CompTIA Network+ N10-009 - 2026

Check Windows 11 host drive space with Explorer. For VirtualBox, min: 20 GB Windows, 10 GB Linux; avoid external drives; use a second internal drive if available.

Create a Windows 11 virtual machine in VirtualBox by downloading the ISO from Microsoft, configuring an 80 GB drive, disabling and re-enabling the NIC, and applying updates and snapshots.

Delete a VirtualBox virtual machine from VirtualBox Virtual Machine Manager by choosing delete all files to reclaim disk space, or manually delete VM folder from its installed location if needed.

Demonstrate creating virtual hard drives in VirtualBox by adding storage, creating a 10-gigabyte GPT NTFS volume, and enabling thin provisioning for the guest disk.

Download the free FileZilla client from filezilla-project.org, install it on Windows, accept the UAC prompt and EULA, skip bloatware, create a desktop icon, and finish installation.

Install Wireshark on Ubuntu using sudo apt install wireshark -y, then start it with sudo wireshark to capture traffic and read it by double-clicking the interface.

Learn how to use ChatGPT to study for your CompTIA exam, note AI hallucinations, verify results with course materials, and beware of questionable practice questions from online sources.

Unbox a $30 soho router, inspect its four antennas and ports (wan, lan, power), and review the included ethernet cable and activation instructions for wifi lab practice.

Configure the soho router through the browser, login with admin/admin, set country and time zone, create a new password, confirm by re-opening the browser, and note factory reset if needed.

Hold the factory reset button on the back of the Soho router for five seconds, observe the front lights blink, then release and wait for the Wi‑Fi light to stabilize.

Create a free AWS account by entering email, verifying identity by phone, and selecting the 6-month plan with $200 in credit; log in to explore AWS services for lab use.

Learn how to create a free Windows cloud server on EC2, choose Windows Server 2025 Base, and launch the instance, then log in via RDP and terminate to avoid charges.

Create a free Linux cloud server on AWS EC2 using Ubuntu Server 24, select a free tier T3.micro, generate a key pair, and connect via SSH.

Compare the cli and gui approaches to configuring networking devices, highlighting gui's graphical, click-based setup and cli's text-based automation; the course uses both for wireless configurations and packet tracer labs.

Explore why Cisco iOS powers networking devices, how it differs from Apple iOS, and why Cisco leads ethernet switches and routers for practical demo success.

Explore the enable command and the user exec and privileged exec modes on Cisco devices, identify mode prompts, and switch modes using enable, with a basic CLI demo.

Explore Cisco IOS modes, from user exec to privileged exec and global configuration, and learn to enter interface and router configuration modes from global configuration mode with their prompts.

Learn to use the up and down arrows in Cisco's iOS to cycle through previous commands in packet tracer, enabling quick reuse and correction of typos.

Learn shorthand commands in Cisco iOS to speed up configuration, using abbreviations like config t and int g01, while avoiding overlaps with other possible options.

Explore how the tab key in Cisco packet tracer autocompletes commands, showing how to use tab versus shorthand, and practice autocompletion in Cisco iOS.

Learn to connect devices in Cisco's Packet Tracer using straight-through cables and the automatic connection option, including selecting interfaces, moving cables, and deleting cables.

Demonstrate configuring servers in Cisco Packet Tracer by dragging a server, setting default gateway and DNS, and assigning a static IP on Fast Ethernet 0, then explore server services.

Explore the fast forward feature in Cisco packet tracer to speed up device convergence between switches by skipping waiting times during emulation.

Learn to add, edit, and move notes in Cisco Packet Tracer to track interface details like IP addresses without impacting device configurations.

Demonstrate how sniffers in Cisco's packet tracer read traffic between two 2960 switches, show they capture in a single direction, and require two sniffers to view both directions.

Examine the OSI model and its 1978 origins as a learning frame, contrasted with tcp/ip. Learn layer PDUs and key fields like mac and ip addresses.

