Getting Certified: CompTIA Network+ Certification and the N10-004 Exam
CompTIA – the Computing Technology Industry Association – first launched the Network+ exam in 1999. I gained the certification in August of 1999 taking and passing the N10-001 exam. Eleven years later it has released the fourth iteration of the certification with the N10-004 exam.
This article will introduce you to CompTIA – the Computing Technology Industry Association – as well as the Network+ certification and some of the expected skills and knowledge that a candidate should have prior to sitting the exam.
What is CompTIA and Network+
CompTIA stands for the Computing Technology Industry Association and a portion of its business goes beyond just certification exams. That being said, it is the Information Technology industry’s largest developer of vendor-neutral IT certification exams.
The 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.
The history of the exams are:
- N10-001 CompTIA Network+ Exam (1999 Edition) (Retired March 14, 2002)
- N10-002 CompTIA Network+ Exam (2002 Edition) (Retired June 30, 2005)
- N10-003 CompTIA Network+ Exam (2005 Edition) (Retired July 31, 2009)
- N10-004 CompTIA Network+ Exam (2009 Edition) (Slated for retirement in 2012)
In general the certification is used to measure the skill set of the network technician in an effort to make sure they have a good 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.
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