Course Title: CompTIA Network+

Course Description:

Why We Need It:

In today’s connected world, every business relies on networks for communication, data sharing, and internet connectivity. The CompTIA Network+ certification validates a technician’s ability to maintain and support network infrastructure, ensuring smooth and secure operations. It is a vendor-neutral certification, meaning it applies to all network technologies — not just one company’s products.

How It’s Useful:

• Career Foundation: Builds a strong base for roles like Network Administrator, Network Support Specialist, System Engineer, and IT Technician.
• Vendor-Neutral Knowledge: Prepares you to work with multiple technologies across various platforms.
• Skill Development: Focuses on networking concepts, security, protocols, troubleshooting, and infrastructure design.
• Industry Recognition: Trusted by employers worldwide as a benchmark for networking skills.

What You’ll Learn:

• Understanding network architectures and topologies
• Configuring and managing network devices (routers, switches, firewalls)
• Implementing network security and troubleshooting connectivity issues
• Working with IPv4/IPv6 addressing and subnetting
• Supporting cloud, virtualization, and emerging network technologies

Certification Validity and Renewal:

The CompTIA Network+ certification is valid for three (3) years from the date you pass the exam. You can renew it by earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through CompTIA’s Continuing Education (CE) program, completing approved training, or obtaining a higher-level certification (like CompTIA Security+ or CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+).

Ideal For:

• Beginners starting in networking or IT support
• IT professionals seeking to validate and expand their networking knowledge
• Students preparing for higher-level certifications such as CompTIA Security+ or Cisco CCNA

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CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) Exam Objectives

DOMAIN PERCENTAGE OF EXAMINATION
1.0 Networking Concepts 23%
2.0 Network Implementation 20%
3.0 Network Operations 19%
4.0 Network Security 14%
5.0 Network Troubleshooting 24%
Total 100%

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1.0 Networking Concepts

1.1 Explain concepts related to the OSI reference model

• Layer 1 – Physical
• Layer 2 – Data Link
• Layer 3 – Network
• Layer 4 – Transport
• Layer 5 – Session
• Layer 6 – Presentation
• Layer 7 – Application

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1.2 Compare and contrast networking appliances, applications, and functions

Physical and Virtual Appliances

• Router
• Switch
• Firewall
• Intrusion Detection System (IDS) / Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
• Load Balancer
• Proxy
• Network-Attached Storage (NAS)
• Storage Area Network (SAN)
• Wireless Access Point (AP)
• Wireless Controller

Applications

• Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Functions

• Virtual Private Network (VPN)
• Quality of Service (QoS)
• Time to Live (TTL)

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1.3 Summarize cloud concepts and connectivity options

Virtualization and Cloud Networking

• Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)
• Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
• Network Security Groups
• Network Security Lists

Cloud Gateways

• Internet Gateway
• Network Address Translation (NAT) Gateway

Cloud Connectivity Options

• VPN
• Direct Connect

Deployment Models

• Public
• Private
• Hybrid

Service Models

• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Cloud Characteristics

• Scalability
• Elasticity
• Multitenancy

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1.4 Explain common networking ports, protocols, services, and traffic types

Common Protocols and Ports

Protocol	Port
FTP	20/21
SFTP	22
SSH	22
Telnet	23
SMTP	25
DNS	53
DHCP	67/68
TFTP	69
HTTP	80
NTP	123
SNMP	161/162
LDAP	389
HTTPS	443
SMB	445
Syslog	514
SMTPS	587
LDAPS	636
SQL Server	1433
RDP	3389
SIP	5060/5061

IP Protocol Types

• Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
• Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)
• IP Security (IPSec)
  • Authentication Header (AH)
  • Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)
  • Internet Key Exchange (IKE)

Traffic Types

• Unicast
• Multicast
• Anycast
• Broadcast

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1.5 Compare and contrast transmission media and transceivers

Wireless Media

• 802.11 standards
• Cellular
• Satellite

Wired Media

• 802.3 standards
• Single-mode vs. Multimode fiber
• Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cable / Twinaxial cable
• Coaxial cable
• Cable speeds
• Plenum vs. Non-plenum cable

Transceivers

• Protocols: Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC)
• Form Factors:
  • Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP)
  • Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP)

Connector Types

• Subscriber Connector (SC)
• Local Connector (LC)
• Straight Tip (ST)
• Multi-fiber Push On (MPO)
• RJ11
• RJ45
• F-type
• BNC (Bayonet Neill-Concelman)

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1.6 Compare and contrast network topologies, architectures, and types

