CompTIA Network+

Network+ domains overview: Your complete preparation guide

Are you interested in a career that allows you to work with businesses to improve their computer systems and networks? If so, the CompTIA Network+ vendor-neutral certification might be a good choice. This credential validates the skills required to implement wired and wireless network solutions, troubleshoot network connectivity issues, identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and harden networks against threats. It can open doors to a variety of employment opportunities in IT networking operational environments (wired or wireless), cloud computing and server support roles.

The Network+ certification covers the skills that network professionals need as engineers or technicians in network support or administration. According to CompTIA, no other credential covers the hands-on skills and precise knowledge needed in today's networking environments.

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What's in this guide?

Read on to explore this in-depth guide, or use the table of contents to jump directly to a section:

About the exam
- N10-009 vs N10-008
Studying for the exam
After earning the Network+
Network+ domains overview
Career benefits

About the new Network+ exam

CompTIA's updated exam N10-009, which was released on June 20, 2024, verifies you have the knowledge required to do the following:

Establish network connectivity by deploying wired and wireless devices
Understand and maintain network documentation
Understand the purpose of network services
Understand basic data center, cloud and virtual networking concepts
Monitor network activity, identifying performance and availability issues
Implement network hardening techniques
Manage, configure and troubleshoot network infrastructure

N10-009 is geared towards validating the knowledge of professionals who have at least 9-12 months of experience as junior network administrators or network support technicians.

What's new: N10-009 vs. N10-008

The N10-009 and N10-008 exams cover most of the same material. They also have the same prerequisites, exam structure, number of questions and amount of time allotted to complete the test. According to CompTIA, the new version of the exam includes more extensive coverage of modern networks and factors related to physical installations.

Some of those key concepts covered on the updated exam include:

Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Scalability and VxLAN
Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF) and Main Distribution Frame (MDF)
Zero-Trust Architecture and SASE/SSE

Another difference is that N10-009 will also be available in Japanese, while the previous version only included English, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

The 008 and 009 exams are organized them into nearly the same domains. Some of the domain weights have changed, as well as the name of the first domain. Below is a comparison table for the CompTIA Network+ 008 vs. 009 exam domains:

Domain	N10-008 exam weight	N10-009 exam weight
Networking Concepts (formerly Network Fundamentals)	24%	23%
Network Implementations	19%	20%
Network Operations	16%	19%
Network Security	19%	14%
Network Troubleshooting	22%	24%

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Studying for the exam

As you can see, the domains still focus on the same macro areas covered by the previous exam; however, what you can expect to see in the Network+ N10-009 is deeper coverage of technologies that have lately gained more importance in the lives of businesses, outlined in the section above.

Newer content, like software-defined networking (SDN) and IPv6 address structures, are covered in detail together with tools like intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) for security. The updated exam also contains additional network media (cabling or wireless) and defensive security and risk management concepts to reflect changes in job roles.

At a minimum, to pass the certification examination, you need to know the following:

Wired and wireless networks
IPv4 and IPv6 networks
Hardware components (e.g., switches and routers)
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and the seven layers of networking
Network services issues
Varieties of protocols, tools, applications and devices to ensure network security
Network availability
Common remote access technology
Types of security controls to protect hardware, software, networks and data
Datacenter network architecture to support an enterprise business
Cloud concepts and connectivity options
General types of network attacks
Network data cabling

For theory, a good start is CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Certification Study Guides to help you learn and master the material in this exam. Complement a study guide with additional Network+ study resources or opt to take a course from an authorized provider like Infosec Institute.

What to expect after you earn the Network+

The CompTIA Network+ certification prepares IT professionals to effectively support and optimize today's network environments. By validating practical, foundational, this credential can help professionals prove their worth to potential employers who value specialized training and a solid basis in networking and hot topics such as cloud computing, virtualization, software development, cybersecurity and more.

Network+-certified practitioners can provide added value with their competencies in detecting security breaches, analyzing systems for possible cyberattacks, proactively addressing issues and making appropriate recommendations for handling and protecting data assets.

Employment trends indicating that employees with network certifications and understanding of cloud are in high demand. The job growth and potential earnings (see average Network+ salary) you can expect in the field may be worth exploring. If you're considering a career change or are getting yourself ready for a step forward in your job, this certification might be the right choice.

