CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) Study Plan¶

6-Week Comprehensive Study Schedule¶

Week 1: Networking Concepts - Foundations¶

Day 1-2: OSI Model and TCP/IP¶

• OSI 7 layers, PDUs at each layer, devices per layer
• TCP/IP 4-layer model and how it maps to OSI
• Encapsulation/decapsulation walkthrough
• TCP handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) and flags (FIN, RST, PSH, URG)
• UDP vs TCP - when to use each, examples
• Review Notes: 01-networking-concepts.md

Day 3-4: Ports, Protocols, and Services¶

• Memorize port table from fact sheet (FTP through 8080)
• Map insecure -> secure protocol pairs (HTTP/HTTPS, FTP/SFTP, etc.)
• DNS record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, SOA, PTR, TXT, SRV)
• DHCP DORA process, relay/IP helper, lease/reservation/exclusion
• NTP, SNMP (v1/v2c/v3), syslog severity levels
• Review Notes: 01-networking-concepts.md

Day 5-6: IP Addressing and Subnetting¶

• Classful addressing (A/B/C/D/E)
• RFC 1918 private ranges
• Special addresses: APIPA, loopback, multicast, CGNAT
• CIDR/VLSM math: hosts = 2^n - 2
• Practice subnetting at /24 - /30 until you can do them in <30 sec each
• Magic number trick on the fourth octet
• IPv6 format, address types (GUA, ULA, link-local, multicast, loopback)
• SLAAC, DHCPv6, EUI-64
• Review Notes: 01-networking-concepts.md

Day 7: Week 1 Review¶

• Subnetting drills - 25 problems in 25 minutes
• Port number flashcards
• Practice questions on OSI, ports, addressing (target: 65%+)

Week 2: Network Implementation - Routing and Switching¶

Day 8-9: Switching¶

• How switches learn MAC addresses (CAM/MAC table)
• Broadcast domains vs collision domains (VLAN per broadcast domain)
• VLANs, 802.1Q tagging, native VLAN, voice VLAN
• Trunking (802.1Q) and access ports
• STP/RSTP - port states, port roles, root bridge election, BPDU
• STP protections: BPDU Guard, Root Guard, PortFast
• Link aggregation - LACP (802.3ad), PAgP, static
• Review Notes: 02-network-implementation.md

Day 10-11: Routing¶

• Static vs dynamic routing - when to use each
• Administrative distance values (memorize: connected 0, static 1, EBGP 20, EIGRP 90, OSPF 110, RIP 120, IBGP 200)
• OSPF basics: areas, LSAs, DR/BDR, cost metric
• EIGRP basics: composite metric, DUAL, feasible successor
• BGP basics: AS, EBGP vs IBGP, path attributes
• RIP basics: hop count, max 15, slow convergence
• Default route 0.0.0.0/0 and route summarization
• Review Notes: 02-network-implementation.md

Day 12-13: Wireless and Physical¶

• 802.11 alphabet soup: a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, frequencies, max speeds
• 2.4 GHz (1, 6, 11) vs 5 GHz vs 6 GHz channel planning
• WPA2 vs WPA3 (SAE), 802.1X enterprise auth, EAP variants
• AP modes: autonomous, lightweight, controller-based
• Antenna types: omni, directional (yagi, panel, parabolic)
• Cabling - Cat 5e/6/6a/⅞, fiber OM1-5/OS1-2, connectors
• PoE 802.3af/at/bt power budgets
• Review Notes: 02-network-implementation.md

Day 14: Week 2 Review¶

• Practice questions on routing/switching/wireless (target: 65%+)
• Build a 2-VLAN topology in Packet Tracer/GNS3 with router-on-a-stick
• Trace the path of a frame between VLANs

Week 3: Network Operations¶

Day 15-16: Documentation and Monitoring¶

• Logical vs physical network diagrams
• IPAM (IP Address Management)
• Baseline configurations and configuration management
• Asset inventories and labeling standards
• SNMP polling vs traps; OIDs and MIBs
• NetFlow / sFlow / IPFIX flow records
• Syslog facility/severity, centralized log servers
• SIEM concepts and correlation
• Review Notes: 03-network-operations.md

