Complete the written lab at the end of each chapter. Do not skip these written exercises because they directly map to the CompTIA objectives and what you’ve got to have nailed down to meet them.
  4. Answer all the review questions related to each chapter. Specifically note any questions that confuse you, and study the corresponding sections of the book again. And don’t just skim these questions—make sure you understand each answer completely.
  5. Try your hand at the practice exams. Before you take your test, be sure to visit my website for questions, videos, audios, and other useful information.
  6. Test yourself using all the electronic flashcards. This is a brand-new and updated flashcard program to help you prepare for the latest CompTIA Network+ exam, and it is a really great study tool.

I tell you no lies—learning every bit of the material in this book is going to require applying yourself with a good measure of discipline. So try to set aside the same time period every day to study, and select a comfortable and quiet place to do so. If you work hard, you will be surprised at how quickly you learn this material.

If you follow the steps listed here and study with the review questions, practice exams, electronic flashcards, and all the written labs, you would almost have to try to fail the CompTIA Network+ exam. However, studying for the Network+ exam is like training for a marathon—if you don’t go for a good run every day, you’re not likely to finish very well.

This book covers everything about CompTIA Network+. For up-to-date information about Todd Lammle CompTIA boot camps, audio training, and training videos, please see www.lammle.com/network+.

Exam Objectives

Speaking of objectives, you’re probably pretty curious about those, right? CompTIA asked groups of IT professionals to fill out a survey rating the skills they felt were important in their jobs, and the results were grouped into objectives for the exam and divided into five domains.

This table gives you the extent by percentage that each domain is represented on the actual examination.

Domain % of Examination
1.0 Networking Concepts 23%
2.0 Infrastructure 18%
3.0 Network Operations 17%
4.0 Network Security 20%
5.0 Network Troubleshooting and Tools 22%
Total 100%

