CompTIA Network+ Exam Preparation Checklist

A tick-off readiness checklist for the Network+ N10-009 exam — topic-by-topic checks, PBQ readiness, final-week review items and booking logistics.

Liam Anderson21 May 2026 · 7 min read

Ask AIChatGPT Claude Gemini Copilot Perplexity Grok

Checklist on a clipboard with network-themed tick boxes representing Network+ exam readiness

You are ready to book the Network+ exam when you can honestly tick every box on this page — not when you have "finished the course", and not when a practice score happens to spike once. This checklist is a readiness audit for the N10-009 exam (the current version as of August 2026): topic-by-topic knowledge checks, skill checks you must be able to perform cold, performance-based question (PBQ) readiness, a final-week review list and the logistics that catch people out on the day.

It is deliberately not a study plan or a tutorial. If the checklist exposes gaps you cannot close on your own, step back to the full CompTIA Network+ certification guide, which covers the exam structure and a complete preparation sequence.

How to use this checklist

Work through it twice. The first pass, a few weeks out, tells you where to aim your remaining study time — mark each unticked item and treat it as a task. The second pass, in your final week, is the go/no-go decision before you sit the exam.

Be strict about what a tick means. For knowledge items, a tick means you could explain the topic to a colleague without notes. For skill items, it means you have actually performed the task recently, not that you remember reading about it. Self-deception here is expensive: as of June 2026, the exam's US retail price listed by CompTIA's authorised resellers is $399, and while there is no waiting period before a second attempt, each retake needs a new full-price voucher unless you bought a retake bundle.

One calibration note before the lists: the exam gives you up to 90 questions in 90 minutes and requires 720 on a 100–900 scale. That is a scaled score, not a percentage — so the checklist aims you at consistent coverage of every area rather than a numeric target you cannot actually compute.

Knowledge checklist by topic area

CompTIA's official N10-009 exam objectives — a free download from comptia.org — are the authoritative content list, and every item below should be checked against them. These are the areas where candidates most often discover late gaps.

Networking concepts and addressing

[ ] I can name the OSI layers in order and place protocols, devices and problems at the correct layer.
[ ] I know the common protocols and their default port numbers from memory, including which use TCP, UDP or both.
[ ] I can explain the difference between public and private IPv4 addressing, and what NAT does at the boundary.
[ ] I can describe IPv6 address types and shorten/expand an IPv6 address correctly.
[ ] I can explain how DNS resolution and DHCP leasing actually work, step by step.

Subnetting (its own section, deliberately)

[ ] Given any IPv4 address and CIDR prefix, I can find the network address, broadcast address and usable host range on paper.
[ ] I can size a subnet ("how many /28s fit in this /24, and how many hosts in each?") without a calculator.
[ ] I can do the above in under about a minute per problem, because exam time will not wait for long division.

If subnetting is the box you cannot tick, stop here and fix it first. It surfaces in multiple question forms and it is the least improvisable topic on the exam.

Implementation: switching, routing and wireless

[ ] I can explain VLANs, trunking and why traffic does or does not cross a VLAN boundary.
[ ] I understand routing fundamentals — static versus dynamic, and how a router chooses between routes.
[ ] I know current wireless standards and security options, and which I would choose for a given deployment.
[ ] I can match cable and connector types to use cases, including where distance or interference rules one out.

Operations and security

[ ] I can describe the monitoring, documentation, backup and change-management practices a network team relies on, and what each protects against.
[ ] I can explain network segmentation and why it limits blast radius.
[ ] I understand VPN and remote-access options well enough to pick between them for a scenario.
[ ] I can recognise common network attacks — spoofing, denial of service and their relatives — from a symptom description, and name the mitigation.

Troubleshooting and tools

[ ] I follow a structured troubleshooting method rather than guessing, and can state its steps.
[ ] For ping, traceroute, nslookup, ipconfig/ifconfig and their common companions, I know what each shows and when I would reach for it.
[ ] Given a symptom scenario ("users on one floor lost connectivity after a change"), I can shortlist likely causes in a sensible order.
[ ] I have practised reading command output, not just naming commands — the exam shows you output and asks what it means.

