CompTIA Network+ Certification N10-004 Exam
CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) is the Information Technology industry’s largest developer of vendor-neutral IT certification exams.
This article will focus on one of its certification exams – the Network+ Certification.
CompTIA’s original certification program launched in 1993 and since that time more than 1 million people have earned a CompTIA certification. The hardware based A+ certification was first launched in 1993.
With respect to Network+, exam N10-001 launched back in 1999 and is now in its 4th release as N10-004. The CompTIA website lists nearly a quarter of a million holders of the Network+ certification. I took and passed the N10-001 exam in August of 1999.
The Network+ Certification measures the skill set of the network technician in an effort to assess their comprehension of the theory and inner workings of network hardware installation, operation and troubleshooting.
The exam is a stepping stone for network administrators that may wish to continuing to other networking certifications from Microsoft and / or Cisco certifications.
According to the CompTIA website there are no actual prerequisites for candidates that wish to take the exam to get the certification.
Having said that,Network+ benefits should have at least nine months of experience in network support and administration. In absence of that they should have formal academic training with some hands on practice and / on the job training.
According to the most recent to the exam requirements ob the CompTIA website, the N10-004 exam has 100 questions in total that need to be completed in a 90 minute time period.
A passing score is 720 on a scale of 100 to 900.
If you become certified on Network+ before the end of 2010 you remain a holder of the certification for life. So as an example, my Network+ certification is still active despite my having taken the N10-001 exam eleven years ago.
In some employment situations as required it may be necessary for Network+ certified engineers to “re-test” to assess their skills on the technology released since they formally received the certification.
As of January 1, 2011, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications are valid for three years from the date the candidate becomes certified. A “valid through” date will appear on all certificates and certificate holder CompTIA ID cards.
Individuals certified on or before December 31, 2010 in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network and CompTIA Security+ will retain their “certified for life” status. No valid through date will appear on certificates and certificate holder CompTIA ID cards.
This was originally to be put into effect for 2010 and retroactively enforced on all CompTIA certification holders but the outcry caused CompTIA in January to reconsider their actions and this new update is now the current set of changes that are planned for 2011.
The new certification renewal policy is applicable to all individuals who earn CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and/or comptia security+ exam on or after January 1, 2011. Other CompTIA certifications are not affected by the new policy at this time.
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