CompTIA Network+ Study Guide Third Edition
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide Third Edition Todd Lammle
Senior Acquistions Editor: Kenyon Brown Development Editor: Kim Wimpsett Technical Editors: Quentin Doctor and Troy McMillan Production Editor: Christine O Connor Copy Editor: Judy Flynn Editorial Manager: Mary Beth Wakefield Production Manager: Kathleen Wisor Associate Publisher: Jim Minatel Media Supervising Producer: Richard Graves Book Designers: Judy Fung and Bill Gibson Proofreader: Jennifer Bennett, Word One New York Indexer: Robert Swanson Project Coordinator, Cover: Brent Savage Cover Designer: Wiley Cover Image: Wiley Copyright 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-1-119-02124-7 ISBN: 978-1-119-02126-1 (ebk.) ISBN: 978-1-119-02125-4 (ebk.) No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Control Number: 2014958356 TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. CompTIA Network+ is a trademark of CompTIA Properties, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acknowledgments Kim Wimpsett was the development editor of this, the newest book in the Sybex CompTIA series. Thank you, Kim, for working so hard on this book with me. Kenyon Brown is my new acquisitions editor for this book. Thank you, Kenyon, for making this book a reality! In addition, Christine O Connor was an excellent production editor, and she worked really hard to get the book done as quickly as possible, without missing the small mistakes that are so easy to overlook. I am always very pleased when I hear that she will be working with me on a new project. Judy Flynn was my copy editor, and she was patient, helpful, and detailed yet worked extremely hard to get this book on the shelf as quickly as possible, and for that I thank her tremendously. Quentin Docter reviewed each topic in this guide, scrutinizing the material until we both agreed it was verifiably solid. Thank you, Quentin! Troy McMillian literally hashed and rehashed each topic in this guide with me at all hours of the day and night. Thank you, Troy, yet again!
About the Author Todd Lammle, CompTIA Network+, CCSI, CCNA/CCNP, is the authority on network certification and internetworking. He is a world-renowned author, speaker, trainer, and consultant. Todd has over 25 years of experience working with LANs, WANs, and large licensed and unlicensed wireless networks. He s president and CEO of GlobalNet Training and Consulting, Inc., a network-integration and training firm based in Boulder, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and San Francisco, California. You can reach Todd through his forum at www.lammle.com/networkplus.
Contents at a Glance Introduction Assessment Test xxix xli Chapter 1 Introduction to Networks 1 Chapter 2 The Open Systems Interconnection Specifications 27 Chapter 3 Networking Topologies, Connectors, and Wiring Standards 55 Chapter 4 The Current Ethernet Specifications 91 Chapter 5 Networking Devices 127 Chapter 6 Introduction to the Internet Protocol 171 Chapter 7 IP Addressing 205 Chapter 8 IP Subnetting, Troubleshooting IP, and Introduction to NAT 233 Chapter 9 Introduction to IP Routing 277 Chapter 10 Routing Protocols 297 Chapter 11 Switching and Virtual LANs 333 Chapter 12 Wireless Networking 377 Chapter 13 Authentication and Access Control 429 Chapter 14 Network Threats and Mitigation 469 Chapter 15 Physical Security and Risk 525 Chapter 16 Wide Area Networks 573 Chapter 17 Troubleshooting Tools 615 Chapter 18 Software and Hardware Tools 671 Chapter 19 Network Troubleshooting 711 Chapter 20 Management, Monitoring, and Optimization 755 Appendix A Answers to the Written Labs 813 Appendix B Answers to Review Questions 827 Appendix C Subnetting Class A 857 Index 865
