Network+ Certification Preparation Books

Given below are a few good books for Network+ preparation.

Network+ Exam Objectives

The domain of technology areas covered are as given below:
1.0 Media and Topologies 20% weightage
2.0 Protocols and Standards 20% weightage
3.0 Network implementation 25% weightage
4.0 Network Support 35% weightage

Obviously, Network Support is given more weightage than others, and you can expect more number of questions in this area.

Details exam objectives are as given below:
1.0 Media and Topologies:
1.1 Recognize Star, Bus, Mesh, and Ring topologies with the help of a diagram, schematic, or description
1.2 Identify main features of LLC (802.2), Ehternet (802.3), Token Ring (802.5), FDDI, Wireless (802.11). The features include speed, access method, topology, and media.
1.3 Identify important characteristics of 10baseT, 10BaseFL, 100BAseTX, 100BaseFX, 1000BaseT, 1000BaseCX, 1000BaseSX, 1000BaseLX, 10GBaseSR, 10GBaseLR, and 10GBaseER.
1.4 Identify the media connectors and their usage for RJ-11, RJ-45, F-Type, ST, SC, IEEEE1394, USB, MT-RJ, and others.
1.5 Recognize and describe the uses of Category 3, 5, 5e, and 6 cables. Describe the uses of UTP, STP, Coaxial, SMF, and MMF cables.
1.6 Identify the purpose, features, and functions of Hubs, Switches, Bridges, Routers, Gateways, CSU/DSUs, NICs, ISDN, WAP, Modems, Transceivers, and Firewalls.
1.7 Familiarize with important features of FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum, 802.11), DSS (Direct Sequence Spreadspectrum, 802.11x), Infrared, and Bluetooth technologies.
1.8 Identifying the effect of interference, antenna type etc. on the range and bandwidth of wireless communications.

Domain 2: Protocols and Standards:

2.1 Know about Media Access Control (MAC) address and its parts
2.2 Identify the 7 layers of the OSI model and their functions
2.3 Identify the OSI laters at which Hubs, Switches, Bridges, Routers, NICs, and WAPs operate.
2.4 Differentiate between IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk/AppleTalk over IP, and TCP/IP in terms of routing, addressing schemes, interoperability, and naming conventions.
2.5 Identify the components and structure of IP addresses including IPv6, and the required setting for connections accross the Internet.
2.6 Identify classful IP ranges, and their default subnet masks.
2.7 Identify the purpose of subnetting.
2.8 Identify the differences between private and public network addressing schemes.
2.9 Identify and differentiate between static, dynamic, and self-assigned IP addressing methods.
2.10 Identify the purpose, function, and use of the following protocols:
TCP, UDP, FTP, SFTP, TFTP, SMTP, HTTP, HTTPS, POP3/IMAP4, Telnet, SSH, ICMP, NTP, NNTP, SCP, LDAP, IGMP, and LPR.
2.11 Define the function of TCP/UDP ports.
2.12 Well known ports identification:
20:FTP; 21:FTP; 22:SSH; 23:Telnet; 25:SMTP; 53:DNS; 69:TFTP; 80:HTTP; 110:POP3; 119:NNTP; 123:NTP; 143:IMAP4; 443:HTTPS
2.13 Identify the purpose of network services and protocols.
2.14 Identify the basic characteristics of packet switching, circuit switching, ISDN, FDDI, T1, T3, OCx,and X.25
2.15 Identify the basic characteristics of the following internet access technologies:

xDSL
Broadband
POTS
Satellite
Wireless
2.16 Define the function of the following remote access protocols and services:

RAS, PPP, SLIP, PPPoE, PPTP, VPN, and RDP.
2.17 Identify the following security protocols and describe their purpose and functions:
IPSec, L2TP, SSL, WEP, WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), 802.1x
2.18 Identify authentication protocols including CHAP, MS-CHAP, PAP, RADIUS, and Kerberos.

Domain 3.0 Network Implementation
Identify the basic capabilities of the following server operating systems to access network resources:
Unix/Linux/Mac OS X Server
Netware
Windows
Appleshare IP
3.2 Identify basic capabilites required for a work station to use a network resource. Basic capabilites include media requirement, network protocols, and peer/client-server resources.
3.3 Know appropriate tooss like wire crimper, media tester, punch down tool or tone generator to accomplish a given task.
3.4 When provided with a protocol, an authentication method, and physical connectivity configure remote connectivity from a work station to a Server.
The servers include Unix, Linux, MAC OS X, Netware, Windows, and Appleshare IP.

3.5 Understand the purpose, benefits, and characteristics of using a firewall.

3.6 Given a connectivity scenario, determine the effect of a particular security implementation such as port blocking, port filtering, authentication, and encryption.

3.7 Understand the purpose, benefits, and characteristics of using a proxy service.

3.8 Characteristics of VLANs

3.9 Purpose and characteristics of extranets and intranets.

3.10 Purpose, benefits, and features of antivirus software.

3.11 Purpose and features of fault tolerance:
-Power
-Link redundancy
-Storage
-Services

3.12 Purpose and characteristics of disaster recovery:
-Backup and restore
- Offsite storage
-Hot and cold spares
-Hot, warm, and cold sites

Domain 4 Network Support

4.1 Choose appropriate network utility for troubleshooting:
-arp
-ipconfig/ifconfig
-ping
-netstat
-nbtstat
-nslookup/dig
-tracert/traceroute

4.2 If you are provided with an output from a troubleshooting command such as ping or tracert, identify the command used.

4.3 Interpret visual indicators (like LEDs) in a network scenario to determine the nature of a given problem.

4.4 Troubleshooting scenarios including the following:
-File services, and print services
-Authentication failure
-Protocol misconfigurations
-Physical connectivity problesm
-SOHO router config problems

4.5 Troubleshoot client-server communication problems for the following servers:
-Unix/Linus/Mac OS X
-Netware
-Windows
-Appleshare IP

4.6 Understand the effects of changing the configurations of services like DHCP, DNS, and WINs for network resource access, and users.

4.7 In a network scenatio involving a network with particular physical topology and including a network diagram, identify the network area affected and the cause of the stated failure.

4.8 Identify bad media, interference, network hardware problems in wired as well as wireless networking scenario.

4.9 Logical troubleshooting strategy including the following:
- Identification of symptoms and likely causes
- Identification of affected area or areas
- Know what has changed, and choose most probable causes
- Implement an action plan to remedy the situation
- Study the results of action plan, and repeat with different parameters if necessary.
- Document

Please note that the exam objectives are condensed version of actual CompTIA(R) Network+(TM) exam objectives. You are advised to visit Comptia website for more comprehesive, and up to date information.

Network+ Exam Details

Network+ certification is offered by Comptia.org The exam will have approximately 85 questions, to be answered in 90 minutes. The question types include multiple choise single answer, multiple choise multiple answer, true/flase, and scenario based questions. The exam is conducted by VUE/Prometric (www.vue.com, and www.prometric.com). One can book for an exam by going to any of these sites. Candidates are expected to have atleast 6 months to 1 year experience to take this exam. View official website for any recent changes to the exam. Mock Network+ exams are suitable for candidates in final stages of preparation.
A free Network+ exam cram enables one to prepare for important points essential for passing the exam.

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