Network+: The New Net Essentials?
According to our reviewer, CompTIA gets everything right with its upcoming revision of Network+. Here's what you need to know to pass this fair, objective exam.
by Richard Shanks
10/23/2001 --
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Network+ (2001 Objectives) |
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Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) |
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| Status |
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Will go live in January 2002 (Beta version reviewed for this article) |
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| Reviewer's Rating |
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“The exam surpasses the old Microsoft Network Essentials exam in terms of scope and depth. A shining example of how a written test can successfully measure a candidate's knowledge and experience on a given subject.” |
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| Who Should Take This Exam? |
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Network administrators with nine to 18 months of experience. |
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| Exam Information |
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Number of questions/pass rate for final version yet to be announced. Price will be $190 (U.S.) for non-members, $140 or for corporate members. |
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| Test Objectives URL |
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Click here. |
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As my experience with IT certification testing grows, I find that, more often than not, I walk away from most exams with the following question lingering in my mind: "Did I somehow get the wrong exam?" I've found that many exams target obscure, relatively meaningless details or even intentionally try to mislead the test-taker in order to achieve the desired level of difficulty. The question of whether the exam truly tested my knowledge or experience is often in doubt.
I expected these same issues to arise when I took the Computer Technology Industry Association's Network+ exam in beta format recently. It was only my second experience with CompTIA's certification program, having taken the Linux+ beta exam only a few weeks before. It seemed to me that the Linux+ exam was following the trend of the all-encompassing exam, which pulls questions from other (sometimes unrelated) bodies of knowledge. Therefore, I walked into the Network+ somewhat sceptical. However, I was thrilled to find the Network+ beta stay within the confines of its thesis, while beautifully filling its broad subject of networking with appropriate questions that did not resort to trickery or nitpicking.
CompTIA's goal for the Network+ examination is to validate a candidate's ability to configure and support a network running a variety of operating systems and network technologies. The result is a shining example of how a written test can successfully measure a candidate's knowledge and experience on a given subject.
Objectives
The Network+ beta covers an updated set of objectives, and will replace the current Network+ exam in January. (Note: Present holders of the CompTIA Network+ certification will not need to take the new version of the test in order to retain their certification, as all of CompTIA's certifications are valid for life.) The new objectives update the Network+ exam on new technologies such as wireless networking and gigabit Ethernet, keeping it current with the networking industry. The objectives also broaden the scope somewhat, placing more emphasis on Linux/Unix as a viable networking operating system and including AppleTalk as a network protocol. Despite the expansion of material, the exam stays faithful to the fundamental topic of networking and only focuses on the aspects of Linux and Macintosh that are directly related to networking. In other words, while you might find questions about how to configure TCP/IP on a Linux machine, you won't come across a question asking about the syntax for the third step in recompiling the Linux kernel to include support for ipchains TCP/IP firewalling. As I mentioned before, the Network+ beta does an excellent job of covering an assortment of topics without straying from its ultimate objective.
CompTIA has published an updated study guide that does an excellent job of breaking down the test into four categories and makes preparation for the exam very straight-forward. According to CompTIA, the breakdown for the Network+ exam is as follows:
- Media and Topologies 20%
- Protocols and Standards 25%
- Network Implementation 23%
- Network Support 32%
(For the detailed objectives, visit http://www.comptia.org/certification/networkplus/objective_draft.pdf).
Media and Topologies
The breakdown of category weight seems fair, although it seemed to me that Media and Topologies accounted for more than 20 percent of the total questions. In fact, I would place it behind Network Support as the most heavily weighted category. CompTIA places strong emphasis on the characteristics of Ethernet in its many forms. For each type of Ethernet (10BaseT, 10Base2, 10Base5, etc), you should know things such as cable type, connector type, maximum distance, speed and the associated topology. Other networking standards, such as token ring, FDDI and wireless, are also covered to a lesser degree. CompTIA's use of visual diagrams will be evident on the Network+ beta, and they employ this type of question efficiently to test practical experience with networking technologies, rather than simple memorization of terms and standards. Familiarity with the different topologies (ring, bus, mesh, star and wireless) and their characteristics is also covered in moderate detail. Furthermore, candidates are expected to have a general working knowledge of a variety of network devices, including hubs, switches, routers, gateways, etc, including when to use which device.
