Network+ (N10-009)
CompTIA Network+ is the vendor-neutral certification that proves you can design, configure, manage, and troubleshoot real networks. For many help-desk and junior-admin roles it is a hiring filter and a DoD 8140 / 8570 baseline credential, so a fail can stall a job offer, a promotion, or a security clearance posting. The N10-009 leans heavily on troubleshooting and performance-based tasks, which is exactly where unprepared candidates lose points. This page breaks down what's tested, how it's delivered, and how to pass it the first time.
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No upfront fee — you settle only after your verified passing result. We advertise guaranteed results — 100% pass guaranteed or money back.
How the Network+ N10-009 is built — at a glance
90
A maximum of 90 items in a strict 90-minute window — roughly a minute per question once you account for the longer performance-based tasks.
720
Scored on a 100–900 scale; 720 passes. It's scaled, not a flat percentage, so harder questions are weighted differently than easy ones.
5
Concepts, Implementation, Operations, Security, and Troubleshooting — with troubleshooting carrying the single largest share of your score.
The exam mixes single-answer and multiple-response multiple-choice with performance-based questions — interactive simulations like configuring an interface, matching ports to protocols, or diagnosing a network diagram. PBQs usually appear first, eat the most time, and are the most common reason candidates run short on the clock.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so leaving anything blank only costs you. You can flag and revisit items, and CompTIA gives a pass/fail outcome plus a scaled score immediately at the end. N10-008 retired in late 2024, so N10-009 is now the only active version of the exam.
Five domains — bars show each domain's official share of the N10-009 score
The OSI model, ports and protocols, IPv4/IPv6 addressing and subnetting, cloud and SDN, and core network appliances. The conceptual backbone for everything else.
Routing and switching technologies, VLANs, wireless standards, and physical cabling/transceivers — building and deploying the network you designed in domain 1.
Documentation, monitoring, SNMP and logs, high availability and disaster recovery, and the policies that keep a network running day to day.
Security concepts, common attacks, hardening, and network access control — a focused slice that pairs naturally with a later CompTIA Security+ path.
The largest domain. Applying a methodology to diagnose cable, interface, software, and performance issues using tools like ping, traceroute, and a protocol analyzer.
Troubleshooting (24%) and Concepts (23%) together make up almost half the score. Master subnetting, the OSI model, and a repeatable troubleshooting methodology and you cover the heaviest-weighted material first.
Two ways to sit the exam — and what to expect on test day
You sit the exam in a quiet, monitored room at a Pearson VUE center. Staff verify your government-issued ID, store your belongings, and supervise the room. Workstations are locked down with the secure exam-delivery software, and PBQ simulations run inside the same environment.
OnVUE is Pearson VUE's remote option: you take the exam from a private room at home, monitored by a live proctor over webcam. You run a system test in advance, do a check-in with photos and an ID scan, and complete a 360° room scan. The same voucher works for either delivery method.
A valid, unexpired government photo ID with a name that exactly matches your CompTIA / Pearson VUE profile. The proctor captures your photo and ID before the exam unlocks.
A clear desk, no second monitor, no phone within reach, and a webcam scan of the room. No notes, headphones, or other people are allowed during an OnVUE session.
Stay in frame and on-camera the whole time. There are no scheduled breaks in the 90-minute window. Looking off-screen, talking aloud, or losing connection can flag the session.
Network+ is the standard early-career networking credential
No required prerequisite — but the bar is hands-on
Difficulty: Network+ is a moderate-difficulty exam — harder than A+, easier than CCNA. The pressure points are subnetting under time, memorizing dozens of ports and protocols, and the performance-based simulations. Most candidates invest 60–120 hours of study plus lab time, which is exactly the kind of pressure point our help is designed to remove.
The N10-009 is a time-boxed, performance-based exam standing between you and a job offer, promotion, or clearance posting. Exam Assist pairs you with a vetted networking specialist and works on a pay-after-you-pass model — so the risk sits with us, not you. No upfront fee, guaranteed results: Exam Assist handles the sitting end to end, and you settle only after the verified result.
Tell us your delivery method (test center or OnVUE), test date, and timeline. Takes a couple of minutes over WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord.
We review your timeline and target and tell you plainly whether it's realistic — before any money is discussed. If it isn't a fit, we say so.
Exam Assist handles the sitting end to end. You're matched with a Network+ specialist who maps the work around the five domains, the PBQs, and the OnVUE environment — discreetly and confidentially.
You only pay once your passing result is confirmed. No verified result, nothing owed.
See the full pay-after-you-pass Network+ service, how matching works, and what to expect.
Straight answers about the CompTIA Network+ (N10-009)
Service, a study guide, and sibling CompTIA exams
Pair with a vetted Network+ specialist on a results-first arrangement. No upfront fee — settle only after a verified passing result.
Explore the service GuidePlanning Network+ then Security+? This SY0-701 playbook covers domains, study time, and how the two certs stack.
Read the guide Get StartedShare your test date and target, get an honest feasibility answer, and settle only after a verified passing result.
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View exam Security+The natural next step after Network+ — and a credential that also renews your Network+ automatically when you pass it.
View exam CySA+A more advanced cybersecurity analyst cert for those continuing past the Network+ and Security+ foundation.
View examGet expert Network+ help with no upfront fee — you settle only after your verified passing result. Honest feasibility answer first, results-first arrangement always.