TechNotes Network+

All of the TechNotes below are updated/written for the 2005 exam objectives but almost all the information applies to the 2009 objectives as well.

Media and Topologies

Network Components

OSI Model

TCP/IP Suite

TCP/IP Utilities

Network Services

WAN Technologies

Remote Access & Security Protocols

Internet Connections

Authentication Protocols

Wireless Networking

Antivirus Software

MAC OS Networking

Netware OS & Protocols (IPX/SPX)

Microsoft Networking

UNIX/LINUX

Network Support

Fault Tolerance & Disaster Recovery

You can download them all combined in a single PDF file here:

Download the PDF here.

Johan Hiemstra

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Comments

jlrowe

Adminstrator great job on the apple talk! Im glad i found this site and forum before attempting my Network+. Any info on or breakdown of exam would be helpful. About how many questions are AppleTalk related?
Hello to current members.

Webmaster

Welcome to our forums and thanks jlrowe, I'm glad you like it. I've put too many hours into that one

Fortunately, I noticed yesterday that the new A+ 2003 objectives still include AppleTalk, so my research hasn't been useful for 'just' the Net+ exam...

About how many questions are AppleTalk related?

That is information I wouldn't disclose even if I knew

AppleTalk and Macintosh are part of the exam objectives (look at the bottom of the TechNote for the exact exam objectives covered) so you can expect 1 or more questions about it.

eucharist

Really nice to see something on Apple for Net+. Thanks for your hard work.

Digitalis

Well, I have to say I'm VERY impressed with the info provided here. I started studying for Net+ about 3 weeks ago, and need to take the test A.S.A.P. as my company is eliminating my present position June 30.....wanna get one more test paid by the bastards. Already read the All-in-One by Michael Meyers, and I have to say I was extremely dissappointed with it. His A+ book was excellent, but I'm finding my knowledge is still very much lacking after reading the entire Net+ book, and there is quite a bit that is either only mentioned once, or completely left out. I think the info you've provided here, and FREE much less is superb!!! I'm presently on a very limited budget, and there's lots of free info on the web, but not all in one spot and so easily presented.
If I find myself in a good position to donate some material to help out, I'll have to consider.
And if this site keeps going like this, any plans to make it a pay-membership? I hope not, but I also know this stuff takes time/money/resources to keep up.

Thanks again.

Webmaster

Thanks for the compliments Digitalis!

And if this site keeps going like this, any plans to make it a pay-membership? I hope not, but I also know this stuff takes time/money/resources to keep up.

You are right, it takes a lot of effort, and in about 2 or 3 months, I plan to make it my day-job. But, no, no plans of that kind... we do have some other plans to allow us to grow further faster, and to allow me to spend all my time on TechExams.Net, but whatever happens, content that is free, will stay available free.

Enjoy the site!

Johan

headcase

webmaster,

I am currently studying for my Net+ exam. I must say, wow, awesome tech notes. I read the michael Meyers book and I am going to use your technotes as a second source for review. I am A+ certified and after seeing your technotes, I could have probably gone without even having to buy the book.

Awesome work once again, and thank you for your time.

You must really enjoy this, I bet you learn a lot with all the hard work you put into it.

Webmaster

Thanks for the compliments headcase!

You are right, I still do learn a lot from writing things down and doing the research to back it up. Most of the Net+ topics I know from my CCNA and CCDA studies and several years of networking experience, but once in a while I run into an objective/topic I don't know much about, the AppleTalk TechNote for example, and than it will take more time to write about it, but I enjoy it nevertheless because of the new things I keep learning

headcase

It is fun learning about something you actually enjoy. I love learning about IT related topics. Even though the job field is horrible right now and landing a good job has been very, very hard for me, at least I can say I am enjoying what I am doing.

Webmaster

Webmaster wrote:

Next in line is the Network Services TechNotes, it will cover DHCP, name resolution (DNS/HOSTS, WINS/LMHOSTS) and probably NAS and SNMP.

Soon!

Johan

Correction on the above... I will do a TechNote about Netware and it's protocols first, similar to the AppleTalk TechNote

Webmaster

Here it is, the TechNote about Netware OS and its protocols. 'Only' two pages, but should be more than enough to cover Netware for the Network+ exam.

