I honestly have no idea between the differences of the two without looking it up. I took my Net+ back in 2007. The new test and objectives should be fun because it covers all the new things out there to include SCADA. Pretty good stuff.
From my experience doing certs, I really love the "All-In-One" series books. Mike Myers has been authoring the Network+ (and other books) for a while now and he has a book on Amazon for the n10-006 version. I would highly recommend getting that!
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223
I got this one from Amazon. But N10-006 is retiring in about a week, so you would want N10-007. The price is about the same.
Thanks a lot! Did you have prior networking experience before getting certified?
What books/resources did you use to learn and prepare for the CCNA (I assume routing & switching) and Security+? I currently have this book which I'm using to learn networking fundamentals.
So, that is one of the more unstructured parts of the test. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223/ref=pd_sim_14_10?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0071848223&pd_rd_r=QSX1FVN4EZYPJ15V106F&pd_rd_w=1058E&pd_rd_wg=m3GMP&psc=1&refRID=QSX1FVN4EZYPJ15V106F Meyers questions in their books often are very close and prepare people for the real deal. I used A+ and Sec+ by them.
This is my guide to what I did to pass the Network+ plus links to the various resources for the N+ (please note none of my Amazon links are referral links to a store of mine or anything - I do not intend to, nor will I even intend to use this subreddit as a means to make money off of it's members - to me this knowledge should be freely given with no financial benefit to myself)
As of today (2/29) I passed my network+ with an 802/900 (passing is a 720) Here are the resources I used to finish this (this will be shorter than post #1 due to only one current exam being out)
CompTIA Network+ - Current/future courses: N10-006 Objectives: You WANT to read these - they literally tell you everything you need to study to pass:
Daefish's recommended books: N10-006
Mike Meyers - All-In-One Certification Exam Guide. Cost: $60 from a Brick and Mortar store; $33 on Amazon. $13 to RENT.
Very comprehensive book, wide range of concepts. Easy to read, well laid out. It has most of the material you'll need to pass though I recommend supplementing this with another source to gain a better perspective on the same topic. End of chapter quizzes (10 questions each). Comes with testing software as a demo, approx. 100-200 questions available for each half of the exam.
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456788200&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+meyers+network
Please note: I RENTED this book from Amazon. It's a great concept. It cost me $13 plus 1.50 in shipping and I had it from January until May (it's obviously February but the option is mine to keep it until May). This means that for $13 you can get a text book that should give you enough time to study and pass your exam, even if you fail it once. This is easily the most cost effective way to access a physical book to study from.
Additional note of caution: This did NOT come with the free CD that purchasing the book came with. To me it wasn't worth the money but be warned yours might not as well so please make a decision based on the value of the CD to you.
Emmett Dulaney - CompTIA Exam Cram Cost: $45 from Brick and Mortar; $34, $13 to Rent on Amazon Similar material to Mike Meyers
End of chapter quizzes and ALSO includes two practice exams @ 100 questions each in the book which is super handy.
I did NOT purchase this book to use. However, I signed up for a free week trial on safaribooksonline.com in order to access this book because it does include two 100 question exams in the book - I used these exams as a way to gauge my readiness.
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-N10-006-Exam-Cram/dp/078975410X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456788419&sr=8-1&keywords=exam+cram+network%2B
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N10-006 video resources
PM goes through his videos in the order that the CompTIA provides their objectives in. This can lead to something slightly jarring in that one episode you are talking about hubs and switches and three episodes later you are talking about firewalls and proxies. I know why PM is doing it this way and it is simple enough to just skip to the next part of the course that you want to focus on. Maybe this is instead more a criticism of the CompTIA's objectives than PM's videos. There isn't enough building between concepts before jumping around.
It doesn't build from OSI model > hubs > switches > routers > routing > TCP/IP > protocols > advanced network devices (or some other method) and instead jumps around. Again - personal preference but something to be aware of. If you are weak on switches for example and need reinforcement on their concepts, be prepared to have to skip videos to find the rest of the switching videos then move back to find more of the routing videos.
But seriously I <3 PM and will be using him for my Security+
Mike Meyers - udemy - https://www.udemy.com/comptia-network-certification-n10-006-the-total-course/learn/ - as of today $199 - can be on sale occasionally (I paid $24 for mine) This covers material in a more natural way - building on preceeding concepts to build a bigger picture while skipping around the CompTIA objective sets. Again - I think it's more the way CompTIA has it set out in the objectives than any criticism on either PM or MM on how they laid their videos out.
Network+/N10-006 Professor Messer Study Groups - http://www.professormesser.com/category/network-plus/network-plus-study-group/
N10-006 testing resources - I am going to be VERY careful here - I do not know enough about what's considered a "brain dump" or not and I will not be responsible for someone failing an exam for using a dump.
It will be a while before I do anything on the Sec+ but please feel free to leave comments or suggestions below and I'll edit them into the main two posts.
I <3 you guys and thank you all for the support and advice thus far. I'm so excited for the future now that I have the A+/N+.
Oh for sure, prepare for a long ass list:
- Python and Ethical Hacking for Noobs
The last four are from the same guy, all of his courses are cool here they are.
I am now working on these two:
- Network+
I've also done a few web dev courses (all from this guy) and some other stuff like Wireshark and GitHub that aren't specifically security related but are good to know.
I hope this is useful!
Edit - The Network+ and Security+ need companions, these alone won't cut it but I have the books form this company for both certs to work through too. Not yet looked at test exams though.
CompTIA Network+ Great book as an introduction all around view of the subject.
Not a video, but this book taught me a lot. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223
I can tell you the Professor Messer videos are good, but in my opinion nowhere near enough to pass the Network+. I recommend the Mike Myers book and Darril Gibson's practice questions . Good luck!
I just started down this road as well. I have stared watching PM's videos like most are suggesting. I hadn't seen his study notes recommended before this thread so I'll have to look into those.
The two books I saw highly recommended were CompTIA Network+ All-In-One Exam Guide by Mike Meyers and CompTIA Network+ Study Guide by Todd Lammle. I looked at the previews for both and personally preferred the style that Lammle provided. Since both were highly recommended I went with Lammle's book.
I actually ended up getting the CompTIA Network+ Certification Kit by Lammle because of the virtual lab simulator that is included with the purchase. I have no idea if it's any good as I haven't tried it yet but it seems like a great tool to have since there are supposed to be a couple simulations on the exam. Additionally this version comes with an e-book as well. Also you get a 10% discount on an exam voucher so that knocks the price of this kit down to the regular book (all three books I've listed provide a 10% discount so it's not exclusive to Lammle).
Good luck!
It was a little paragraph at the end of the IPv6 chapter in this book.