Contents Introduction Assessment Test xxix xli Chapter 1 Introduction to Networks 1 First Things First: What s a Network? 2 The Local Area Network 3 Common Network Components 5 Wide Area Network 8 Network Architecture: Peer-to-Peer or Client-Server? 10 Physical Network Topologies 12 Bus Topology 12 Star Topology 13 Ring Topology 14 Mesh Topology 15 Point-to-Point Topology 16 Point-to-Multipoint Topology 17 Hybrid Topology 18 Topology Selection, Backbones, and Segments 19 Selecting the Right Topology 19 The Network Backbone 20 Network Segments 20 Summary 21 Exam Essentials 22 Written Labs 22 Review Questions 23 Chapter 2 The Open Systems Interconnection Specifications 27 Internetworking Models 28 The Layered Approach 29 Advantages of Reference Models 29 The OSI Reference Model 30 The Application Layer 32 The Presentation Layer 33 The Session Layer 33 The Transport Layer 33 The Network Layer 40 The Data Link Layer 43 The Physical Layer 45
xii Contents Introduction to Encapsulation 46 Modulation Techniques 47 Summary 47 Exam Essentials 48 Written Lab 49 Review Questions 50 Chapter 3 Networking Topologies, Connectors, and Wiring Standards 55 Physical Media 57 Coaxial Cable 58 Twisted-Pair Cable 60 Fiber-Optic Cable 64 Media Converters 69 Serial Cables 71 Cable Properties 73 Transmission Speeds 74 Distance 74 Duplex 74 Noise Immunity (Security, EMI) 74 Frequency 75 Wiring Standards 75 568A vs 568B 76 Straight-Through Cable 78 Crossover Cable 78 Rolled/Rollover Cable 80 T1 Crossover Cable 81 Installing Wiring Distributions 82 Summary 85 Exam Essentials 85 Written Lab 86 Review Questions 87 Chapter 4 The Current Ethernet Specifications 91 Network Basics 93 Ethernet Basics 95 Collision Domain 95 Broadcast Domain 96 CSMA/CD 96 Broadband/Baseband 98 Bit Rates vs Baud Rate 98 Wavelength 98 Sampling -Size 99
Contents xiii Half- and Full-Duplex Ethernet 99 Ethernet at the Data Link Layer 101 Binary to Decimal and Hexadecimal Conversion 102 Ethernet Addressing 105 Ethernet Frames 106 Ethernet at the Physical Layer 108 Ethernet over Other Standards (IEEE 1905.1-2013) 114 Ethernet over Power Line 114 Ethernet over HDMI 116 Summary 117 Exam Essentials 117 Written Lab 117 Review Questions 123 Chapter 5 Networking Devices 127 Common Network Connectivity Devices 129 Network Interface Card 130 Hub 131 Bridge 132 Switch 132 Router 133 Firewall 137 IDS/IPS 138 HIDS 138 Access Point 138 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Server 139 Other Specialized Devices 144 Multilayer Switch 144 Load Balancer 145 Domain Name Service Server 145 Proxy Server 150 Encryption Devices 151 Analog Modem 152 Packet Shaper 153 VPN Concentrator 153 Planning and Implementing a Basic SOHO Network Using Network Segmentation 154 Determining Requirements 154 Switches and Bridges at the Data Link Layer 161 Hubs at the Physical Layer 162 Environmental Considerations 163 Summary 164 Exam Essentials 164
xiv Contents Written Lab 165 Review Questions 166 Chapter 6 Introduction to the Internet Protocol 171 Introducing TCP/IP 173 A Brief History of TCP/IP 173 TCP/IP and the DoD Model 174 The Process/Application Layer Protocols 176 The Host-to-Host Layer Protocols 184 The Internet Layer Protocols 189 Data Encapsulation 194 Summary 198 Exam Essentials 198 Written Lab 198 Review Questions 200 Chapter 7 IP Addressing 205 IP Terminology 206 The Hierarchical IP Addressing Scheme 207 Network Addressing 208 Private IP Addresses (RFC 1918) 212 IPv4 Address Types 214 Layer 2 Broadcasts 214 Layer 3 Broadcasts 215 Unicast Address 215 Multicast Address (Class D) 215 Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) 216 Why Do We Need IPv6? 216 The Benefits of and Uses for IPv6 217 IPv6 Addressing and Expressions 218 Shortened Expression 219 Address Types 219 Special Addresses 220 Stateless Autoconfiguration (EUI-64) 221 DHCPv6 (Stateful) 223 Migrating to IPv6 223 Summary 225 Exam Essentials 226 Written Lab 227 Written Lab 7.1 227 Written Lab 7.2 227 Written Lab 7.3 228 Review Questions 229