Demonstrate encapsulation by adding layers 7 through 2 to data, illustrated with a PC, switch, and server, and then perform decapsulation to reveal the original data.

Understand layer one of the OSI model, the physical layer, where the PDU is bits and devices like cables, connectors, modems, media converters, and Wi-Fi signals have no intelligence.

Explore the OSI transport layer, distinguishing TCP and UDP with their ports and PDUs. Watch a Wireshark demo on TCP handshakes and packet delivery.

Explore OSI layers five to seven—the session, presentation, and application layers—and their mapping to the TCP/IP application layer, with data as the PDU and endpoints like smartphones, desktops, and servers.

Differentiate intrusion detection systems (ids) from intrusion prevention systems (ips), showing how ids detect intrusions and ips stop them, with false positives as a trade-off.

Explore storage area networks and their specialized equipment, including Fibre Channel switches and NICs, and compare SAN protocols like iSCSI, Fibre Channel, and FCoE.

Explore how wireless access points enable devices to access the LAN at layer two of the OSI model and connect through PoE-powered APs, switches, and routers.

Explore how content delivery networks reduce latency by caching frequently accessed content on global caching servers, with options for on-premises or cloud-based deployments.

Prioritize traffic using the quality of service concept, especially voice, to maintain intelligibility while allowing file transfers to continue; throttle streaming to improve overall network performance.

Set up a ttl lab by configuring routers, switches, and end devices, assign ip networks, and implement egp routing. Verify connectivity with pings and sniff ttl traffic, then save lab.

Explore how TTL in the IP header limits a packet’s life by starting at 255 and decreasing at each router to prevent loops and reduce traffic.

Define NFV as virtualization of networking functions such as routers, switches, firewalls, and load balancers. Explain that virtual and physical devices function identically across cloud environments, data centers, and enterprises.

Discover Azure network security groups (NSGs) as the ACL service for Azure resources. Learn how to block or allow traffic by ports and IP addresses using NSGs.

Learn how an internet gateway enables traffic into and out of a VPC, distinguish it from a NAT gateway, and configure AWS steps to access an EC2 via SSH.

Learn how NAT gateway lets devices inside an AWS VPC access the internet while preventing internet-initiated connections, boosting security; compare it with an internet gateway.

Explore cloud deployment models: public clouds provided by CSPs like AWS, GCP, and Azure; private on-prem data centers; and hybrid setups combining both.

Learn cloud service models: SaaS offers minimal configuration with widely used apps; IaaS provides hardware with full responsibility for networking and OS; PaaS sits between, handling databases and application building.

Explore cloud service provider characteristics, including multi-tenancy, elasticity, and scalability, with examples from AWS and Google's GCP; learn how elasticity emphasizes speed and scalability denotes size.

Demonstrate telnet on port 23 as a remote command line interface, exposing unencrypted, insecure traffic, installing telnet on Ubuntu, using Wireshark and PuTTY, and SSH as the secure alternative.

Learn the basics of domain name service (DNS) and port 53 as DNS translates FQDNs to IP addresses, demonstrated via Wireshark queries and responses on Ubuntu.

Explore how DHCP assigns IP addresses to devices on a network. The DHCP server uses port 67, while clients use port 68, with examples from PCs and smartphones.

Explore tftp basics: port 69 uses udp, faster but unsecured, lacks browsing, ideal for lan booting devices, demonstrated with a lab setup using ubuntu and windows.

Demonstrate how http traffic on port 80 travels in plain text, exposing passwords and user data, and contrast it with https encryption to protect privacy.

Learn how the network time protocol keeps time across devices using an NTP server and clients, with a Packet Tracer demo configuring a router and server on port 123.

Understand https as the secure version of http that uses port 443 and certificates. See a Wireshark demo of TLS 1.3 and TLS 1.2 encrypted traffic, showing data remains unreadable.

Master smb fundamentals with a hands-on Windows host-to-guest demonstration using port 445 for file and printer sharing, highlighting smb 3 security and registry, firewall, shares, and credentials.