N10-009 exam objectives: What's in this version?

It is important to be fully aware of the topics and tasks covered in the exam to identify areas that require more attention and allocate study time more strategically. Following are the exam objectives for the current version of Network+ (N10-009).

Domain 1.0: Networking Concepts

1.1 Explain concepts related to the Open Systems Interconnection (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

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)
  - Controller
- Applications
  - Content delivery network (CDN)
- Functions
  - Virtual private network (VPN)
  - Quality of service (QoS)
  - Time to live (TTL)

1.3 Summarize cloud concepts and connectivity options.

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)
Scalability
Elasticity
Multitenancy

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

Protocols — Ports
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP) — 20/21
- Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) — 22
- Secure Shell (SSH) — 22
- Telnet — 23
- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) — 25
- Domain Name System (DNS) — 53
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) — 67/68
- Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) — 69
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) — 80
- Network Time Protocol (NTP) — 123
- Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) — 161/162
- Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) — 389
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) — 443
- Server Message Block (SMB) — 445
- Syslog — 514
- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Secure (SMTPS) — 587
- Lightweight Directory Access Protocol over SSL (LDAPS) — 636
- Structured Query Language (SQL) Server — 1433
- Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) — 3389
- Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) — 5060/5061
Internet Protocol (IP) types
- Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
- Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
- User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
- Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)
- Internet Protocol Security (IPSec)
  - Authentication Header (AH)
  - Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)
  - Internet Key Exchange (IKE)
- Traffic type
  - Unicast
  - Multicast
  - Anycast
  - Broadcast

1.5 Compare and contrast transmission media and transceivers.

Wireless
- 802.11 standards
- Cellular
- Satellite
Wired
- 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
- Protocol
- 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)
- Registered jack (RJ)11
- RJ45
- F-type
- Bayonet Neill–Concelman (BNC)

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

1.7 Given a scenario, use appropriate IPv4 network addressing.

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

1.8 Summarize evolving use cases for modern network environments.

Software-defined network (SDN) and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN)
- Application aware
- Zero-touch provisioning
- Transport agnostic
- Central policy management
Virtual Extensible Local Area Network (VXLAN)
- Data center interconnect (DCI)
- Layer 2 encapsulation
Zero trust architecture (ZTA)
- Policy-based authentication
- Authorization
- Least privilege access
Secure Access Secure Edge (SASE) / Security Service Edge (SSE)
Infrastructure as code (IaC)
- Automation
  - Playbooks/templates/reusable tasks
  - Configuration drift/compliance
  - Upgrades
  - Dynamic inventories
- Source control
  - Version control
  - Central repository
  - Conflict identification
  - Branching
IPv6 addressing
- Mitigating address exhaustion
- Compatibility requirements
  - Tunneling
  - Dual stack
  - NAT64

Domain 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)
Route selection
- Administrative distance
- Prefix length
- Metric
Address translation
- NAT
- Port address translation (PAT)
First Hop Redundancy Protocol (FHRP)
Virtual IP (VIP)
Subinterfaces

2.2. Given a scenario, configure switching technologies and features.

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)
- VLAN database
- Switch Virtual Interface (SVI)
Interface configuration
- Native VLAN
- Voice VLAN
- 802.1Q tagging
- Link aggregation
- Speed
- Duplex
Spanning tree
Maximum transmission unit (MTU)
- Jumbo frames

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

Channels
- Channel width
- Non-overlapping channels
- Regulatory impacts
  - 802.11h
Frequency options
- 2.4GHz
- 5GHz
- 6GHz
- Band steering
Service set identifier (SSID)
- Basic service set identifier (BSSID)
- Extended service set identifier (ESSID)
Network types
- Mesh networks
- Ad hoc
- Point to point
- Infrastructure
Encryption
- Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)
- WPA3
Guest networks
- Captive portals
Authentication
- Pre-shared key (PSK) vs. Enterprise
Antennas
- Omnidirectional vs. directional
Autonomous vs. lightweight access point

2.4 Explain important factors of physical installations.

Important installation implications
- Locations
  - Intermediate distribution frame (IDF)
  - Main distribution frame (MDF)
- Rack size
- Port-side exhaust/intake
- Cabling
  - Patch panel
  - Fiber distribution panel
- Lockable
Power
- Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
- Power distribution unit (PDU)
- Power load
- Voltage
Environmental factors
- Humidity
- Fire suppression
- Temperature

