CompTIA Network+ Cert (N10-007): Wide Area Networks (WANs)

This lecture covers the following CompTIA Network+ Exam Objectives:

• 1.3 Explain the concepts and characteristics of routing and switching.

• 2.5 Compare and contrast WAN technologies

• 3.3 Explain common scanning, monitoring, and patching processes and summarize their expected outputs

After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Describe what a WAN is and how it supports the Internet

• Illustrate what two layers the WAN operates at in the OSI and defend your reasoning

• Memorize WAN terms such as CPE, CSU/DSU, and demarc points

• Review the different WAN connection types and compare and contrast how they benefit the customer

• Review how PTSN is free for public use and how it supports small organizations' Internet needs

• Analyze the need for bandwidth over speed and vice versa and how an administrator would choose one over the other if required to do so

After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Memorize the different T-Series and E-Series speeds

• Define the data rate that a T1 supports

• Describe why a T1 connection can potentially be expensive for a customer

After completing this lecture, students will be able to;

• Define SONET and how it uses an optical carrier as its throughput

• Memorize the different OC data rates

• Recall what WDM is and how it supports multiple optical carriers on a single fiber

• Describe what WDM needs in order to operate effectively and support a large organization in terms of reliability

• Recall personal area network and how it can support a SOHO and even enable security features

• Describe how satellite communication can bridge geographical areas and provide Internet connection to remote sites

After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Describe broadband services and the four things to considered when choosing broadband over other types of services

• Identify how DSL is managed and what resources are needed in order for a customer to use it

• Memorize the different xDSL implementations and, when given a specific scenario, which one an administrator would choose to best support the network requirements

• Compare and contrast the different xDSL capabilities

After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Classify what cellular WAN is

• Compare and contrast the different cellular WAN types such as HSPA+, WiMAX, and LTE

• Apply which cellular WAN type an administrator would choose given a certain scenario

After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Describe the different WAN protocols

• Compare and contrast the different WAN protocols and which would best support an organization based off a given scenario

• Describe how PPP and LCP differ from each other

• Compare and contrast STM and ATM and discuss which would better support an organization under a given scenario

• Define MPLS and how it can use labels to transport data

After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Describe what locations to start troubleshooting loss of Internet connectivity

• Utilize interface monitoring to check the status of network connectivity

• Describe split horizon and how it can drop packets and cause degraded network connectivity

• Describe how DNS issues can cause other services to be degraded and/or unavailable