N10-007 Exam Objectives

Objective Chapter
1.0 Networking Concepts  
1.1 Explain the purposes and uses of ports and protocols. 5, 6, 13
Protocols and ports 6
 SSH 22 6, 13
 DNS 53 5, 6
 SMTP 25 6
 SFTP 22 6
 FTP 20, 21 6
 TFTP 69 6
 TELNET 23 6
 DHCP 67, 68 5, 6
 HTTP 80 6
 HTTPS 443 6
 SNMP 161 6
 RDP 3389 6, 13
 NTP 123 6
 SIP 5060, 5061 6
 SMB 445 6
 POP 110 6
 IMAP 143 6
 LDAP 389 6
 LDAPS 636 6
 H.323 1720 6
Protocol types 6
 ICMP 6
 UDP 6
 TCP 6
 IP 6
Connection-oriented vs. connectionless 6
1.2 Explain devices, applications, protocols, and services at their appropriate OSI layers. 2, 5, 6
Layer 1 – Physical 2, 5, 6
Layer 2 – Data link 2, 5, 6
Layer 3 – Network 2, 5, 6
Layer 4 – Transport 2, 5, 6
Layer 5 – Session 2, 5, 6
Layer 6 – Presentation 2, 5, 6
Layer 7 – Application 2, 5, 6
1.3 Explain the concepts and characteristics of routing and switching. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20
Properties of network traffic 4, 5, 7, 11, 12
 Broadcast domains 4, 5, 7, 11
 CSMA/CD 4, 5
 CSMA/CA 5, 12
 Collision domains 4, 5, 11
 Protocol data units 6
 MTU 4
 Broadcast 5, 6, 7
 Multicast 5, 6, 7
 Unicast 5, 6, 7
Segmentation and interface properties 11, 15
 VLANs 11, 15
 Trunking (802.1q) 11
 Tagging and untagging ports 11
 Port mirroring 11
 Switching loops/spanning tree 11
 PoE and PoE+ (802.3af, 802.3at) 11
 DMZ 15
MAC address table 11
ARP table 4
Routing 9, 10
 Routing protocols (IPv4 and IPv6) 9, 10
 Distance-vector routing protocols 9, 10
 RIP 9, 10
 EIGRP 9, 10
 Link-state routing protocols 9, 10
 OSPF 9, 10
 Hybrid 9, 10
 BGP 9, 10
Routing types 9
 Static 9
 Dynamic 9
 Default 9
IPv6 concepts 10
 Addressing 7
 Tunneling 10
Dual stack 10
Router advertisement 10
Neighbor discovery 10
Performance concepts 5
 Traffic shaping 5
 QoS 20
 Diffserv 20
 CoS 20
NAT/PAT 8
Port forwarding 8
Access control list 13, 15
Distributed switching 11
Packet-switched vs. circuit-switched network 16
Software-defined networking 20
1.4 Given a scenario, configure the appropriate IP addressing components. 7, 8, 20
Private vs. public 7
Loopback and reserved 7
Default gateway 7
Virtual IP 7, 20
Subnet mask 7
Subnetting 8
 Default gateway 8
 Classful 7, 8
 Classes A, B, C, D, and E 7, 8
 Classless 8
 VLSM 8
 CIDR notation (IPv4 vs. IPv6) 8
Address assignments 7
 DHCP 7
 DHCPv6 7
 Static 7
 APIPA 7
 EUI64 7
 IP reservations 5
1.5 Compare and contrast the characteristics of network topologies, types, and technologies. 1, 12, 16
Wired topologies 1
 Logical vs. physical 1
 Star 1
 Ring 1
 Mesh 1
 Bus 1
Wireless topologies 12
 Mesh 12
 Ad hoc 12
 Infrastructure 12
Types 12, 16
 LAN 16
 WLAN 12
 MAN 16
 WAN 16
 CAN 1
 SAN 1
 PAN 12
Technologies that facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT) 12
 Z-Wave 12
 Ant+ 12
 Bluetooth 12
 NFC 12
 IR 12
 RFID 12
802.11 12
1.6 Given a scenario, implement the appropriate wireless technologies and configurations. 12
802.11 standards 12
 a 12
 b 12
 g 12
 n 12
 ac 12
Cellular 12
 GSM 12
 TDMA 12
 CDMA 12
Frequencies 12
 2.4 GHz 12
 5.0 GHz 12
Speed and distance requirements 12
Channel bandwidth 12
Channel bonding 12
MIMO/MU-MIMO 12
Unidirectional/omnidirectional 12
Site surveys 12
1.7 Summarize cloud concepts and their purposes. 20
Types of services 20
 SaaS 20
 PaaS 20
 IaaS 20
Cloud delivery models 20
 Private 20
 Public 20
 Hybrid 20
Connectivity methods 20
Security implications/considerations 20
Relationship between local and cloud resources 20
1.8 Explain the functions of network services. 5
DNS service 5
 Record types 5
 A, AAA 5
 TXT (SPF, DKIM) 5
 SRV 5
 MX 5
 CNAME 5
 NS 5
 PTR 5
 Internal vs. external DNS 5
 Third-party/cloud-hosted DNS 5
 Hierarchy 5
 Forward vs. reverse zone 5
DHCP service 5
 MAC reservations 5
 Pools 5
 IP exclusions 5
 Scope options 5
 Lease time 5
 TTL 5
 DHCP relay/IP helper 5
NTP 6
IPAM 5
2.0 Infrastructure  
2.1 Given a scenario, deploy the appropriate cabling solution. 3, 4
Media types 3
 Copper 3
 UTP 3
 STP 3
 Coaxial 3
 Fiber 3
 Single-mode 3
 Multimode 3
Plenum vs. PVC 3
Connector types 3
 Copper 3
 RJ-45 3
 RJ-11 3
 BNC 3
 DB-9 3
 DB-25 3
 F-type 3
Fiber 3
 LC 3
 ST 3
 SC 3
 APC 3
 UPC 3
 MTRJ 3
Transceivers 3
 SFP 3
 GBIC 3
 SFP+ 3
 QSFP 3
Characteristics of fiber transceivers 3
 Bidirectional 3
 Duplex 3
Termination points 3
 66 block 3
 110 block 3
 Patch panel 3
 Fiber distribution panel 3
Copper cable standards 3
 Cat 3 3
