Faculty Resources
CompTIA Network+ (N10-007)
Faculty Resources
Many businesses today require employees to become CompTIA certified. Whether it’s A+, Network+, or Security+, all these certifications have one thing in common: The exams!
While sitting for an exam may send shivers down the spine of even the most experienced IT professional, it is important to realize that these certification tests all share a common format.
CompTIA’s Network+ exam includes performance-based questions and multiple choice questions. The exact number for each question type vary from exam to exam. Though there is no shortcut to knowing the technical information that will be included on these exams, there are test taking approaches that will improve your chances to pass.
Relax before exam
In order to avoid last minute stress, make sure that you arrive 10 to 15 minutes early and relax before exam.
Familiarize yourself with the exam
Before taking the Network+ exam, you are given an option to familiarize yourself with the way the exam is carried out (on the exam interface). Take advantage of this option.
Manage Time Spent On Each Question
The duration for the exam is 90 minutes. You must determine how much time you will spend on each question and keep track of the time. Take into consideration that some questions are weighted more heavily and may take more time to answer.
Be Sure of Exam Question
Clear your doubts, in case you have any, regarding the rules for the A+ exam or using the testing computer/software with the test administrator after he/she sets up your machine and before you start the exam. Remember that the exam is timed and you may lose your valuable test time for such questions, which you could have asked earlier.
Jot Down Important Points Before the Exam
Jot Down Important Points Before Exam: Before you start the exam, ask for scratch paper and jot down points that you may require to recall when taking your exam. This is always allowed and proves to be very helpful while taking the exam. These may include:
Subnetting Notes
OSI and/or TCP/IP Models
Port Numbers
Any mnemonic or table committed to short term memory
Mark Answers for Review
When not sure, instead of spending a lot of time, mark the question for review and re-visit it later. Doing so will ensure that you have time to read each question carefully (watch out for the double negatives) and don’t have to rush through the exam at the end. However, do make sure you answer all the questions before the time limit expires.
Don’t Panic. There Is No Negative Marking
There are no negative marks for a wrong answer. The Network+ exam does not penalize you for a wrong answer, so never leave any question unanswered. If you are not able to find out the correct answers to some questions, eliminate the possible answers that cannot be correct and narrow down your guess.
As an IT professional who has taken many certifications tests over the years, I would like to share some of my strategies.
Performance-based questions require you to complete various tasks. Drag and drop, configuring an IP Address, and building a Personal Computer are a few examples of the Performance Based Question tasks. CompTIA states: “These Performance Based Questions test your ability to solve problems in a simulated environment.” And I suspect that we will see more Performance Based Question’s as CompTIA rolls out new versions of its exams.
Tip 1
Before your students schedule their test, read and prepare them as much as you can on the Performance Based questions.
CompTIA provides descriptions and samples of Performance Based questions here. Generally, the Performance Based Questions are the first questions presented. Do not lose time because you did not do your pre-test homework. Know what actions are required by you to complete the Performance Based Questions.
Tip 2
If you are having trouble with a Performance Based Questions, mark it and move onto the next question.
This can be said for both the Performance Based Questions and the multiple choice questions. CompTIA exams allow you to mark a question for later review. The Performance Based questions are challenging, and you do not want to spend too much of the allotted 90 minutes on these questions.
The number of multiple choice questions will vary from exam to exam, but they will be multiple choice. There will be no true/false, no short essay, and no fill in the blanks. So the good news is that the correct answer (or answers) is/are there; you just have to find it/them. Being familiar with the technical jargon will go a long way to help you pass the exams.
You can download the exam objectives and acronym list from CompTIA’s web site. Reviewing this document will be invaluable.
To pass a CompTIA exam, you must master the technical information presented in the test. CompTIA classes, books, and videos will help in that area, but there is also a skill to deconstructing the test questions to compliment that knowledge.
The majority of the CompTIA Network+ exam features questions with four answer choices and a single correct answer. Some questions require you to choose more than one answer, but these are generally few and far between. The first thing you should always do is to carefully read the question, glance over the answer choices, and then read the question again. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading the question carefully. The exam is not ambiguous or akin to your college lit exam – it is a precise and exact measurement of your skills. So, do not try to “contest” the exam while taking it – trust me, it is more likely that you are mistaken than it is that the exam question is in error. Instead, look for some common traps like the ones I have listed below:
False acronyms/names:
CompTIA loves to add choices like “ipconfiguration” instead of “ipconfig” or “OS2” instead of “OSI”
Unrealistic or “Leap of Faith” answers:
The answer will almost never be that your company should “rewire the entire network” or “upgrade every computer to the latest operating system, install all patches, and throw away old machines”
Irrelevant Choices:
These are more difficult to spot, but are often included as choices that address/fix a different problem than the one being tested
Incorrect terminology usage:
Sometimes, CompTIA will throw in a choice that “sounds right” but is not technically correct
For questions that require more than one answer choice, the process is simple:
Consider all choices individually, independently of each other, for their correctness and feasibility.