Protocols and Standards
Though practical experience is valuable for all portions of the Network+ beta, the category of Protocols and Standards focuses the most on theoretical knowledge. A large percentage of this category concerns TCP/IP, which is a broad enough topic to span several exams alone. For the Network+ beta, however, along with understanding the basics of TCP/IP administration -- namely IP addressing, subnet masks, and default gateways -- the successful candidate will be familiar with the different components of TCP/IP. This includes the many protocols that run under TCP/IP, their corresponding port numbers and their purpose. The table below summarizes some of the most common TCP/IP protocols:
| TERM |
PROTOCOL NAME |
PORT |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
| TCP |
Transmission Control Protocol |
NA |
Connection-based communication |
| UDP |
User Datagram Protocol |
NA |
Connectionless communication |
| ICMP |
Internet Control Message Protocol |
NA |
Used to relay error, control, and informational messages |
| FTP |
File Transfer Protocol |
21 |
Reliable transfer of files over TCP |
| TFTP |
Trivial File Transfer Protocol |
69 |
Insecure transfer of files with UDP |
| SMTP |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol |
25 |
Sends email from one machine to another |
| POP |
Post Office Protocol |
110 |
Retrieves email from mail server |
| IMAP |
Internet Message Access Protocol |
143 |
Also used to retrieve mail from mail server, provides additional features |
| telnet |
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23 |
Provides terminal emulation across network |
| ARP |
Address Resolution Protocol |
BC* |
Resolves IP addresses into physical addresses |
| HTTP |
HyperText Transfer Protocol |
80 |
Protocol used to provide WWW service |
* ARP uses broadcasts, so there is no associated port number
Make sure you brush up on other TCP/IP tidbits, such as private vs. public addresses, subnetting and even IPv6. The exam also touches on various network services, such as dynamic host configuration using DHCP or bootp, domain name resolution using DNS or a hosts file, NETBIOS name resolution using WINS or an lmhosts file, and network management using SNMP. But wait, there's more! You must know the OSI model, as well.
Network Implementation
You will be well served by your hands-on experience in the last two categories, the first of which being Network Implementation. This topic pretty much covers the day-to-day duties of systems administrators everywhere, tweaking machines and network devices in an attempt to reach networking nirvana. Experience with commands such as ipconfig and winipcfg on Windows machines will be required, as well as the commands used to configure other network operating systems, like ifconfig for Unix machines. Thankfully, the emphasis on configuring AppleTalk was minimal, but any emphasis at all on AppleTalk is too much for me. CompTIA found it necessary to include network attached storage, fault tolerance and disaster recovery in the body of knowledge tested by the Network+ exam. While I cannot deny that they are network-related, I would argue that they are not consistent with the rest of the exam, in that they usually do not fall upon the shoulders of candidates with one or two years total experience in networking. Regardless, the exam covers them, so you should have a modest understanding of these ancillary topics. It is also important to know the differences between a firewall and a proxy server, why each is used and how they work. You'll get to put all of your theoretical knowledge from the previous section to use, as you demonstrate your ability to configure IP addresses, name resolution and routing on (mainly Windows) machines.
Network Support
The most prominent subject covered on the exam is Network Support, and your experience will play a vital role in your success. The goal here is clear: Given a scenario, make it work. Easier said than done, right? The most important thing to remember here is the troubleshooting process. Pound it into your brain and it will serve you well, both on the exam and on the job. There are several variations, but here is CompTIA's:
The Troubleshooting Process
1. Observe the symptoms
2. Identify the affected area
3. Find out what has changed
4. Determine the most probable cause
5. Implement a solution
6. Test the solution
7. Recognize the effects of the solution
8. Document the solution
The problems you're likely to face on the exam are as diverse as those you might face in the field, having to do with client misconfiguration, physical failure, topology limitations, and so forth. If you get stuck, whether on the exam or in the field, a good rule of thumb is to start with the simplest solutions and work your way upwards. Start at the physical layer. If a client's machine can't connect to the network, make sure the network cable is plugged in and functional. Then check whether or not you can ping the loopback adapter of the machine, assuming you are on a TCP/IP network. If that works, find out if you can make it to the gateway router, and beyond. Once connectivity is verified, start looking at name resolution, and so forth. If you jump straight to troubleshooting the higher OSI layers first, you're likely to waste a lot of time figuring out a very simple problem. For the Network+ beta, make sure you are very familiar with the troubleshooting suite of commands: ping, tracert/traceroute, ipconfig/ifconfig/winipcfg, netstat, nbtstat, nslookup, and arp, including their various switches! Be able to identify which of these commands you are looking at the results of, as well as interpret the output. This type of question is another example of CompTIA's proficient use of visual aids, designed to test real-life experience with the troubleshooting commands.
Better than Network Essentials?
The CompTIA Network+ beta exam offers an excellent measurement of a candidate's knowledge and experience in the networking industry. So good, in fact, that several other vendors, including Novell, Lotus and now even Microsoft will substitute this exam for their own networking fundamentals exams. The exam surpasses the old Microsoft Network Essentials exam in terms of scope and depth, and is nowhere near as vendor-biased. CompTIA's use of graphical questions supplements the already superb written questions, resulting in one of the most representative and fair written exams I've ever taken. CompTIA has accomplished its goal of creating an exam capable of validating a candidate's ability to configure and support a variety of networking technologies.
Richard Shanks () is a freelance writer and network administrator with the Houston Advanced Research Center.
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