 Cat 5 3
 Cat 5e 3
 Cat 6 3
 Cat 6a 3
 Cat 7 3
 RG-6 3
 RG-59 3
Copper termination standards 3
 TIA/EIA 568a 3
 TIA/EIA 568b 3
 Crossover 3
 Straight-through 3
Ethernet deployment standards 4
 100BaseT 4
 1000BaseT 4
 1000BaseLX 4
 1000BaseSX 4
 10GBaseT 4
2.2 Given a scenario, determine the appropriate placement of networking devices on a network and install/configure them. 5, 10, 11, 12, 15
Firewall 15
Router 10
Switch 11
Hub 5
Bridge 11
Modems 5
Wireless access point 12
Media converter 5
Wireless range extender 5
VoIP endpoint 5
2.3 Explain the purposes and use cases for advanced networking devices. 5, 12, 13, 15
Multilayer switch 5
Wireless controller 12
Load balancer 5
IDS/IPS 5
Proxy server 5
VPN concentrator 5
AAA/RADIUS server 13
UTM appliance 15
NGFW/Layer 7 firewall 5, 15
VoIP PBX 5
VoIP gateway 5
Content filter 5
2.4 Explain the purposes of virtualization and network storage technologies. 20
Virtual networking components 20
 Virtual switch 20
 Virtual firewall 20
 Virtual NIC 20
 Virtual router 20
 Hypervisor 20
Network storage types 20
 NAS 20
 SAN 20
Connection type 20
 FCoE 20
 Fibre Channel 20
 iSCSI 20
 InfiniBand 20
Jumbo frame 20
2.5 Compare and contrast WAN technologies. 16
Service type 16
 ISDN 16
 T1/T3 16
 E1/E3 16
 OC-3 – OC-192 16
 DSL 16
 Metropolitan Ethernet 16
 Cable broadband 16
 Dial-up 16
 PRI 16
Transmission mediums 16
 Satellite 16
 Copper 16
 Fiber 16
 Wireless 16
Characteristics of service 16
 MPLS 16
 ATM 16
 Frame relay 16
 PPPoE 16
 PPP 16
 DMVPN 16
 SIP trunk 16
Termination 16
 Demarcation point 16
 CSU/DSU 16
 Smart jack 16
3.0 Network Operations  
3.1 Given a scenario, use appropriate documentation and diagrams to manage the network. 18, 20
Diagram symbols 20
Standard operating procedures/work instructions 20
Logical vs. physical diagrams 20
Rack diagrams 20
Change management documentation 20
Wiring and port locations 20
IDF/MDF documentation 20
Labeling 20
Network configuration and performance baselines 18, 20
Inventory management 20
3.2 Compare and contrast business continuity and disaster recovery concepts. 11, 15, 19, 20
Availability concepts 20
 Fault tolerance 20
 High availability 20
 Load balancing 20
 NIC teaming 19
 Port aggregation 11
 Clustering 20
Power management 15
 Battery backups/UPS 15
 Power generators 15
 Dual power supplies 15
 Redundant circuits 15
Recovery 15
 Cold sites 15
 Warm sites 15
 Hot sites 15
Backups 20
 Full 20
 Differential 20
 Incremental 20
Snapshots 15
MTTR 15
MTBF 15
SLA requirements 15
3.3 Explain common scanning, monitoring, and patching processes and summarize their expected outputs. 14, 16, 18, 20
Processes 18
 Log reviewing 18
 Port scanning 14, 18
 Vulnerability scanning 18
 Patch management 14, 18
 Rollback 14, 18
Reviewing baselines 14, 18, 20
Packet/traffic analysis 18
Event management 18
 Notifications 18
 Alerts 18
 SIEM 18
SNMP monitors 18
 MIB 18
Metrics 16, 18
 Error rate 16, 18
 Utilization 16, 18
 Packet drops 16
Bandwidth/throughput 16, 18
3.0 Network Operations  
3.4 Given a scenario, use remote access methods. 5, 6, 13, 14
VPN 13
 IPSec 13
 SSL/TLS/DTLS 13
 Site-to-site 13
 Client-to-site 13
RDP 13
SSH 13
VNC 13
Telnet 6
HTTPS/management URL 6
Remote file access 6
 FTP/FTPS 6
 SFTP 6
 TFTP 6
Out-of-band management 13
Modem 5
Console router 14
3.5 Identify policies and best practices. 13, 14, 20
Privileged user agreement 20
Password policy 20
On-boarding/off-boarding procedures 20
Licensing restrictions 14, 20
International export controls 14, 20
Data loss prevention 20
Remote access policies 13, 20
Incident response policies 14, 20
BYOD 20
AUP 20
NDA 20
System life cycle 14, 20
 Asset disposal 14, 20
Safety procedures and policies 20
4.0 Network Security  
4.1 Summarize the purposes of physical security devices. 13, 14, 15
Detection 14
 Motion detection 14
 Video surveillance 14
 Asset tracking tags 14
 Tamper detection 14
Prevention 15
 Badges 15
 Biometrics 15
 Smart cards 13
 Key fob 15
 Locks 15
4.2 Explain authentication and access controls. 11, 13, 15, 18
Authorization, authentication, and accounting 13
 RADIUS 13
 TACACS+ 13
 Kerberos 13
 Single sign-on 13
 Local authentication 13
 LDAP 13
 Certificates 13
Auditing and logging 18
Multifactor authentication 13, 15
 Something you know 13, 15
 Something you have 13, 15
 Something you are 13, 15
 Somewhere you are 13, 15
 Something you do 13, 15
Access control 13, 15