Candidate Elimination:
For questions involving a single answer choice, however, you are blessed with the ability to evaluate the choices and “eliminate” impossible ones. For example, consider the question below:
You need to implement a domain server on your corporate network that Windows 8.1 clients can connect to. Which of the following is the most viable and easily applicable option for OS on the server?
- Mac OS X
B. Windows 98 SE
C. Windows 2012 Server
D. Linux with SAMBA
Of course, you probably haven’t studied this component of the Network+ exam yet. But, you should be able to eliminate a few obviously incorrect choices. For example, choice B would be an obvious candidate for elimination because of the fact that Windows 8.1 is specified as the client operating system. In addition, choice D should seem unreasonable, because Linux would certainly not be easy to implement on an all-Windows network. You are left with choices A and C in this case, and the answer should seem rather obvious C. Remember that answer choice candidate elimination is your best friend on the Network+ examination!
The CompTIA Network+ exam is not adaptive, meaning that the exam does not adjust question difficulty as you complete the exam according to the ratio of correct answers that you achieve. Rather, the exam is “traditional” in that you can answer a question or even skip it entirely, and then come back later to work on the question. This is favorable for you as a test-taker for two reasons: first, it allows you to work on easier questions first, which is something you should always do (as a general rule of thumb, don’t spend longer than two or three minutes on any given question), and second, it allows you to review later exam material to see if you can glean any information from later questions and answer choices. Use your time wisely – take advantage of the information found in later answer choices, and always skip questions that seem to difficult or involved. Using these testing strategies, you should be on your way to preparing and passing the CompTIA Network+ exam with flying colors.
Read the questions AND the answers with equal care. These really seem obvious, but sometimes you might get answer options that only differ slightly from one another and that’s when you really need to understand what the question asks, so stay sharp and read them carefully.
Reading your responses is probably even more important. Keep in mind that there can be close acronyms of terms, like OS2 vs. OSI. Also, if you think a question is wrong, you are probably wrong. So instead of doubting the question, double check your answer and make sure you address it as well as possible. If you think a question is difficult to answer, don’t waste time on trying to crack it. Go for the easy ones first and you’ll have time in the end to go back to more difficult ones.
Below you will find tips to what you should know before teaching the Network+ course…
- You should memorize your acronyms. The questions never spell out what the terminologies are Huge Priority).
- You should understand CIDR for a performance based question.
- You should know how to place routers, L3 and L2 switches, servers, and PCs on a VLAN network.
- You should understand the best uses of networking tools (i.e. crimper and toner), how they look, and when you should use one over another.
- You should be familiar with the steps for not only troubleshooting, but for forensic situations.
- You should know your 802.11 Wi-Fi standards based on speed, band, MIMO, and more.
- You should know the differences between different types of security risks such as DoS, ARP cache Poisoning, Smurfing, etc.
- You should understand various security methods such as mantraps, two-factor authentication, proximity readers, and biometrics.
- You should memorize your port numbers.
- You should know your Access Control Lists inside and out including how command line configuration looks.
- You should know your OSI model.
- You should know your command line tools including ipconfig, ping, nslookup, and nbtstat.
- You should know how to troubleshoot common situations, such as device disconnection and signal loss.
- You should know your TIA 568B wiring order.
- You should understand server room fundamentals such as environmental factors, how to handle fire, and safety practices.
- You should understand your Ethernet standards such as DOCSIS and 1000BaseT.
- You should know the standard business documents such as SOU and SLA.
- You should know your VOIP fundamentals such as SIP.
- You should be comfortable with DHCP and DNS setup.
- You should know your different connectors such as RG-6 and CAT5 and Fiber Optics.
- You should be familiar with the different network topologies such as Ring and Star.
- You should understand VPN setup and encryption.
It is imperative that you evaluate the exam objectives and read into anything you don’t know off the top of your head. Take advantage of the MP4s located on this site. They are broken down by Exam Objective and topic and a great source of information.