Contents xv Chapter 8 IP Subnetting, Troubleshooting IP, and Introduction to NAT 233 Subnetting Basics 234 How to Create Subnets 235 Subnet Masks 236 Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) 237 Subnetting Class C Addresses 239 Subnetting Class B Addresses 249 Troubleshooting IP Addressing 256 Determining IP Address Problems 259 Introduction to Network Address Translation (NAT) 264 Types of Network Address Translation 265 NAT Names 266 How NAT Works 267 Summary 268 Exam Essentials 269 Written Labs 269 Review Questions 271 Chapter 9 Introduction to IP Routing 277 Routing Basics 278 The IP Routing Process 281 Testing Your IP Routing Understanding 287 Static and Dynamic Routing 288 Summary 291 Exam Essentials 292 Written Lab 292 Review Questions 293 Chapter 10 Routing Protocols 297 Routing Protocol Basics 299 Administrative Distances 300 Classes of Routing Protocols 302 Distance Vector Routing Protocols 303 Routing Information Protocol (RIP) 305 RIP Version 2 (RIPv2) 305 VLSM and Discontiguous Networks 306 EIGRP 309 Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) 311 Link State Routing Protocols 313 Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) 314 Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) 316
xvi Contents High Availability 317 Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) 319 Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol 324 IPv6 Routing Protocols 324 RIPng 325 EIGRPv6 325 OSPFv3 325 Summary 326 Exam Essentials 326 Written Lab 327 Review Questions 328 Chapter 11 Switching and Virtual LANs 333 Networking Before Layer 2 Switching 335 Switching Services 338 Limitations of Layer 2 Switching 339 Bridging vs LAN Switching 340 Three Switch Functions at Layer 2 340 Spanning Tree Protocol 346 Spanning Tree Port States 347 STP Convergence 347 Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol 802.1w 348 Virtual LANs 349 VLAN Basics 350 Quality of Service 353 VLAN Memberships 354 Static VLANs 354 Dynamic VLANs 355 Identifying VLANs 355 VLAN Identification Methods 357 VLAN Trunking Protocol 359 VTP Modes of Operation 360 Do We Really Need to Put an IP Address on a Switch? 361 Port Security 363 Port Bonding 364 Two Additional Advanced Features of Switches 366 Power over Ethernet (802.3af, 802.3at) 366 Port Mirroring/Spanning (SPAN/RSPAN) 368 Summary 370 Exam Essentials 370 Written Lab 371 Review Questions 372
Contents xvii Chapter 12 Wireless Networking 377 Introduction to Wireless Technology 380 The 802.11 Standards 383 2.4GHz (802.11b) 384 2.4GHz (802.11g) 385 5GHz (802.11a) 386 5GHz (802.11h) 387 2.4GHz/5GHz (802.11n) 388 5GHz (802.11ac) 389 Comparing 802.11 Standards 389 Range Comparisons 390 Wireless Network Components 391 Wireless Access Points 391 Wireless Network Interface Card 392 Wireless Antennas 393 Installing a Wireless Network 395 Ad Hoc Mode: Independent Basic Service Set 395 Infrastructure Mode: Basic Service Set 396 Wireless Controllers 398 Mobile Hot Spots 399 Signal Degradation 400 Other Network Infrastructure Implementations 401 Installing and Configuring WLAN Hardware 402 Site Survey 408 Wireless Security 412 Wireless Threats 412 Open Access 416 Service Set Identifiers, Wired Equivalent Privacy, and Media Access Control Address Authentication 416 Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (802.1x) 417 Temporal Key Integrity Protocol 418 Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA2 Pre-Shared Key 419 Summary 422 Exam Essentials 423 Written Lab 423 Review Questions 425 Chapter 13 Authentication and Access Control 429 Security Filtering 431 Access Control Lists 432 Tunneling 434 Encryption 440 Remote Access 445