Day 17-18: Performance and Availability¶

• Performance metrics: latency, jitter, throughput, packet loss, bandwidth
• Bandwidth vs throughput vs goodput
• QoS: classification, marking (DSCP, CoS), queuing, shaping vs policing
• HA: active/active, active/passive, clustering
• First-hop redundancy: HSRP, VRRP, GLBP
• NIC teaming and bonding modes
• Load balancers: L4 vs L7, algorithms (round robin, least connections, weighted)
• Review Notes: 03-network-operations.md

Day 19-20: DR/BCP and Organizational Documents¶

• BCP vs DR plan - difference and overlap
• RTO, RPO, MTBF, MTTR - definitions and how to compute
• Backup strategies: full, incremental, differential, synthetic
• DR sites: hot, warm, cold (cost and recovery time tradeoff)
• Organizational documents: SLA, MOU, NDA, AUP, BYOD policy, SOP
• Change management lifecycle
• Review Notes: 03-network-operations.md

Day 21: Week 3 Review¶

• Practice questions on operations (target: 70%+)
• Draw a logical diagram of your home/lab network
• Practice SLA scenario calculations

Week 4: Network Security¶

Day 22-23: Threats and Attacks¶

• Layer 2 attacks: MAC flooding, VLAN hopping, ARP poisoning, DHCP starvation/spoofing, STP attacks
• Layer 3 attacks: IP spoofing, ICMP-based, smurf
• Wireless attacks: deauthentication, evil twin, rogue AP, jamming, KRACK
• DNS attacks: cache poisoning, DNS tunneling, DDoS reflection
• On-path / MITM, replay, password attacks (brute force, dictionary, rainbow)
• DDoS types: volumetric, protocol, application
• Review Notes: 04-network-security.md

Day 24-25: Hardening and Security Devices¶

• Port security, sticky MAC, max MAC addresses
• DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, IP source guard
• BPDU guard, root guard, control plane policing
• Disable unused ports, change default native VLAN
• NGFW, IDS/IPS (signature vs anomaly), proxy, WAF
• NAC and 802.1X enforcement (deny, quarantine, remediate)
• Network segmentation: VLANs, ACLs, microsegmentation, screened subnet (DMZ)
• Review Notes: 04-network-security.md

Day 26-27: AAA, VPN, Physical Security¶

• RADIUS vs TACACS+ (UDP vs TCP, encryption scope, AAA separation)
• Kerberos basics (KDC, TGT, port 88)
• LDAP/LDAPS for directory auth
• SAML, OAuth, OIDC for federation/SSO
• Site-to-site VPN: IPsec (IKE phase ½, ESP vs AH, transport vs tunnel)
• Remote access VPN: SSL/TLS VPN, split tunnel vs full tunnel
• Physical security: badges, mantraps, smart locks, CCTV, asset tags
• Review Notes: 04-network-security.md

Day 28: Week 4 Review¶

• Practice questions on security (target: 70%+)
• Map each attack to its mitigation in a table
• Compare RADIUS vs TACACS+ verbally without notes

Week 5: Network Troubleshooting¶

Day 29-30: Methodology and CLI Tools¶

• Memorize CompTIA 7-step methodology
• Practice OSI bottom-up troubleshooting framework
• ping, tracert/traceroute, pathping/mtr - flags and interpretation
• ipconfig vs ifconfig vs ip; show/renew/release DHCP
• nslookup vs dig; querying specific record types
• netstat / ss for sockets, listening ports, connection state
• arp / ip neigh; route / ip route
• nmap basic scans (SYN, version, OS)
• tcpdump / Wireshark filters
• iperf3 for bandwidth tests
• Review Notes: 05-network-troubleshooting.md

Day 31-32: Hardware Tools and Cable/Wireless Issues¶

• Cable tester, tone generator + probe, OTDR, light meter
• Loopback adapter, multimeter, punch-down, crimper
• Wi-Fi analyzer, spectrum analyzer
• Cable issues: shorts, opens, crosstalk, attenuation, EMI
• Connector and termination problems
• Wireless issues: low signal, interference, channel overlap, AP placement, hidden node
• Power issues: PoE budget exceeded, wrong injector class
• Review Notes: 05-network-troubleshooting.md

