- Exam Details
- Trouble Spots
- Preparation Hints
- Recommended Study Resources
- Where to Go from Here
Preparation Hints
Since the Network+ exam covers a wide spectrum of networking topics on its blueprint, you should have CompTIA Authorized book that targets the N10-005 exam. A book’s CompTIA authorization ensures that the book covers all topics on the exam blueprint.
Alternately, if you have a training budget, you might prefer to take a class, where you can interact with your instructor and follow students, ask questions, and get hands-on experience with the equipment you are studying.
When it comes to the rote memorization of the facts (for example, the frequency bands used by different wireless standards or the purpose of each layer of the OSI Model), you might want to make yourself a set of flash cards.
To prepare for the mathematical questions you might face, you can make up your own questions and then check your answers with a subnet calculator. For example, you could make up a question such as, “What subnet mask could be used with the 192.168.1.0 network to create 8 subnets?” Then, you could download a free subnet calculator from the Internet (for example, the free subnet calculator available at http://www.solarwinds.com/downloads) to check your answer.
Hands-on experience can also enhance your odds of passing the exam. Therefore, if you have some spare equipment (for example, a couple of old PCs (one running Microsoft Windows® 7 and the other running a free Linux distribution of your choice), an Ethernet switch, and a wireless router) you could construct a sample network topology. With this topology you could practice various Windows® and UNIX commands, familiarize yourself with network configuration options (for example, configuring a static IP address), and troubleshoot any issues you encounter.