COMPUTER TIPS

 

 

NETWORK+

 

 

 

The Network+ Certification from Comptia is a vendor-neutral certification that is aimed at network technicians with about one to two year’s experience. This doesn’t preclude you from pursuing the Network+ certification however if you don’t have that experience as there are no pre-requisites for the exam – indeed having this CompTIA certification may just be the difference between getting your foot in the door into the I.T. industry or not.

This exam is a good compliment to the Comptia A+ certfication exam and should equip a successful candidate with the necessary knowledge to administer and support a network.

The certification targets 4 main areas (although I recommend checking out Comptia’s Network+ certification objectives here for the full list of what is covered in the exam):

• Media and Topologies (20%)
• Protocols and Standards (25%)
• Network Implementation (23%)
• Network Support (32%)

The most heavily weighted section in the CompTIA Network+ certification exam is Network Support, and it's the most likely section to throw those people off who haven’t had much experience in the work force. A candidate can easily memorise subjects like TCP/IP (although you could probably devote many years alone to that subject) but it’s the real-world questions where you’ll want to be drawing on real-world experience.

Having said that, the Network+ certification is an entry-level certification so again, if you know your stuff you shouldn’t go wrong – and you’ll be able to use this exam as cross-credits for Microsoft and Novell certifications also.

The CompTIA Network+ certification exam itself consists of 72 questions and you have 90 minutes to complete them – and it’s not as daunting as it sounds. Some questions will obviously take longer to read and complete than others, but if you know your stuff you should get through the exam with sufficient time to spare for review if required. The passing score is 646 out of a possible 900, and if you pass you too could be the proud owner of a flimsy cardboard wallet-card that you’ll receive some weeks after the exam.