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Domain 3.0: Network Operations

3.1 Explain the purpose of organizational processes and procedures.

Documentation
- Physical vs. logical diagrams
- Rack diagrams
- Cable maps and diagrams
- Network diagrams
  - Layer 1
  - Layer 2
  - Layer 3
- Asset inventory
- Hardware
  - Software
  - Licensing
  - Warranty support
- 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 and bug fixes
  - Operating system (OS)
  - Firmware
- Decommissioning
Change management
- Request process tracking/service request
Configuration management
- Production configuration
- Backup configuration
- Baseline/golden configuration

3.2 Given a scenario, use network monitoring technologies.

Methods
- SNMP
  - Traps
  - Management information base (MIB)
  - Versions
    - v2c
    - v3
  - Community strings
  - Authentication
- Flow data
- Packet capture
- Baseline metrics
  - Anomaly alerting/notification
- Log aggregation
  - Syslog collector
  - Security information and event management (SIEM)
- Application programming interface (API) integration
  - Port mirroring
Solutions
- Network discovery
  - Ad hoc
  - Scheduled
- Traffic analysis
- Performance monitoring
- Availability monitoring
- Configuration monitoring

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)
DR sites
- Cold site
- Warm site
- Hot site
High-availability approaches
- Active-active
- Active-passive
Testing
- Tabletop exercises
- Validation tests

3.4 Given a scenario, implement IPv4 and IPv6 network services.

Dynamic addressing
- DHCP
  - Reservations
  - Scope
  - Lease time
  - Options
  - Relay/IP helper
  - Exclusions
- Stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC)
Name resolution
- DNS
  - Domain Name Security Extensions (DNSSEC)
  - DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT)
  - Record types
    - Address (A)
    - AAAA
    - Canonical name (CNAME)
    - Mail exchange (MX)
    - Text (TXT)
    - Nameserver (NS)
    - Pointer (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)

3.5 Compare and contrast network access and management methods.

Site-to-site VPN
Client-to-site VPN
- Clientless
- Split tunnel vs. full tunnel
Connection methods
- SSH
- Graphical user interface (GUI)
- API
- Console
Jump box/host
In-band vs. out-of-band management

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Domain 4.0: Network Security

4.1 Explain the importance of basic network security concepts.

Logical security
- Encryption
  - Data in transit
  - Data at rest
- Certificates
  - Public key infrastructure (PKI)
  - Self-signed
- Identity and access management (IAM)
  - Authentication
    - Multifactor authentication (MFA)
    - Single sign-on (SSO)
    - Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS)
    - LDAP
    - Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)
    - Terminal Access Controller
    - Access Control System Plus (TACACS+)
    - Time-based authentication
  - Authorization
    - Least privilege
    - Role-based access control
- Geofencing
Physical security
- Camera
- Locks
Deception technologies
- Honeypot
- Honeynet
Common security terminology
- Risk
- Vulnerability
- Exploit
- Threat
- Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) triad
Audits and regulatory compliance
- Data locality
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Network segmentation enforcement
- Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
- Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), industrial control System (ICS), operational technology (OT)
- Guest
- Bring your own device (BYOD)

4.2 Summarize various types of attacks and their impact to the network.

Denial-of-service (DoS)/distributed denial-of-service (DDoS)
VLAN hopping
Media Access Control (MAC) flooding
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) poisoning
ARP spoofing
DNS poisoning
DNS spoofing
Rogue devices and services
- DHCP
- AP
Evil twin
On-path attack
Social engineering
- Phishing
- Dumpster diving
- Shoulder surfing
- Tailgating
Malware

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

Device hardening
- Disable unused ports and services
- Change default passwords
Network access control (NAC)
- Port security
- 802.1X
- MAC filtering
Key management
Security rules
- Access control list (ACL)
- Uniform Resource Locator (URL) filtering
- Content filtering
Zones
- Trusted vs. untrusted
- Screened subnet