xviii Contents Managing User Account and Password Security 447 Managing User Accounts 448 Managing Passwords 450 Single Sign-On 454 Multifactor Authentication 455 User-Authentication Methods 455 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) 455 Kerberos 456 Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) 458 Web Services 459 Unified Voice Services 460 Network Controllers 460 Network Access Control (NAC) 460 Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) 460 MS-CHAP 461 Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) 462 Hashes 462 Network Access Control 462 Summary 464 Exam Essentials 464 Written Lab 465 Review Questions 466 Chapter 14 Network Threats and Mitigation 469 Recognizing Security Threats 473 Denial of Service 474 Distributed DoS (DDoS) 475 Authentication Issues 483 Viruses 484 Zero Day Attacks 487 Insider Threat/Malicious Employee 487 Vulnerabilities 488 Unnecessary Running Services 488 Open Ports 488 Unpatched/Legacy Systems 488 Unencrypted Channels 488 Clear-Text Credentials 488 TEMPEST/RF Emanation 489 Malicious Users 489 Buffer Overflow 490 Wireless Threats 490 Attackers and Their Tools 493 Misconfiguration Issues 497
Contents xix Social Engineering (Phishing) 498 Understanding Mitigation Techniques 499 Active Detection 500 Passive Detection 500 Proactive Defense 500 Basic Forensic Concepts 501 Policies and Procedures 503 Security Policies 504 Security Training 509 Patches and Upgrades 510 Firmware Updates 512 Driver Updates 512 Upgrading vs Downgrading 513 Anti-malware software 514 Host-based 514 Cloud/Server-based 514 Configuration Backups 515 Updating Antivirus Components 515 Fixing an Infected Computer 518 Summary 518 Exam Essentials 518 Written Lab 519 Review Questions 520 Chapter 15 Physical Security and Risk 525 Using Hardware and Software Security Devices 527 Defining Firewalls 529 Network-Based Firewalls 530 Host-Based Firewalls 530 Firewall Technologies 530 Access Control Lists 531 Port Security 533 Demilitarized Zone 534 Protocol Switching 534 Dynamic Packet Filtering 537 Proxy Services 538 Firewalls at the Application Layer vs the Network Layer 540 Stateful vs Stateless Network Layer Firewalls 541 Application Layer Firewalls 542 Scanning Services and Other Firewall Features 542 Content Filtering 544 Signature Identification 544
xx Contents Context Awareness 544 Virtual Wire vs Routed 545 Zones 545 Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems 547 Network-Based IDS 549 Host-Based IDS 551 Vulnerability Scanners 551 VPN Concentrators 552 Understanding Problems Affecting Device Security 553 Physical Security 554 Logical Security Configurations 558 Risk-Related Concepts 560 Summary 566 Exam Essentials 566 Written Lab 567 Review Questions 569 Chapter 16 Wide Area Networks 573 What s a WAN? 577 Defining WAN Terms 577 The Public Switched Telephone Network 579 WAN Connection Types 580 Bandwidth or Speed 581 T-Series Connections 582 The T1 Connection 583 The T3 Connection 584 Transmission Media 584 Wired Connections 585 Wavelength Division Multiplexing 585 Passive Optical Network 586 Wireless Technologies 586 Broadband Services 588 DSL Technology and XDSL 589 Cable Modem 591 Wireless WAN Technologies 593 Cellular WAN 593 WAN Protocols 595 Integrated Services Digital Network 595 Frame Relay Technology 596 Point-to-Point Protocol 599 Asynchronous Transfer Mode 602 MPLS 603