 802.1x 13
 NAC 13
 Port security 11, 13
 MAC filtering 11, 13
 Captive portal 13
 Access control lists 13, 15
4.3 Given a scenario, secure a basic wireless network. 12, 14
WPA 12, 14
WPA2 12, 14
TKIP-RC4 12
CCMP-AES 12
Authentication and authorization 12
 EAP 12
 PEAP 12
 EAP-FAST 12
 EAP-TLS 12
 Shared or open 12
 Preshared key 12
 MAC filtering 12
Geofencing 12
4.4 Summarize common networking attacks. 12, 14
DoS 14
 Reflective 14
 Amplified 14
 Distributed 14
Social engineering 14
Insider threat 14
Logic bomb 14
Rogue access point 12, 14
Evil twin 12, 14
War-driving 12, 14
Phishing 14
Ransomware 14
DNS poisoning 14
ARP poisoning 14
Spoofing 14
Deauthentication 14
Brute force 14
VLAN hopping 14
Man-in-the-middle 14
Exploits vs. vulnerabilities 14
4.5 Given a scenario, implement network device hardening. 6, 14
Changing default credentials 14
Avoiding common passwords 14
Upgrading firmware 14
Patching and updates 14
File hashing 14
Disabling unnecessary services 14
Using secure protocols 6, 14
Generating new keys 14
Disabling unused ports 14
 IP ports 14
 Device ports (physical and virtual) 14
4.6 Explain common mitigation techniques and their purposes. 11, 14, 15, 20
Signature management 15
Device hardening 11
Change native VLAN 11
Switch port protection 11
 Spanning tree 11
 Flood guard 11
 BPDU guard 11
 Root guard 11
 DHCP snooping 11
Network segmentation 11,15
 DMZ 15
 VLAN 11, 15
Privileged user account 14
File integrity monitoring 14
Role separation 14
Restricting access via ACLs 14, 15
Honeypot/honeynet 15, 20
Penetration testing 15
5.0 Network Troubleshooting and Tools  
5.1 Explain the network troubleshooting methodology. 19
Identify the problem 19
 Gather information 19
 Duplicate the problem, if possible 19
 Question users 19
 Identify symptoms 19
 Determine if anything has changed 19
 Approach multiple problems individually 19
Establish a theory of probable cause 19
 Question the obvious 19
 Consider multiple approaches 19
 Top-to-bottom/bottom-to-top 19
 OSI model
 Divide and conquer 19
Test the theory to determine the cause 19
 Once the theory is confirmed, determine the next steps to resolve the problem 19
 If the theory is not confirmed, reestablish a new theory or escalate 19
Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects 19
Implement the solution or escalate as necessary 19
Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures 19
Document findings, actions, and outcomes 19
5.2 Given a scenario, use the appropriate tool. 5, 17, 18
Hardware tools 18
 Crimper 18
 Cable tester 18
 Punch-down tool 18
 OTDR 18
 Light meter 18
 Tone generator 18
 Loopback adapter 18
 Multimeter 18
 Spectrum analyzer 18
Software tools 17, 18
 Packet sniffer 18
 Port scanner 18
 Protocol analyzer 18
 WiFi analyzer 18
 Bandwidth speed tester 18
Command line 17
 ping 17
 tracert, traceroute 17
 nslookup 17
 ipconfig 17
 ifconfig 17
 iptables 17
 netstat 17
 tcpdump 17
 pathping 17
 nmap 17
 route 17
 arp 17
 dig 17
5.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common wired connectivity and performance issues. 11, 19
Attenuation 19
Latency 19
Jitter 19
Crosstalk 19
EMI 19
Open/short 19
Incorrect pin-out 19
Incorrect cable type 19
Bad port 19
Transceiver mismatch 19
TX/RX reverse 19
Duplex/speed mismatch 11, 19
Damaged cables 19
Bent pins 19
Bottlenecks 19
VLAN mismatch 11, 19
Network connection LED status indicators 19
5.4 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common wireless connectivity and performance issues. 12, 19
Reflection 12, 19
Refraction 12, 19
Absorption 12, 19
Latency 12, 19
Jitter 12, 19
Attenuation 12, 19
Incorrect antenna type 12, 19
Interference 12, 19
Incorrect antenna placement 12, 19
Channel overlap 12, 19
Overcapacity 12, 19
Distance limitations 12, 19
Frequency mismatch 12, 19
Wrong SSID 12, 19
Wrong passphrase 12, 19
Security type mismatch 12, 19
Power levels 12, 19
Signal-to-noise ratio 12, 19
5.5 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common network service issues. 19
Names not resolving 19
Incorrect gateway 19
Incorrect netmask 19
Duplicate IP addresses 19
Duplicate MAC addresses 19
Expired IP address 19
Rogue DHCP server 19
Untrusted SSL certificate 19
Incorrect time 19
Exhausted DHCP scope 19
Blocked TCP/UDP ports 19
Incorrect host-based firewall settings 19
Incorrect ACL settings 19
Unresponsive service 19
Hardware failure 19