• Mesh
• Hybrid
• Star / Hub-and-Spoke
• Spine and Leaf
• Point-to-Point
• Three-Tier Hierarchical Model
  • Core
  • Distribution
  • Access
• Collapsed Core

Traffic Flows

• North-South
• East-West

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1.7 Given a scenario, use appropriate IPv4 network addressing

Address Types

• Public vs. Private
• Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)
• RFC1918
• Loopback / Localhost

Subnetting

• Variable Length Subnet Mask (VLSM)
• Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR)

IPv4 Address Classes

• Class A
• Class B
• Class C
• Class D
• Class E

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1.8 Summarize evolving use cases for modern network environments

Software-Defined Networking

• SDN and SD-WAN
  • Application-aware
  • Zero-touch provisioning
  • Transport agnostic
  • Central policy management

VXLAN

• Data Center Interconnect (DCI)
• Layer 2 encapsulation

Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA)

• Policy-based authentication
• Authorization
• Least privilege access

SASE / SSE

(Secure Access Service Edge / Security Service Edge)

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

• Automation: Playbooks, Templates, Configuration Drift, Upgrades, Dynamic Inventories
• Source Control: Version control, Central repository, Conflict identification, Branching

IPv6 Addressing

• Mitigating address exhaustion
• Compatibility methods:
  • Tunneling
  • Dual stack
  • NAT64

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2.0 Network Implementation

2.1 Explain characteristics of routing technologies

• Static routing
• Dynamic routing
  • Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
  • Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
  • Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
• Address Translation
  • NAT
  • Port Address Translation (PAT)
• First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP)
• Virtual IP (VIP)
• Route Selection
  • Administrative distance
  • Prefix length
  • Metric
• Subinterfaces

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2.2 Given a scenario, configure switching technologies and features

• VLAN
  • VLAN database
  • Switch Virtual Interface (SVI)
• Interface Configuration
  • Native VLAN
  • Voice VLAN
  • 802.1Q tagging
  • Link aggregation
  • Speed
  • Duplex
• Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
• Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
  • Jumbo frames

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2.3 Given a scenario, select and configure wireless devices and technologies

Channels

• Channel width
• Non-overlapping channels
• Regulatory impacts (802.11h)

Frequency Options

• 2.4 GHz
• 5 GHz
• 6 GHz
• Band steering

Service Set Identifiers

• SSID
• BSSID
• ESSID

Network Types

• Mesh
• Ad hoc
• Point-to-Point
• Infrastructure

Encryption

• WPA2
• WPA3

Guest Networks

• Captive portals

Authentication

• Pre-Shared Key (PSK)
• Enterprise

Antennas

• Omnidirectional
• Directional

Access Point Modes

• Autonomous
• Lightweight

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2.4 Explain important factors of physical installations

Installation Implications

• Locations:
  • Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF)
  • Main Distribution Frame (MDF)
• Rack size
• Port-side exhaust/intake
• Cabling:
  • Patch panel
  • Fiber distribution panel
• Lockable enclosures

Power

• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
• Power Distribution Unit (PDU)
• Power load
• Voltage

Environmental Factors

• Humidity
• Fire suppression
• Temperature

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3.0 Network Operations

3.1 Explain the purpose of organizational processes and procedures

Documentation

• Physical vs. Logical diagrams
• Rack diagrams
• Cable maps
• Network diagrams (Layer 1, 2, 3)
• Asset inventory (Hardware, Software, Licensing, Warranty)
• IP Address Management (IPAM)
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Wireless survey / Heat map

Life-Cycle Management

• End-of-Life (EOL)
• End-of-Support (EOS)
• Software management (Patches, OS, Firmware)
• Decommissioning

Change Management

• Request process tracking / Service requests

Configuration Management

• Production configuration
• Backup configuration
• Baseline / Golden configuration

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3.2 Given a scenario, use network monitoring technologies

Methods

• SNMP
  • Traps
  • MIBs
  • Versions: v2c, v3
  • Community strings
  • Authentication
• Flow data
• Packet capture
• Baseline metrics / Anomaly detection
• Log aggregation (Syslog, SIEM)
• API integration
• Port mirroring

Solutions

• Network discovery (Ad-hoc / Scheduled)
• Traffic analysis
• Performance and availability monitoring
• Configuration monitoring

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3.3 Explain disaster recovery (DR) concepts

DR Metrics

• Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
• Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
• Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
• Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

High-Availability Approaches

• Active-Active
• Active-Passive

Testing

• Tabletop exercises
• Validation tests

DR Sites

• Cold site
• Warm site
• Hot site

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3.4 Given a scenario, implement IPv4 and IPv6 network services