Day 33-34: Routing, Switching, Service Issues¶

• Routing loops, missing routes, asymmetric routing, MTU mismatches/fragmentation
• Switching loops, STP misconfig, broadcast storms, MAC flapping
• VLAN mismatches, native VLAN mismatches, trunking problems
• DHCP exhaustion, rogue DHCP, APIPA address received
• DNS misconfig, slow DNS, wrong resolver, hosts file overrides
• Duplex mismatch (half/full), speed auto-negotiation issues
• Review Notes: 05-network-troubleshooting.md

Day 35: Week 5 Review¶

• Practice questions on troubleshooting (target: 75%+)
• Walk through 10 scenarios from scenarios.md out loud
• Build a troubleshooting decision tree from the OSI model

Week 6: Review and Exam Preparation¶

Day 36-37: Full Practice Exams¶

• Complete full-length practice exam 1 in 90 minutes
• Review every wrong answer thoroughly with documentation lookup
• Identify weak domains by score
• Target score: 80%+

Day 38-39: Weak Area Deep Dive¶

• Re-read notes for weakest 1-2 domains
• Drill 50 more questions in weak areas
• Subnetting speed drill (target: <20 sec per question)
• Complete full-length practice exam 2

Day 40-41: Performance-Based Question Practice¶

• Practice configuring switch ports, VLANs, ACLs in Packet Tracer
• Practice cable type / connector matching
• Practice firewall rule ordering exercises
• Practice troubleshooting from log/diagram screenshots
• Time management under PBQ pressure (max 5 min per PBQ)

Day 42: Final Review and Exam Day Prep¶

• Skim fact sheet (especially port table and subnetting)
• Review acronym list
• Verify exam logistics, ID, testing environment
• Light review only - no new material the day before
• 8 hours of sleep

Daily Study Routine (2-3 hours/day)¶

Recommended Schedule¶

1. 30 minutes: Read or re-read study notes
2. 45 minutes: Hands-on lab work (Packet Tracer, GNS3, home lab)
3. 45 minutes: Practice questions / scenario walkthrough
4. 15 minutes: Subnetting drills (every day, no exceptions)
5. 15 minutes: Review wrong answers, update flashcards

Practice Exam Strategy¶

Target Scores by Week¶

• Week 2: 60%+ on domain-specific practice
• Week 3: 65%+ on domain-specific practice
• Week 4: 70%+ on mixed practice exams
• Week 5: 75%+ on mixed practice exams
• Week 6: 80%+ consistently on full practice exams

Subnetting Drill Plan¶

Subnetting appears 5-10 times on the exam, both as MCQs and inside PBQs. You must be fast.

Use subnettingpractice.com or Professor Messer's drills.

Study Resources¶

Free Resources¶

• Professor Messer Network+ N10-009 - Complete free video course
• CompTIA N10-009 Exam Objectives - Official scope document
• Cisco Packet Tracer - Free network simulator (NetAcad signup)
• GNS3 - Free network emulator with real images
• Wireshark - Packet analyzer for protocol learning
• RFC Editor - Authoritative protocol references

Paid Resources¶

• CompTIA CertMaster Learn for Network+ - Official self-paced training
• CompTIA CertMaster Practice for Network+ - Official adaptive practice
• CompTIA CertMaster Labs for Network+ - Hands-on browser labs
• Jason Dion Network+ N10-009 (Udemy) - Video course + 6 practice exams
• Mike Meyers Network+ N10-009 (Total Seminars) - Comprehensive course + book
• CompTIA Network+ Study Guide (N10-009) by Todd Lammle - Sybex/Wiley book
• CompTIA Network+ All-in-One Exam Guide (N10-009) - McGraw Hill / Mike Meyers

Final Exam Checklist¶

Content Preparation¶

• All five domain notes reviewed at least twice
• Fact sheet port table memorized
• Subnetting fluent at all common masks
• OSI layers, devices per layer memorized
• Cable categories and distances memorized
• 802.11 standards and frequencies memorized
• Administrative distance values memorized
• DHCP DORA and DNS record types memorized

Exam Day Strategy¶

• Time management: ~1 minute per question, ~5 min per PBQ
• Skip PBQs initially, return after MCQs (PBQs cluster at start)
• Read questions twice - watch for "BEST", "FIRST", "MOST LIKELY"
• Apply OSI bottom-up to troubleshooting questions
• Eliminate clearly wrong answers first
• Flag uncertain questions, return at end
• Reserve 10-15 minutes for review of flagged items
• Dump subnetting cheat (powers of 2, host counts) on scratch pad in first 2 minutes