Assessment Test

  1. What is the basic purpose of a local area network (LAN)?

    1. To interconnect networks in several different buildings
    2. To connect one or more computers together so they can share resources
    3. To interconnect 2 to 10 routers
    4. To make routers unnecessary

  2. You need a topology that is easy to troubleshoot and scalable. Which would you use?

    1. Bus
    2. Star
    3. Mesh
    4. Ring

  3. IP resides at which layer of the OSI model?

    1. Application
    2. Data Link
    3. Network
    4. Physical

  4. Layer 2 of the OSI model is named .

    1. Application layer
    2. Network layer
    3. Transport layer
    4. Data Link layer

  5. Which RG rating of coax is used for cable modems?

    1. RG-59
    2. RG-58
    3. RG-6
    4. RG-8

  6. Which UTP wiring uses four twisted wire pairs (eight wires) and is rated for 250 MHz?

    1. Category 3 UTP
    2. Category 5 STP
    3. Category 5 UTP
    4. Category 6 UTP

  7. If you are running half-duplex Internet, which of the following is true? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Your digital signal cannot transmit and receive data at the same time.
    2. Hosts use the CSMA/CD protocol to detect collisions.
    3. The physical connection consists of one wire pair.
    4. None of the above.

  8. You need to connect a hub to a switch. You don’t like this idea because you know that it will create congestion. What type of cable do you need to use to connect the hub to the switch?

    1. EtherIP
    2. Crossover
    3. Straight-through
    4. Cable Sense, Multiple Access

  9. Your boss asks you why you just put in a requisition to buy a bunch of switches. He said he just bought you a bunch of hubs five years ago! Why did you buy the switches?

    1. Because each switch port is its own collision domain.
    2. The cable connecting devices to the hub wore out, and switches were cheaper than new cable.
    3. There were too many broadcast domains, and a switch breaks up broadcast domains by default.
    4. The hubs kept repeating signals but quit recognizing frames and data structures.

  10. Which device would connect network segments together, creating separate collision domains for each segment but only a single broadcast domain?

    1. Hub
    2. Router
    3. Switch
    4. Modem

  11. Most Application layer protocols use only UDP or TCP at the Transport layer. Which of the following could use both?

    1. TCP
    2. Microsoft Word
    3. Telnet
    4. DNS

  12. HTTP, FTP, and Telnet work at which layer of the OSI model?

    1. Application
    2. Presentation
    3. Session
    4. Transport

  13. IPv6 uses multiple types of addresses. Which of the following would describe an anycast address used by an IPv6 host?

