CompTIA Network+ N10-009 – Intro & Networking Basics

Vocabulary flashcards covering key exam facts and foundational networking terms from the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 course notes.

CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Exam Time Limit

You have 90 minutes to complete the certification exam.

CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Question Count

The exam contains a maximum of 90 questions.

Performance-Based Question (PBQ)

Hands-on troubleshooting scenario or simulator that requires performing tasks or matching objects rather than selecting a simple multiple-choice answer.

CompTIA Network+ Passing Score

A scaled score of 720 (about 80 %) on a scale of 100–900 is required to pass.

Network Concepts Domain

Exam section covering 23 % of the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives.

Network Implementation Domain

Exam section covering 20 % of the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives.

Network Operations Domain

Exam section covering 19 % of the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives.

Network Security Domain

Exam section covering 14 % of the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives.

Network Troubleshooting Domain

Exam section covering 24 % of the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives.

Computer Network

A system of interconnected computers and devices that communicate and share resources and information.

Host

Any device on a network (computer, server, IoT device, etc.) that has an IP address and uses, provides, or shares resources.

Server

A computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers—known as clients—over a network.

Workstation

A high-performance computer designed for technical or scientific applications, typically used by one person at a time.

Client Machine

A computer or device that accesses resources, applications, or services provided by a server over a network.

Network Device

Hardware such as routers, switches, access points, or firewalls that enables servers, workstations, and clients to connect and share resources.

Local Area Network (LAN)

A network that covers a small geographic area—like a home, office, or building—used for sharing local resources such as files and printers.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A network that spans a large geographic area, often a country or continent; the Internet is the largest WAN.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A network that covers a larger area than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city.

Campus Area Network (CAN)

A network that interconnects multiple LANs within a limited geographic area like a university or corporate campus.

Storage Area Network (SAN)

A high-speed network that provides servers with access to consolidated data storage devices as if they were locally attached.

Personal Area Network (PAN)

A very small network—usually within a single room—used for short-range connectivity, e.g., Bluetooth between a phone and headset.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Network

A decentralized architecture where each device can act as both client and server, sharing resources directly without a central server.

Client-Server Network

Architecture where multiple client devices connect to a central server to access shared resources, services, and applications.

Network Backbone

The main high-speed infrastructure that interconnects various segments of a network and carries the bulk of traffic.

Network Segment

A smaller subnetwork or cluster of devices connected to the backbone, often representing a department or area within an organization.

Network Topology

The physical or logical layout of links and nodes in a computer network, affecting performance, reliability, and scalability.

Point-to-Point Topology

A direct connection between exactly two devices, used for dedicated links like site-to-site WAN or host-to-host PAN connections.

Mesh Topology

Each device is connected to every other device, offering maximum redundancy and fault tolerance but at high cost and complexity.

Star (Hub-and-Spoke) Topology

All nodes connect to a central device such as a switch or hub, simplifying management but creating a single point of failure.

Hybrid Topology

A combination of two or more topology types designed to leverage advantages and mitigate disadvantages of each.

Three-Tier Hierarchical Model

Network design that divides infrastructure into core, distribution, and access layers to optimize scalability and performance.

Core Layer

Backbone of the network providing high-speed, highly redundant packet switching across the entire network.

Distribution Layer

Intermediary layer that aggregates access-layer traffic, manages routing, filtering, and WAN access before forwarding to the core.

Access Layer

Entry point where end-user devices connect to the network via switches and wireless access points.

Spine-and-Leaf Architecture

Two-layer design in which every leaf (access) switch connects to every spine switch, ensuring any two leaf switches are only two hops apart.

Collapsed Core Architecture

Design that merges core and distribution functions into a single layer, reducing hardware and cost—suitable for small to medium networks.

North-South Traffic

Network traffic flowing between a data center and external networks (clients, Internet)—typically client-to-server communication.

East-West Traffic

Internal data center traffic, such as server-to-server or VM-to-VM communication, emphasizing efficient intra-data-center networking.

Unicast

One-to-one communication where packets are sent from one source to one specific destination IP address.

Multicast

One-to-many communication where data is sent to multiple destinations simultaneously using a multicast group address.

Anycast

Routing method where multiple devices share the same address and traffic is delivered to the nearest or best destination, improving performance.

Broadcast

One-to-all communication within a network segment; a sender transmits to all devices on the LAN (IPv4 only).