Contents xxi WAN Troubleshooting 603 Loss of Internet Connectivity 603 Interface Errors/Monitoring 604 Split Horizon 607 DNS Issues 608 Router Configurations 608 Company Security Policy 609 Summary 609 Exam Essentials 609 Written Lab 610 Review Questions 611 Chapter 17 Troubleshooting Tools 615 Protocol Analyzers 616 Throughput Testers 618 Connectivity Software 619 Using Traceroute 620 Using ipconfig and ifconfig 622 Using the ipconfig Utility 622 Using the ifconfig Utility 626 Using the ping Utility 627 Using the Address Resolution Protocol 630 The Windows ARP Table 630 Using the arp Utility 631 Using the nslookup Utility 634 Resolving Names with the Hosts Table 636 Using the Mtr Command (pathping) 637 Using the route Command 638 Using the route Command Options 639 Some Examples of the route Command 641 Using the nbtstat Utility 641 The a Switch 642 The A Switch 644 The c Switch 644 The n Switch 645 The r Switch 645 The R Switch 646 The S Switch 646 The s Switch 647 Using the netstat Utility 647 The a Switch 650 The e Switch 651
xxii Contents The r Switch 652 The s Switch 652 The p Switch 652 The n Switch 654 Using the File Transfer Protocol 655 Starting FTP and Logging In to an FTP Server 656 Downloading Files 658 Uploading Files 660 Using the Telnet Utility 660 How to Enable Telnet in Windows 661 Don t Use Telnet, Use Secure Shell 662 Summary 662 Exam Essentials 663 Written Lab 663 Review Questions 665 Chapter 18 Software and Hardware Tools 671 Understanding Network Scanners 673 Packet Sniffers/Network Monitors 673 Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software 675 Port Scanners 677 Wi-Fi Analyzer 680 Baseline 681 Network Monitoring and Logging 683 Network Monitoring 683 SNMP 684 Syslog 685 SIEM 687 Utilization 690 Identifying Hardware Tools 691 Cable Testers 692 Protocol Analyzer 695 Certifiers 696 Time-Domain Reflectometer 696 Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer 697 Multimeter 698 Toner Probe 698 Butt Set 700 Punch-Down Tool 701 Cable Stripper/Snips 702 Voltage Event Recorder (Power) 702 Environmental Monitors 703
Contents xxiii Summary 704 Exam Essentials 704 Written Lab 705 Review Questions 706 Chapter 19 Network Troubleshooting 711 Narrowing Down the Problem 715 Did You Check the Super Simple Stuff? 716 Is Hardware or Software Causing the Problem? 720 Is It a Workstation or a Server Problem? 721 Which Segments of the Network Are Affected? 721 Is It Bad Cabling? 722 Troubleshooting Steps 729 Step 1: Identify the Problem 729 Step 2: Establish a Theory of Probable Cause 733 Step 3: Test the Theory to Determine Cause 737 Step 4: Establish a Plan of Action to Resolve the Problem and Identify Potential Effects 740 Step 5: Implement the Solution or Escalate as Necessary 741 Step 6: Verify Full System Functionality, and If Applicable, Implement Preventative Measures 744 Step 7: Document Findings, Actions, and Outcomes 745 Troubleshooting Tips 746 Don t Overlook the Small Stuff 746 Prioritize Your Problems 746 Check the Software Configuration 747 Don t Overlook Physical Conditions 747 Don t Overlook Cable Problems 748 Check for Viruses 748 Summary 749 Exam Essentials 749 Written Lab 750 Review Questions 751 Chapter 20 Management, Monitoring, and Optimization 755 Managing Network Documentation 761 Using SNMP 761 Schematics and Diagrams 762 Network Monitoring 771 Baselines 771 On-Boarding and Off-Boarding of Mobile Devices 771
xxiv Contents NAC 772 Policies, Procedures, and Regulations 772 Safety Practices 775 Implementing Network Segmentation 780 Network Optimization 783 Reasons to Optimize Your Network s Performance 783 How to Optimize Performance 786 Unified Communications 788 Traffic Shaping 788 Load Balancing 789 High Availability 789 Caching Engines 789 Fault Tolerance 790 Archives/Backups 790 Common Address Redundancy Protocol 791 Virtual Networking 791 Locating and Installing Equipment 797 Change Management Procedures 803 Summary 805 Exam Essentials 806 Written Lab 807 Review Questions 808 Appendix A Answers to the Written Labs 813 Chapter 1 814 Chapter 2 814 Chapter 3 815 Chapter 4 815 Chapter 5 818 Chapter 6 818 Chapter 7 819 Written Lab 7.1 819 Written Lab 7.2 820 Written Lab 7.3 820 Chapter 8 820 Chapter 9 821 Chapter 10 821 Chapter 11 822 Chapter 12 822 Chapter 13 823 Chapter 14 823 Chapter 15 824 Chapter 16 824