Dynamic Addressing

• DHCP
  • Reservations
  • Scopes
  • Lease time
  • Options
  • Relay / IP helper
  • Exclusions
• Stateless Address Autoconfiguration (SLAAC)

Name Resolution

• DNS
  • DNSSEC
  • DoH / DoT
  • Record types:
    • A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, PTR
  • Zone types:
    • Forward, Reverse
  • Authoritative vs. Non-authoritative
  • Primary vs. Secondary
  • Recursive
• Hosts file

Time Protocols

• NTP
• Precision Time Protocol (PTP)
• Network Time Security (NTS)

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3.5 Compare and contrast network access and management methods

• Site-to-Site VPN
• Client-to-Site VPN
  • Clientless
  • Split-tunnel vs. Full-tunnel
• API
• Console
• Jump Box / Host
• In-band vs. Out-of-band management
• Connection Methods:
  • SSH
  • GUI

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4.0 Network Security

4.1 Explain the importance of basic network security concepts

Logical Security

• Encryption (Data in transit / Data at rest)
• Certificates (PKI, Self-signed)
• Identity and Access Management (IAM)
  • Authentication:
    • MFA, SSO, RADIUS, LDAP, SAML, TACACS+, Time-based auth
  • Authorization:
    • Least privilege, Role-based access
• Geofencing

Physical Security

• Cameras
• Locks

Deception Technologies

• Honeypot
• Honeynet

Common Security Terminology

• Risk
• Vulnerability
• Exploit
• Threat
• Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability (CIA) Triad

Audits and Compliance

• Data locality
• PCI DSS
• GDPR

Network Segmentation Enforcement

• IoT / IIoT
• SCADA / ICS / OT
• Guest networks
• BYOD

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4.2 Summarize various types of attacks and their impact

Network Attacks

• DoS / DDoS
• VLAN hopping
• MAC flooding
• ARP poisoning / spoofing
• DNS poisoning / spoofing
• Rogue devices (DHCP, AP)
• Evil twin
• On-path attack

Social Engineering

• Phishing
• Dumpster diving
• Shoulder surfing
• Tailgating

Malware

• (All types included: worms, trojans, ransomware, etc.)

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4.3 Given a scenario, apply network security features, defense techniques, and solutions

Device Hardening

• Disable unused ports/services
• Change default passwords

Network Access Control (NAC)

• Port security
• 802.1X
• MAC filtering

Key Management

• Certificates / Encryption keys

Security Rules

• Access Control Lists (ACLs)
• URL filtering
• Content filtering

Zones

• Trusted vs. Untrusted
• Screened Subnet (DMZ)

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5.0 Network Troubleshooting

5.1 Explain the troubleshooting methodology

1. Identify the problem
2. Establish a theory of probable cause
3. Test the theory
4. Establish a plan of action
5. Implement the solution or escalate
6. Verify full system functionality
7. Document findings and lessons learned

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5.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common cabling and physical interface issues

Cable Issues

• Incorrect cable (Single-mode / Multimode, Cat5/6/7/8, STP/UTP)
• Signal degradation (Crosstalk, Interference, Attenuation)
• Improper termination
• TX/RX reversed

Interface Issues

• Interface counters:
  • CRC errors, Runts, Giants, Drops
• Port status:
  • Error-disabled, Admin down, Suspended

Hardware Issues

• Power over Ethernet (PoE)
  • Power budget exceeded
  • Incorrect standard
• Transceivers:
  • Mismatch / Signal strength

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5.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common issues with network services

Switching Issues

• STP (Loops, Root bridge, Port roles/states)
• VLAN misconfigurations
• ACLs

Routing Issues

• Routing table errors
• Default routes

Addressing Issues

• IP pool exhaustion
• Incorrect default gateway
• Duplicate IP
• Wrong subnet mask

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5.4 Troubleshooting Tools

Software Tools

• Protocol Analyzer
• Command Line:
  • ping, traceroute/tracert, nslookup, tcpdump, dig, netstat, ip/ifconfig/ipconfig, arp
• Nmap
• LLDP / CDP
• Speed tester

Hardware Tools

• Toner probe
• Cable tester
• Network taps
• Wi-Fi analyzer
• Visual fault locator

Basic Network Device Commands

• show mac-address-table
• show route
• show interface
• show config
• show arp
• show vlan
• show power

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✅ Everything from 1.0–5.0 included.
✅ Perfect for study notes, teaching slides, or to upload as a Network+ full course roadmap on your Learn Tech From Zero site.

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