CompTIA Network Exam - Computing Technology Industry Association – CompTIA
The CompTIA network exam is not vendor specific. CompTIA covers a broad range of computing technologies with no preference toward any specific hardware or software manufacturer.
Anyone starting out should look at training to become A+ certified as a first step regardless of what career direction they decide to take.
Unlike most vendor specific certifications CompTIA training, such as the CompTIA Network Exam results in qualifications do not expire, once you have one - you have it for life. They also count as elective exams for other vendor specific qualifications such as Microsoft’s MCSE and MCSA.
Some of the certifications are as follows:
A + Hardware –Entry Level Hardware and Operating Systems
Network + -Entry Level Network Support and Administration
Linux + -Linux
i-Net + -Internet and Online Technology.
Server + -Server hardware
Security + -Computer and information security
There are other qualifications covering business skills such as project management and more under development, however the CompTIA network exam and entry level hardware exams are the most popular.
Is I’ve stated quite a few times now this is the first course of training anyone new to the field of IT should take regardless of what direction they want to follow. It is the course of study that will teach you the basic hardware, operating system and networking skills to become a service technician.
Companies are making this CompTIA training a prerequisite for employment and some large vendors are making it a requirement for their service technicians.
The A+ certification consists of 2 exams leading to a choice of 3 designations (4 exams in total - 2 required per designation):
Essentials
IT technician.
Remote Service technician
Branch/Bench Technician
The exams can be taken in any order but it’s generally recommended to take essentials before any of the electives.
With knowledge gained from A+ certification you will understand advanced certifications more clearly and develop an idea of what you’d like your next step to be. The CompTIA Network Exam is a logical next step for those wishing to persue careers in networking.
The A+ certification is also now included in other vendor specific qualifications such as the MCSA and MCSE.
Depending on your background knowledge and whether you already have A+ or equivalent experience the CompTIA Network Exam is a very good primer for entry level networking.
The CompTIA Network Exam training covers all the foundational theory, and standards of computer networks worldwide.
You’ll be introduced to industry standards that have been developed to enable interoperability between networking devices regardless of vendor. This foundational knowledge is paramount if you are to understand the advanced stuff later on.
As with the A+, the CompTIA network exam (sometimes referred to as N+) counts as an elective credit toward other qualifications such as Microsoft’s MCSA and MCSE.
Network + also crosses over a lot of material covered in some other entry level networking certifications such as Cisco’s INTRO exam which counts as half of the CCNA qualification.
Linux +
CompTIA say that Linux+ is designed for those with 6-12 months practical Linux experience. That in my opinion does not have to be in a commercial workplace, although that is preferable the experience can be gained in a home lab.
The free availability of Linux and support for it make it accessible to anyone who wants it.
My advice is to seriously investigate this line of certification. Too many people are paying too much money for get certified quick ‘shotgun’ MCSE courses just to become drops in the huge ocean of unemployed paper MCSEs.
If you’re looking for a way in to the industry the smart money’s on Linux. It’s harder to learn than Windows, you’ll learn more about the nuts and bolts of computers and networks.
One of the fundamental differences between Windows and Linux administration is the use of the command line.
Windows operating systems have a wizard for just about every task now, everything is completely automated and what goes on behind the scenes is rigorously hidden behind the Graphical User Interface.
Linux is open source which means that the source code for the operating system is available so administrators with programming skills can adapt the operating system to their specific requirements.
Microsoft never publish their source code, everything is tightly locked down behind the GUI. You may hear on the news from time to time about hackers breaking into Microsoft and stealing the source code.
There are administrative tasks in Windows that can only be performed from the command line such as PING and TRACERT but by and large it’s all point and click.
A good rule of thumb for any administrator is to be proficient with working from the command line regardless of what OS you are using.
To pass the Linux+ exam you need to be able to perform a plethora of tasks from the command line such as creating and modifying user accounts, installation and troubleshooting of the OS.
Depending on how experienced you are with computing you may want to consider LPIC level 1 as an alternative entry level Linux certification.
The CompTIA network exam would be a wise prerequisite for anyone looking to take Linux+. I reccomend it if you have little or no experience.
i-Net +
i-Net + is an entry level qualification for anyone wanting to work in specifically internet/intranet related fields.
Topics covered are foundational knowledge of networks, development, security and online business.
This CompTIA training is suitable for anyone with an interest in the technical side of ecommerce and online business. Although a technical qualification it caters for non-technical business professionals seeking a technical foothold in their field.
This qualification does not cover website design or back end programming, if that is your interest you should look at the CIW and other website development certifications.
Although i-Net+ is a good primer for Internet infrastructure technology it is soon to be retired. If you are interested in learning more about web technology the CIW would be more appropriate, you can read more about that here:
Server + focuses on server hardware. This is a good qualification for hardware technicians and system administrators who will be exposed to servers.
Servers have a different anatomy to PC’s although the underlying technology is the same a server’s role in the network is to act as a supercomputer.
They tend to have a lot more resources than PC’s such as dual/quad processors, considerably more memory, banks of hot swappable hard disks, SCSI controllers, dual power supplies, multiple network cards and more.
Servers are often designed to fit in racks and will be connected up to keyboard, mouse and monitor switch boxes than can service several machines.
In an organisation that does not have their servers rack mounted they will purchase non rack mountable machines that will effectively be big heavy noisy PC’s.
Some very small businesses use high speck PC’s as servers if they cannot afford a server computer.
Server+ qualifies you as a hardware technician able to deal with these big beasts of computers in all shapes and sizes.
It’s safe to assume that you won’t have much to do with servers in your first computer job, although you might start out at a very small organisation and be thrown right in at the deep end… it does happen.
By and large your study time and resources would be better suited to achieving more desktop support oriented certifications and the CompTIA network exam that will help you get a foot in the door.
Security +
Data and network security is a hot technology tipped to increase in demand. Many people are gravitating toward becoming qualified in computer security for this reason.
This exam covers all aspects of security from firewalls, encryption, authentication and more. CompTIA state that this qualification is best suited to network professionals with at least 2 years experience.
Like Server+, Security+ is not an entry level qualification but something to look toward in the future should you choose that direction after taking the CompTIA network exam.
For more detail on CompTIA exams you can visit their website here.
Conclusion
CompTIA training, in particular the A+ and CompTIA Network Exams are very suitable for anyone new to the field of computing wanting to start out at the very beginnning. Because they do not focus on specific vendor products they give a broader view of the various fields without delving so deep into the subjects which are more suited to next level up vendor specific courses of study.
Anyone starting out should look at training to become A+ certified as a first step regardless of what career direction they decide to take. 
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