Enjoy!

headcase

webmaster,

thanks again. You seem to know your stuff. I hope you don't mind me sticking around. I like what I see here at techexams.net and I am going to continue using this site as a tool to learn, etc

thanks again

mvillanti

I appreciate the notes. I am taking the exam in a few weeks. In my office , everyone has certs except me. I work as a wireless engineer for an ISP and I need to get these certs completed. I have learned so much from this forum. Keep up the good work, and thanks.

Webmaster

Thanks guys.

Nice to be appreciated

I've been going to my scrap of paper listing the remaining TechNotes for the Network+ exam, which I have to finish before I put it all together in a decent PDF file, and noticed I only need a 'couple of' more.... being:

(note: this list does not represent the titles of the remaining TechNotes... probably

)
- TCP/IP Network Services (DNS, DHCP, WINS)
- Other Network Services (NAS, SNMP)
- NAT, ICS, Firewalls and Proxies
- Wiring tools (somehow I forgot about those when I was writing the Media and Topologies TechNote, the tools will be included in that one... pertains to objective: 4.5 Given a wiring task, select the appropriate tool (e.g., wire crimper, media tester/certifier, punch down tool, tone generator, optical tester, etc.). )
- Fault Tolerance and Disaster Recovery (a small piece about RAID, backups, clusters perphaps... on a "what is it and what does it do" need-to-know basis)

- Network Support.
Several objectives from the DOMAIN 4.0: Network Support, are already covered in TechNotes, and from several others I think IMHO, that it should either come natural (as in being able to think logically, which is a requirement for working in the IT industry) or should be able to solve by knowing the technical facts described in the other TechNotes. The objectives I'm talking about, and thus will not be covered in TechNotes are:

4.2 Given a troubleshooting scenario involving a small office/home office network failure (e.g., xDSL, cable, home satellite, wireless, POTS), identify the cause of the failure.
4.3 Given a troubleshooting scenario involving a remote connectivity problem (e.g., authentication failure, protocol configuration, physical connectivity) identify the cause of the problem.
4.6 Given a network scenario interpret visual indicators (e.g., link lights, collision lights, etc.) to determine the nature of the problem. (note: I've updated the Network Components TechNote to include some information about link and collision lights on a NIC)
4.10 Given a troubleshooting scenario involving a network with a particular physical topology (i.e., bus, star/hierarchical, mesh, ring, and wireless) and including a network diagram, identify the network area effected and the cause of the problem.
4.11 Given a network troubleshooting scenario involving a client connectivity problem (e.g., incorrect protocol/client software/authentication configuration, or insufficient rights/permission), identify the cause of the problem.
4.12 Given a network troubleshooting scenario involving a wiring/infrastructure problem, identify the cause of the problem (e.g., bad media, interference, network hardware).

These scenario questions are really not that hard, for example objective 4.12 is something you can solve by knowing the information media and network components.

So what will the Network Support TechNote include according to plan (which always changes as you may have noticed by reading this thread):

- 4.9 Given a network problem scenario, select an appropriate course of action based on a general troubleshooting strategy. This strategy includes the following steps:
- Establish the symptoms
- Identify the affected area
- Establish what has changed
- Select the most probable cause
- Implement a solution
- Test the result
- Recognize the potential effects of the solution
- Document the solution

This will pretty much be the 'being able to think logically part' being described using examples of which several will be related to the Network Support objectives I will have skipped.

Now you might wonder, what happened with Unix/Linux? Well, not that I have anything against it, but I don't think it will make it to the first version of the PDF... Perhaps a couple of lines, but Unix/Linux is hardly covered in the exam (probably because the other OSs have their own protocols: MS-->Netbeui, MAC-->appletalk, Netware-->IPX) so I don't think it will be a complete online TechNote. On the other hand, we are working on a Linux+ forum and content so this plan might also change...

PS. if you have any comments about the content, also in terms of grammar and spelling errors or anything, please let me know before I put it in the PDF.

Johan

jeff CQ

Not trying to rush you, just wondering when the ETA for the PDF is.

Webmaster

Well, I decided to put the 4.10 support objective in the Media and Topo notes as well as the tools. I think I'll be doing that later this week or early next week. As for the rest, please don't pin me down on it, because I got so much thigns on my hands right now, it's hard to make a timetable... but I think it should be ready in about 5 or 6 weeks. one thing's for sure, the TechNotes for Network+ will be the first to be available in PDF.