Contents xxv Chapter 17 825 Chapter 18 825 Chapter 19 825 Chapter 20 826 Appendix B Answers to Review Questions 827 Chapter 1 828 Chapter 2 829 Chapter 3 830 Chapter 4 832 Chapter 5 833 Chapter 6 834 Chapter 7 835 Chapter 8 837 Chapter 9 839 Chapter 10 840 Chapter 11 842 Chapter 12 843 Chapter 13 845 Chapter 14 846 Chapter 15 848 Chapter 16 849 Chapter 17 851 Chapter 18 852 Chapter 19 853 Chapter 20 855 Appendix C Subnetting Class A 857 Subnetting Practice Examples: Class A Addresses 858 Practice Example #1A: 255.255.0.0 (/16) 859 Practice Example #2A: 255.255.240.0 (/20) 859 Practice Example #3A: 255.255.255.192 (/26) 860 Subnetting in Your Head: Class A Addresses 861 Written Lab 1 861 Written Lab 2 862 Answers to Written Lab 1 863 Answers to Written Lab 2 864 Index 865
Becoming a CompTIA Certified IT Professional Is Easy It s also the best way to reach greater professional opportunities and rewards. Why Get CompTIA Certified? Growing Demand Labor estimates predict some technology fields will experience growth of over 20% by the year 2020.* CompTIA certification qualifies the skills required to join this workforce. Higher Salaries IT professionals with Verified Strengths Of hiring managers, 91% Universal Skills CompTIA certifications are certifications on their indicate CompTIA certifications vendor neutral which means are valuable in validat-that certified professionals resume command better jobs, earn higher salaries ing IT expertise, making and have more doors open to new multiindustry opportunities. can proficiently work with an extensive variety of hardware and software found in most organizations. certification the best way to demonstrate your competency and knowledge to employers.** Learn more about what the exam covers by reviewing the following: Exam objectives for key study points. Sample questions for a general overview of what to expect on the exam and examples of question format. Visit online forums, like LinkedIn, to see what other IT professionals say about CompTIA exams. Purchase a voucher at a Pearson VUE testing center or at CompTIAstore.com. Register for your exam at a Pearson VUE testing center: Visit pearsonvue.com/comptia to find the closest testing center to you. Schedule the exam online. You will be required to enter your voucher number or provide payment information at registration. Take your certification exam. Congratulations on your CompTIA certification! Make sure to add your certification to your resume. Check out the CompTIA Certification Roadmap to plan your next career move. Learn More: Certification.CompTIA.org/networkplus * Source: CompTIA 9th Annual Information Security Trends study: 500 U.S. IT and Business Executives Responsible for Security ** Source: CompTIA Employer Perceptions of IT Training and Certification *** Source: 2013 IT Skills and Salary Report by CompTIA Authorized Partner 2014 CompTIA Properties, LLC, used under license by CompTIA Certifications, LLC. All rights reserved. All certification programs and education related to such programs are operated exclusively by CompTIA Certifications, LLC. CompTIA is a registered trademark of CompTIA Properties, LLC in the U.S. and internationally. Other brands and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or service marks of CompTIA Properties, LLC or of their respective owners. Reproduction or dissemination prohibited without written consent of CompTIA Properties, LLC. Printed in the U.S. 01085-Sep2014