Skills you should have performed, not just read about

Hands-on items separate candidates who cope with PBQs from candidates who freeze. Tick these only if you have physically or virtually done them during your preparation:

[ ] Built a small network (real or simulated) with at least a switch, a router and two subnets that can reach each other.
[ ] Created a VLAN and confirmed which devices could and could not communicate afterwards.
[ ] Broken something deliberately — a wrong gateway, a bad DNS entry — and diagnosed it using only command-line tools.
[ ] Configured a wireless access point's security settings.

PBQ readiness

Performance-based questions are interactive tasks, typically at the front of the exam, that simulate real configuration and diagnosis work. They are worth more than standard questions and consume far more time.

[ ] I know what PBQ formats look like and none of them will surprise me.
[ ] I have a time rule: attempt each PBQ, and flag and move on if it starts consuming several minutes, returning after the multiple-choice items.
[ ] I have completed timed practice that includes simulated PBQs or equivalent hands-on tasks, so my pacing includes them rather than treating the exam as 90 pure multiple-choice questions.

Practice-test benchmarks

Practice questions are a diagnostic instrument, not a memorisation source — their value is telling you which objectives are weak while there is still time to restudy them. Tick these before booking:

[ ] I have completed at least two full-length, timed practice runs under exam conditions (90 minutes, no notes, no pausing).
[ ] My timed scores are consistently strong across attempts, not one lucky peak.
[ ] For every question I got wrong, I traced the miss back to an objective and restudied the topic — rather than memorising that answer.
[ ] My performance is even across topic areas; no single area is carrying the others.

A timed practice test simulation is the cleanest way to run this benchmark; ExamPractice's free sample CompTIA practice questions work for the quicker domain-by-domain spot checks.

Final-week review checklist

The last seven days are for consolidation, not new material.

[ ] Re-read the official objectives one final time and confirm nothing on the list makes me flinch.
[ ] Re-drill port numbers, subnetting and command-line tools — the three highest-yield memory items — briefly each day.
[ ] Reviewed my accumulated wrong-answer log rather than doing fresh full-length tests every day.
[ ] Did one final timed simulation early in the week, then tapered; cramming the night before adds anxiety, not marks.
[ ] Slept properly for the two nights before the exam.

Logistics checklist

Administrative surprises sink otherwise-ready candidates.

[ ] Voucher purchased from CompTIA or an authorised reseller, and the exam booked through Pearson VUE.
[ ] Chose deliberately between a test centre and OnVUE online proctoring — and if testing from home, ran the system test and prepared a quiet room, a clean desk and valid ID for the proctor's checks.
[ ] I know the arrival or login time, and for a test centre, the route and parking.
[ ] I know the retake rules in case of a bad day: no waiting period before a second attempt, 14 calendar days before a third or later, full price each time unless bundled.
[ ] I have checked the current exam fee and policies on comptia.org rather than relying on an old figure — prices vary by country and changed as recently as mid-2026.

The verdict: book it or hold?

If every section above is ticked honestly, book the exam now — a fixed date focuses the final stretch, and readiness fades if you idle at your peak. If one or two boxes in a single area are open, book anyway with two to three weeks of runway and close them; that is targeted work, not a red flag. If whole sections are unticked — subnetting shaky, no hands-on practice, no timed runs — hold off, because those gaps are precisely what the 720 scaled pass mark punishes, and return to a structured plan before re-running this audit.

And if partway through this page you found yourself questioning the goal itself rather than your readiness, that is a different question with its own answer: see is CompTIA Network+ worth it, or how it compares for security-focused careers in Security+ vs Network+.

Exam facts in this guide were checked against official certification-provider pages on 30 August 2026. Fees, exam codes and policies change — confirm on the provider’s own site before you book.

Ask AIChatGPT Claude Gemini Copilot Perplexity Grok

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