    1. Communications are routed to the most distant host that shares the same address.
    2. Packets are delivered to all interfaces identified by the address. This is also called one-to-many addressing.
    3. This address identifies multiple interfaces, and the anycast packet is only delivered to one address. This address can also be called one-to-one-of-many.
    4. Anycast is a type of broadcast.

  14. Which of the following IP addresses are not allowed on the Internet? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. 11.255.255.1
    2. 10.1.1.1
    3. 172.33.255.0
    4. 192.168.0.1

  15. What is the subnetwork address for a host with the IP address 200.10.5.168/28?

    1. 200.10.5.156
    2. 200.10.5.132
    3. 200.10.5.160
    4. 200.10.5.0
    5. 200.10.5.255

  16. If you wanted to verify the local IP stack on your computer, what would you do?

    1. Ping 127.0.0.0
    2. Ping 127.0.0.1
    3. Telnet 1.0.0.127
    4. Ping 169.5.3.10
    5. Telnet 255.255.255.255

  17. The OSI model uses an encapsulation method to describe the data as it is encapsulated at each layer. What is the encapsulation named at the Data Link layer?

    1. Bits
    2. Packets
    3. Frames
    4. Data
    5. Segments

  18. Where does a Data Link layer frame have to carry a Network layer packet if the packet is destined for a remote network?

    1. Router
    2. Physical medium
    3. Switch
    4. Another host

  19. Which of the following are not distance vector routing protocols? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. OSPF
    2. RIP
    3. RIPv2
    4. IS-IS

  20. Which of the following uses both distance vector and link state properties?

    1. IGRP
    2. OSPF
    3. RIPv1
    4. EIGRP
    5. IS-IS

  21. You need to break up broadcast domains in a Layer 2 switched network. What strategy will you use?

    1. Implement a loop-avoidance scheme.
    2. Create a flatter network structure using switches.
    3. Create a VLAN.
    4. Disable the spanning tree on individual ports.

  22. Why do most switches run the Spanning Tree Protocol by default?

    1. It monitors how the network is functioning.
    2. It stops data from forwarding until all devices are updated.
    3. It prevents switching loops.
    4. It manages the VLAN database.

  23. Which of the following describes MIMO correctly?

    1. A protocol that requires acknowledgment of each and every frame
    2. A data-transmission technique in which several frames are sent by several antennas over several paths and are then recombined by another set of antennas
    3. A modulation technique that allows more than one data rate
    4. A technique that packs smaller packets into a single unit, which improves throughput

  24. Which two practices help secure your wireless access points from unauthorized access? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Assigning a private IP address to the AP
    2. Changing the default SSID value
    3. Configuring a new administrator password
    4. Changing the mixed-mode setting to single mode
    5. Configuring traffic filtering

  25. IPSec is defined at what layer of the OSI model?

    1. Network
    2. Physical
    3. Layer 4
    4. Layer 7

  26. You want your users to log in and authenticate before they can get onto your network. Which of the following services would you use?

    1. RADIUS
    2. DNS
    3. Virtual Network Computing
    4. Remote Desktop Protocol

  27. Someone calls you and asks for your bank account number because the bank is having problems with your account. You give them this information and later find out that you were scammed. What type of attack is this?

    1. Phishing
    2. Calling scam
    3. Analog scam
    4. Trust-exploration attack
    5. Man-in-the-middle attack
    6. Rogue access point

  28. Which of the following are types of denial-of-service attacks? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Ping of Death
    2. Stacheldraht
    3. SYN flood
    4. Virus FloodSyn

  29. You want to stop a hacker in their tracks. Which of the following devices are proactive in providing this service?

    1. Access control list (ACL)
    2. Content filtering
    3. Security zones
    4. Intrusion prevention system (IPS)
    5. Network Address Translation
    6. Virtual LANs

  30. You connected your company to the Internet, and security is a concern. What should you install?

    1. Higher-quality cables
    2. Firewall
    3. DNS
    4. Switches

  31. Which of the following are WAN protocols or technologies? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. ATM
    2. ISDN
    3. MPLS
    4. RIP

