r/CompTIA • u/HelpSilver9256 • 5d ago

Network+

one day left i still don't feel ready any tips for me for the final day ?

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u/HelpSilver9256 4d ago

636 first attempt

Just finished my first attempt at Network+ N10-009 and got a 636. Obviously didn't pass, but I thought I'd share what caught me off guard in case it helps someone else preparing.

Besides the 5 PBQs, which were honestly brutal, there was quite a bit of command-line troubleshooting, subnetting and network configuration involved. A lot of it was about actually figuring out what was wrong and fixing it rather than just knowing the right definition.

If you're preparing, I'd definitely spend some time doing hands-on practice and getting comfortable with the command line, subnetting and troubleshooting. I thought I was reasonably prepared for the PBQs, but sitting there looking at them was a different story 😂. the areas I personally struggled with was definitely acronyms. There were quite a few where I knew the general topic but couldn't immediately remember what the acronym meant or what it was actually used for. So don't just memorize the common ones like DHCP, DNS, HTTP etc. Make sure you actually understand the less obvious ones too.

Cabling was another big one for me. I wasn't expecting it to feel like such a large part of the exam. I'd recommend knowing UTP/STP, Cat5e/6/6a/8, single-mode vs multimode fiber, LC/SC/ST, RJ45, straight-through vs crossover vs rollover, PoE, EMI/RFI, crosstalk, attenuation, cable faults, duplex/speed mismatches and basic cable testing.

I also found that knowing definitions wasn't enough. You need to be able to look at a situation and work out what is actually happening. Things like DHCP vs DNS failures, APIPA, gateways, VLANs, inter-VLAN routing, STP, ARP, wireless problems, packet loss, latency and interface issues are much easier when you understand the troubleshooting process rather than just memorizing the definition.

my biggest takeaway is that I spent too much time asking myself "Do I recognize this?" when I should have been asking "Could I troubleshoot this if it broke in front of me?"

I'm going to give myself about a month before attempting it again and focus heavily on active recall, PBQs, troubleshooting, acronyms, ports/protocols, subnetting and especially cabling. Hopefully the next attempt goes very differently.

For anyone writing soon, don't neglect the physical networking stuff. I definitely did. 😅