The free PDF will be 'simply' the TechNotes combined in one "good looking" file. There's a chance, although this is not for sure yet, that their will be a cheap PDF as well, that one will be more like an e-book, with hundreds of review questions and practice questions, and Adobe 'bookmarks'. Kind of like a deluxe version you can buy to support us. Hopefully that version will contribute to us being able to create these kind of TechNotes for many more exams.

Webmaster

Almost forgot about NETBEUI...

here it is, short but sufficient:

www.techexams.net/technotes/networkplus/netbeui.shtml

cyborg

Just to let you know Johan (Webmaster??): You are doing a very good job helping out people like me who need that help to sail through their exams!!!!!

Thanks a million!!! Could you help me with one thing: Explaining the difference between the following in simple terms:

Repeaters
Bridges
Switches
Gateways
Routers

Thanks again and did it ever occur to you that millions are passing cos of u????

Webmaster

Congrats!

Webmaster

Here's the next TechNote for Network+:

www.techexams.net/technotes/networkplus/support.shtml

I might add some more examples to it later. I was actually saving this TechNote for last, but I had an idea which worked out rather nice if I can say so myself. Let me know what you think.

tokhss

love the write up.. thanks..

Webmaster

First another one: Fault Tolerance and Disaster Recovery

More soon...

Webmaster

You're most welcome Ghaouf, nice to see that people who are Network+ certified still read my Net+ TechNotes

The next one, which I decided to name "Internet Connections" should be ready today or early tomorrow. It will cover NAT, Firewalls, Proxies, and ICS. I think it will be interesting for everyone that is interested in LAN/WAN <----> Internet connections.

Webmaster

Here it is, the next TechNote: Internet Connections.

It covers NAT, ICS, Firewalls, and Proxies.

Enjoy

ghaouf

do you think that these technotes will be good as a study guide for the inet+

Webmaster

Good question.

If you take the I-net+ exam objectives that do match to the content of these TechNotes you will have those covered almost entirely. But there is much more to i-Net+ than 'just' the networking part.

i-Net+ is not a very popular exam, so it's not on the priority list for new content. But eventually I will write the i-Net+ TechNotes and I figure I will be reusing a lot of the content from the Network+ TechNotes.

Webmaster

I just added new TechNotes for the Network+ exam, it covers DHCP, DNS, WINS, NAS and SNMP:

www.techexams.net/technotes/networkplus/networkservices.shtml

14 down... 1 to go

A very short one, about the exam objectives related to Unix/Linux, that should be online this weekend... and the PDF versions soon after that.

If you have any comments about these latest TechNotes, please do let me know, so I can change/add/remove things before it ends up in the PDF.

tokhss

great work man.. honestly.. nicely done..

right now i am being sidetracked on work.. got hired as a computer trainer for a real estate company.. 700 agents need to ger trained in various but simple areas of the OS.. grr.. i wanted to see if i can pass the Network+ by the end of this upcomming week.. maybe i still can..

anyhow.. im going to read your notes along with the Sybex and Boson software.. i will pass, WHEN i will is another quesiton lol.

ghaouf

first of all i found an error.
it says that an example of a fqdn is
hostb.tedomain.net

it is not it should be

hostb.tedomain.net.

also for the dns records if you could add what it stands for for example
PTR (pointer)
a(host)

just my $.02

Webmaster

ghaouf wrote:

first of all i found an error.
it says that an example of a fqdn is
hostb.tedomain.net

it is not it should be

hostb.tedomain.net.

Actually I left out the "." deliberately...
In general hostb.tedomain.net is a FQDN... it is definitely not an error. The dot for the search domain is not required because it is added automatically in software. Strict technically you are right, but in reality this is never done, and certainly not for CompTIA's Network+. Besides this, another reason for me to leave it out was so I don't have to explain the 'search domain', ("why the dot is there") because this is way beyond the scope of the Network+ exam. For Net+ you need to know what DNS is, not how it functions in detail.

also for the dns records if you could add what it stands for for example
PTR (pointer)
a(host)

Yes, I will.

Thanks for being critical Ghaouf! It's nice to get 'thank you' notes and such but to be honest I was hoping for more of these kind of comments when I started writing these notes, since it does improve them.

ccj

I can't wait for this to be completed!
I have to admit that I was preeeety nervous about my A+ exams, but your prep notes and tests gave me that final confidence needed to book in and take them.
This Net+ section has come at a perfect time, I was lookin to sit the exam imminently, but i'm delaying it until I have read through your prep notes to make sure I nail any weaknesses. No point throwing money away!