  32. The rate at which the Frame Relay switch agrees to transfer data is referred to as .

    1. BE
    2. FECN
    3. CIR
    4. BECN

  33. Which two arp utility switches perform the same function?

    1. –g
    2. –Z
    3. –d
    4. –a
    5. -h
    6. -b

  34. You need to purge and reload the remote NetBIOS name table cache. Which nbtstat utility switch will you use?

    1. –r
    2. –R
    3. /r
    4. /R
    5. -a
    6. -A

  35. Which tool is used to attach ends to network cables?

    1. Punch-down tool
    2. Crimper
    3. VLAN tool
    4. Strippers
    5. ARP tool

  36. You are using a TDR. Which of the following actions can you do with this device? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Estimate cable lengths
    2. Find splice and connector locations and their associated loss amounts
    3. Display unused services
    4. Define cable-impedance characteristics

  37. Which of the following are considered cabling issues? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Crosstalk
    2. Shorts
    3. Open impedance mismatch
    4. DNS configurations

  38. You have just tested your theory of a problem to determine the cause. Based on the standard troubleshooting model, what is your next step?

    1. Question the obvious.
    2. Establish a theory of probable cause.
    3. Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects.
    4. Verify full system functionality, and if applicable, implement preventative measures.

  39. Which network performance optimization technique can delay packets that meet certain criteria to guarantee usable bandwidth for other applications?

    1. Traffic shaping
    2. Jitter control
    3. Logical network mapping
    4. Load balancing
    5. Access lists

  40. You need to optimize network traffic by spreading it across multiple connections. Which strategy should be used?

    1. Load balancing
    2. Traffic shaping
    3. Adding VLANs
    4. A 1 Gbps connection
    5. Following the regulations

Answers to Assessment Test

  1. B. LANs generally have a geographic scope of a single building or smaller. They can be simple (two hosts) to complex (with thousands of hosts). See Chapter 1 for more information.

  2. B. Star topologies are the easiest to troubleshoot and can easily scale to large sizes. See Chapter 1 for more information.

  3. C. IP is a Network layer protocol. Internet Explorer is an example of an Application layer protocol, Ethernet is an example of a Data Link layer protocol, and T1 can be considered a Physical layer protocol. See Chapter 2 for more information.

  4. D. Layer 2 of the OSI model is the Data Link layer, which provides the physical transmission of the data and handles error notification, network topology, and flow control. See Chapter 2 for more information.

  5. C. Cable modems use RG-6 coax cables. See Chapter 3 for more information.

  6. D. To get the high data-transfer speed, like 1 Gbps, you need to use a wire standard that is highly rated, such as Category 5e or Category 6. See Chapter 3 for more information.

  7. A, B, C. With half duplex, you are using one wire pair with a digital signal either transmitting or receiving (but not both at once). Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) helps packets that are transmitted simultaneously from different hosts share bandwidth evenly. See Chapter 4 for more information.

  8. B. To connect two switches together or a hub to a switch, you need a crossover cable. See Chapter 4 for more information.

  9. A. For the most part, switches are not cheap; however, one of the biggest benefits of using switches instead of hubs in your internetwork is that each switch port is actually its own collision domain. A hub creates one large collision domain. Switches still can’t break up broadcast domains (do you know which devices do?). Hubs do not recognize frames and data structures but switches do. See Chapter 5 for more information.

  10. C. A switch creates separate collision domains for each port but does not break up broadcast domains by default. See Chapter 5 for more information.

  11. D. DNS uses TCP for zone exchanges between servers and UDP when a client is trying to resolve a hostname to an IP address. See Chapter 6 for more information.

  12. A. HTTP, FTP, and Telnet use TCP at the Transport layer; however, they are all Application layer protocols, so the Application layer is the best answer for this question. See Chapter 6 for more information.

  13. C. Anycast is a new type of communication that replaces broadcasts in IPv4. Anycast addresses identify multiple interfaces, which is the same as multicast; however, the big difference is that the anycast packet is delivered to only one address: the first one it finds defined in terms of routing distance. This address can also be called one-to-one-of-many. See Chapter 7 for more information.

  14. B, D. The addresses in the ranges 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255 and 172.16.0.0 through 172.31.255.255 as well as 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255 are all considered private, based on RFC 1918. Use of these addresses on the Internet is prohibited so that they can be used simultaneously in different administrative domains without concern for conflict. See Chapter 7 for more detail on IP addressing and information on private IP addresses.