Domain 5.0: Network Troubleshooting

5.1 Explain the network troubleshooting methodology.

Identify the problem
- Gather information
- Question users
- Identify symptoms
- Determine if anything has changed
- Duplicate the problem, if possible
- Approach multiple problems individually
Establish a theory of probable cause
- Question the obvious
- Consider multiple approaches
  - Top-to-bottom/bottom-to-top OSI model
  - Divide and conquer
Test the theory to determine the cause
- If theory is confirmed, determine next steps to resolve problem
- If theory is not confirmed, establish a new theory or escalate
Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and identify potential effects
Implement the solution or escalate as necessary
Verify full system functionality and implement preventive measures if applicable
Document findings, actions, outcomes, and lessons learned throughout the process

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

Cable issues
- Incorrect cable
  - Single mode vs. multimode
  - Category 5/6/7/8
  - Shielded twisted pair (STP) vs. unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
- Signal degradation
  - Crosstalk
  - Interference
  - Attenuation
- Improper termination
- Transmitter (TX)/Receiver (RX) transposed
Interface issues
- Increasing interface counters
  - Cyclic redundancy check (CRC)
  - Runts
  - Giants
  - Drops
- Port status
  - Error disabled
  - Administratively down
  - Suspended
Hardware issues
- Power over Ethernet (PoE)
  - Power budget exceeded
  - Incorrect standard
- Transceivers
  - Mismatch
  - Signal strength

5.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common issues with network services.

Switching issues
- STP
  - Network loops
  - Root bridge selection
  - Port roles
  - Port states
- Incorrect VLAN assignment
- ACLs
Route selection
- Routing table
- Default routes
Address pool exhaustion
Incorrect default gateway
Incorrect IP address
- Duplicate IP address
Incorrect subnet mask

5.4 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common performance issues.

Congestion/contention
Bottlenecking
Bandwidth
- Throughput capacity
Latency
Packet loss
Jitter
Wireless
- Interference
  - Channel overlap
- Signal degradation or loss
- Insufficient wireless coverage
- Client disassociation issues
- Roaming misconfiguration

5.5 Given a scenario, use the appropriate tool or protocol to solve networking issues.

Software tools
- Protocol analyzer
- Command line
  - ping
  - traceroute/tracert
  - nslookup
  - tcpdump
  - dig
  - netstat
  - ip/ifconfig/ipconfig
  - arp
- Nmap
- Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)/Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)
- Speed tester
Hardware tools
- Toner
- Cable tester
- Taps
- Wi-Fi analyzer
- Visual fault locator
Basic networking device commands
- show mac-address-table
- show route
- show interface
- show config
- show arp
- show vlan
- show power

Earn your Network+ certification, guaranteed!

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How Network+ can benefit your career

Network+ is one of the most recognizable Networking certifications today, making it a powerful addition to your professional portfolio. Using the breakdown of each domain in this article, you have a comprehensive list of all of the topics you need to understand. After earning your certification, you open several doors that may lead to employment opportunities across many industries.

This is the case because the Network+ certification differentiates you from thousands of other entry-level applicants. It provides compelling evidence of your knowledge and capabilities. Therefore, instead of being limited to performing basic administrative tasks while others get their hands dirty, you can get in the trenches with the rest of your team.

While this guide provides a solid foundation, building the rest of your exam prep program may take a few more resources. Here are some to help you get started:

Entry-level cybersecurity careers ebook: Which careers should you have in your sights? There may be more options than you think, and this eBook explains some of the most common roles cybersecurity professionals shoot for.
Cybersecurity salary guide: At the end of the day, money matters, and this guide outlines the pay rates you can reasonably expect for different roles.
Network+ training hub: The Network+ training hub is your home base for ensuring you use a comprehensive array of prep tools.
Network+ Boot Camp: With the Network+ Boot Camp, you get all the information you need to go from a networking novice to a pro. After this intense 5-day session, you walk away with the tools needed to ace the exam. You also get an exam voucher, a set of pre-study resources, and as many practice exam attempts as you'd like.

Posted: June 9, 2025

Daniel Brecht

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Daniel Brecht has been writing for the Web since 2007. His interests include computers, mobile devices and cyber security standards. He has enjoyed writing on a variety of topics ranging from cloud computing to application development, web development and e-commerce. Brecht has several years of experience as an Information Technician in the military and as an education counselor. He holds a graduate Certificate in Information Assurance and a Master of Science in Information Technology.