Network Management Practice Exam

Network management  is the practice of administering, maintaining, and monitoring computer networks for their optimum performance and availability. The practice involves monitoring network performance, troubleshooting issues, configuring network devices, securing networking elements and maintaining network infrastructure.

Certification in Network Management attests to your skills and knowledge for designing, configuring, monitoring, and maintaining computer networks. The certification includes network infrastructure management, network security, troubleshooting, and optimization.
Why is Network Management certification important?

• The certification validates your skills and knowledge of managing and securing networks.
• Validates your expertise in network troubleshooting and optimization.
• Boosts your career prospects in the IT networking.
• Attests to your knowledge of managing network systems.
• Verifies your capabilities to ensure network uptime and security.
• You will be more likely to be promoted in the company for your certified expertise.
• Helps you to earn higher salaries compared to non-certified professionals.
  
• Acts as a stepping stone for advanced certifications.

Who should take the Network Management Exam?

• Network Administrator
• Network Engineer
• IT Support Specialist
• Systems Administrator
• Network Architect
• Network Security Engineer
• IT Infrastructure Manager
• Technical Support Engineer
• Network Operations Center (NOC) Technician
• Network Analyst

Skills Evaluated

Candidates taking the certification exam on the Network Management is evaluated for the following skills:

• Network Configuration
• Network Troubleshooting
• Network Security
• Network Monitoring and Performance Optimization
• Routing and Switching Protocols
• Network Design and Topology
• Troubleshooting Tools
• Disaster Recovery and Backup Strategies
• Documentation and Reporting
• Compliance and Standards
  

Network Management Certification Course Outline
The course outline for Network Management certification is as below -

1. Network Fundamentals

• Basic networking concepts and protocols
• OSI and TCP/IP models
• Types of networks: LAN, WAN, MAN, and VPN
• Network devices: routers, switches, hubs, and firewalls

2. Network Configuration and Design

• IP addressing and subnetting
• Configuring routers and switches
• Design of network topology (star, mesh, hybrid)
• Network protocols: DHCP, DNS, TCP/IP, etc.

3. Network Security

• Firewalls, VPNs, and IDS/IPS systems
• Access control, authentication, and encryption
• Preventing and mitigating DDoS attacks
• Secure network design principles

4. Network Monitoring and Troubleshooting

• Monitoring network performance with tools like Wireshark, SNMP, etc.
• Troubleshooting network connectivity issues
• Bandwidth management and QoS (Quality of Service)
• Resolving network bottlenecks and latency issues

5. Advanced Routing and Switching

• Routing protocols: OSPF, EIGRP, BGP
• VLANs and inter-VLAN routing
• Static and dynamic routing techniques
• High-availability and redundancy protocols (HSRP, VRRP, GLBP)

6. Wireless Networking

• Configuring and securing wireless networks (Wi-Fi, WPA2, WPA3)
• Wireless standards and security
• Troubleshooting wireless connectivity issues
• Wireless site surveys and signal analysis

7. Network Performance Optimization

• Load balancing and traffic shaping
• WAN optimization techniques
• Network capacity planning and performance testing
• Minimizing network downtime through redundancy

8. Network Documentation and Compliance

• Network diagrams and configuration documentation
• Best practices for network documentation
• Industry standards and regulatory compliance (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.)
• Network incident response and reporting

9. Cloud Networking

• Understanding cloud infrastructure and hybrid networks
• Configuring cloud networking solutions
• Network monitoring in a cloud environment
• Integrating on-premise and cloud-based networks

10. Disaster Recovery and Network Backup

• Designing disaster recovery plans for network infrastructure
• Implementing network backup solutions
• Network redundancy and failover strategies
• Cloud-based and off-site backups