Network+ Study Notes

Background⌗

I’m studying for the CompTIA Network+ N10-008 exam. There’s a LOT of material, so I’ll use this page to organize notes on what I used to study, how I went about it, and helpful charts I’ll use to memorize the needful.

When I was in high school, I took a Cisco certification course. We offered it as an elective at our school to try to get more kids into tech. It took a whole year for the Networking 1 and 2 class, and at the end, you were supposedly able to take your CCNA and go on to be a network tech right out of high school. The course wasn’t great, but I did learn to configure a router, build patch cables, etc.

I also moved into a house with no previous network infrastructure last year, so I had the joy of running cable through walls and my attic already, terminating ends and testing all my connections. I’m building a Lack Rack at the moment to host my patch panel, router, switch, and other goodies that make up my home network.

Materials⌗

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All-In-One Network+ Book - Mike Meyers - I used the N10-006 version because it was only $8 used, and I’ll make up the updated info by buying Meyers' Udemy course TOTAL: CompTIA Network+ (N10-008) - Mike Meyers, Joe Ramm - For those that don’t like to read, you can listen to the soothing voices of Mike Meyers and Joe Ramm whisper sweet subnetting into your ears. This is basically just a narration of the Network+ book. CompTIA Network+ (N10-008) 6 Practice Exams - Jason Dion Professor Messer’s CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course - Professor Messer offers a free video training course. He goes in a different order than Meyers, so I’m saving his stuff for after Meyers' training Sunny Learning - Sunny has some interesting information on his channel and explains in a way that is easy to work with. Check out his “Subnetting Is Simple” video. Anki - Anki is open-source software that helps you memorize things with flash cards. I found this Network+ Starter Set deck and will be using these cards until I develop my own, based on what I’m lagging behind in. I may not need to make my own, we’ll see how the practice exams go. AnkiDroid - Android app for Anki.

Note: The Udemy courses sound expensive until you browse the Udemy site for a little while. Their courses go on “sale”, and the courses that all say they’re $100-200 are actually about $12 or so at other times. I paid $13 for the two Udemy courses, and at the time I’m writing this post to grab links, they’re on sale for $9.99. Don’t get impatient, just give it a week if they’re not on sale right now. Start with the book anyway.

Strategy⌗

The way I learn best is to read, then think about or discuss what I’ve read, then put it into practice. With the materials I’ve got available, I’m reading a chapter in the All In One book, then watching the corresponding video in Meyers' video course. This helps me to hear it explained, sometimes in a different way, and helps me to solidify what I’ve read. Once I’ve made it through the book and videos, I’ll take a practice exam and see how I do. If I make above a 70%, I’ll go ahead and schedule my exam for 1 month out and continue my studies. If I make below a 70%, I’ll schedule it for 2 months out. The test isn’t cheap, so I only want to have to take it once.

Next I’ll go through the exam objectives and see if there’s anywhere I feel like I’m lacking. Based on where I did poorly on the practice exams, I’ll focus on areas I felt weakest. It may help to go through some of Professor Messer’s videos and Sunny’s videos on some topics as well. Every week leading up to the exam, I’ll take a practice exam to develop a rhythm.

OSI Model⌗

• 7 Application
• 6 Presentation
• 5 Session
• 4 Transport
• 3 Network
• 2 Data Link
• 1 Physical

Subnetting⌗

802’s⌗

Cables⌗

Ports⌗

IPv4 Classes⌗