  15. C. This is a pretty simple question. A /28 is 255.255.255.240, which means that our block size is 16 in the fourth octet. 0, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160, 176, and so on. The host is in the subnet 160. See Chapter 8 for more information.

  16. B. To test the local stack on your host, ping the loopback interface of 127.0.0.1. See Chapter 8 for more information.

  17. C. The Data Link layer is responsible for encapsulating IP packets into frames and for providing logical network addresses. See Chapter 9 for more information.

  18. A. Packets specifically have to be carried to a router in order to be routed through a network. On your local computer, the IP address of this router is displayed as the gateway address. See Chapter 9 for more information.

  19. A, D. RIP and RIPv2 are distance vector routing protocols. OSPF and IS-IS are link state. See Chapter 10 for more information.

  20. D. EIGRP is called a hybrid routing protocol because it uses the characteristics of both distance vector and link state routing protocols. However, EIGRP can only be run on Cisco routers and is not vendor neutral. The new CompTIA objectives mention BGP as a hybrid routing protocol. See Chapter 10 for more information.

  21. C. Virtual LANs break up broadcast domains in Layer 2 switched internetworks. See Chapter 11 for more information.

  22. C. The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) was designed to stop Layer 2 loops. All enterprise model switches have STP by default. See Chapter 11 for more information.

  23. B. Part of the 802.11n wireless standard, MIMO sends multiple frames by several antennas over several paths; they are then recombined by another set of antennas to optimize throughput and multipath resistance. This is called spatial multiplexing. See Chapter 12 for more information.

  24. B, C. At a minimum, you need to change the default SSID value on each AP and configure new usernames and passwords on the AP. See Chapter 12 for more information.

  25. A. IPSec works at the Network layer of the OSI model (Layer 3) and secures all applications that operate above it (Layer 4 and above). Additionally, because it was designed by the IETF and designed to work with IPv4 and IPv6, it has broad industry support and is quickly becoming the standard for VPNs on the Internet. See Chapter 13 for more information.

  26. A. RADIUS combines user authentication and authorization into one profile. See Chapter 13 for more information.

  27. A. Social engineering, or phishing, refers to the act of attempting to illegally obtain sensitive information by pretending to be a credible source. Phishing usually takes one of two forms: an email or a phone call. See Chapter 14 for more information.

  28. A, B, C. A denial-of-service (DoS) attack prevents users from accessing the system. All of the options are possible denial-of-service attacks except Virus FloodSyn. See Chapter 14 for more information.

  29. D. Changing network configurations, terminating sessions, and deceiving the attacker are all actions that can be taken by an intrusion prevention system (IPS) device. These are all proactive approaches to security. See Chapter 15 for more information.

  30. B. Firewalls help provide perimeter network security by allowing or denying connections and types of traffic in or out of the network. See Chapter 15 for more information.

  31. A, B, C. Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is not a WAN protocol but a routing protocol used in local area connections. See Chapter 16 for more information.

  32. C. The committed information rate (CIR) is the rate, in bits per second, at which the Frame Relay switch agrees to transfer data. See Chapter 16 for more information.

  33. A, D. The arp utility’s –a and –g switches perform the same function. They both show the current ARP cache. See Chapter 17 for more information.

  34. B. To purge and reload the remote NetBIOS name cache, you must use nbtstat –R. Remember that the R must be uppercase, and it will not work correctly without the hyphen before it. See Chapter 17 for more information.

  35. B. A wire crimper or crimper is used to attach ends onto different types of network cables. See Chapter 18 for more information.

  36. A, B, D. Due to sensitivity to any variation and impedance to cabling, options A, B, and D are all reasons you’d use a time-domain reflectometer (TDR). See Chapter 18 for more information.

  37. A, B, C. Because most of today’s networks still consist of large amounts of copper cable, they can continue to suffer from the physical issues (the options are not a complete list) that have plagued all networks since the very beginning of networking. See Chapter 19 for more information.

  38. C. Based on the standard troubleshooting model, the next step would be to establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects. See Chapter 19 for more information.

  39. A. Traffic shaping, also known as packet shaping, is another form of bandwidth optimization. See Chapter 20 for more information.

  40. A. Load balancing refers to a technique used to spread work out to multiple computers, network links, or other devices. You can load-balance work on servers by clustering servers so that multiple machines all provide the same service. See Chapter 20 for more information.

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