CompTIA Network+ Labs

Build the practical environment that will be used throughout the Network+ lab series.

Skills

Virtual networking
Virtual machines
Network adapters
Private lab networks
IP addressing
Connectivity testing
Packet capture preparation

Environment

NETPLUS-ADMIN
NETPLUS-CLIENT01
NETPLUS-SERVER01
Router / Firewall
Virtual Switches
Wireshark

Lab 02 — TCP/IP and Network Connectivity Fundamentals

Configure and investigate basic TCP/IP connectivity.

Skills

IPv4
Subnet mask
Default gateway
DNS
MAC addresses
ARP
ICMP
ping
traceroute / tracert
ipconfig / ip

Lab 03 — IPv4 Addressing and Subnetting

Design and configure IPv4 networks from business requirements.

Skills

CIDR
Network address
Broadcast address
Host ranges
subnet calculation
VLSM fundamentals
addressing plans

Lab 04 — IPv6 Addressing and Connectivity

Configure and troubleshoot IPv6 communication.

Skills

IPv6 addressing
link-local addresses
global unicast
IPv6 prefix
neighbor discovery
IPv6 gateways
ping6
dual stack

Lab 05 — Ethernet, MAC Addressing and ARP Investigation

Investigate how local Ethernet communication works.

Skills

Ethernet frames
MAC addressing
ARP
broadcast traffic
MAC address tables
Wireshark
Layer 2 communication

Lab 06 — Ethernet Switching Fundamentals

Build and troubleshoot a switched network.

Skills

switches
forwarding
flooding
MAC learning
collision domains
broadcast domains
switch ports
interface status

Lab 07 — VLAN Configuration and Inter-VLAN Connectivity

Segment an enterprise network using VLANs.

Skills

VLANs
access ports
trunk ports
802.1Q
segmentation
inter-VLAN routing
VLAN troubleshooting

Example design:

VLAN 10 — Users

VLAN 20 — Servers

VLAN 30 — Management

VLAN 40 — Guest

Lab 08 — Spanning Tree and Layer 2 Redundancy

Investigate redundant switched networks while preventing loops.

Skills

Layer 2 loops
STP
root bridge
blocked ports
redundant links
broadcast storms
topology changes

Lab 09 — Static Routing Fundamentals

Connect multiple networks using routers.

Skills

routing tables
directly connected routes
static routes
default routes
route selection
next hop
troubleshooting routed connectivity

Lab 10 — Dynamic Routing with OSPF

Build a small multi-router environment using dynamic routing.

Skills

OSPF fundamentals
neighbor relationships
route advertisement
route tables
convergence
routing troubleshooting

Lab 11 — DHCP Configuration and Troubleshooting

Deploy and investigate automated IPv4 configuration.

Skills

DHCP
DORA
address pools
leases
reservations
default gateway
DNS options
DHCP troubleshooting

Workflow:

Discover
   ↓
Offer
   ↓
Request
   ↓
Acknowledge

Lab 12 — DNS Resolution and Troubleshooting

Deploy and investigate DNS name resolution.

Skills

DNS queries
recursive resolution
A records
AAAA records
CNAME
MX
PTR
caching
nslookup
dig
DNS troubleshooting

Lab 13 — NAT and PAT Configuration

Configure address translation between private and external networks.

Skills

private addressing
public addressing
NAT
PAT
static NAT
translation tables
outbound connectivity
NAT troubleshooting

Lab 14 — Wireless Network Configuration and Troubleshooting

Build a secure wireless network and investigate connectivity problems.

Skills

SSID
2.4 GHz
5 GHz
6 GHz concepts
channels
interference
WPA2
WPA3
authentication
wireless troubleshooting
guest networks

Lab 15 — Network Services and Common Protocol Investigation

Investigate commonly used enterprise protocols and ports.

Protocols

HTTP / HTTPS

SSH

FTP / SFTP

SMTP

DNS

DHCP

SNMP

NTP

SMB

RDP

LDAP / LDAPS

Skills

TCP vs UDP
ports
service identification
connection testing
protocol troubleshooting

Lab 16 — Network Traffic Analysis with Wireshark

Capture and analyze real network traffic.

Skills

packet capture
Ethernet
ARP
ICMP
TCP
UDP
DNS
HTTP
TLS
display filters
TCP handshake
connection troubleshooting

Investigation workflow:

Packet
   ↓
Frame
   ↓
IP
   ↓
Transport
   ↓
Application

Lab 17 — Network Security and Access Control

Implement foundational network security controls.

Skills

firewall rules
ACL concepts
network segmentation
secure management
port security concepts
least privilege
secure protocols
rogue-device awareness

Lab 18 — VPN and Remote Access Networking

Investigate secure remote connectivity.

Skills

VPN fundamentals
site-to-site VPN
remote-access VPN
tunneling
encryption concepts
split tunneling
authentication
remote-access troubleshooting

Lab 19 — Network Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Use networking tools and telemetry to investigate common network failures.

Tools

ping

traceroute / tracert

ipconfig

ip

arp

route

netstat

ss

nslookup

dig

Wireshark

Nmap

Troubleshooting Scenarios

incorrect IP address
wrong subnet mask
missing gateway
duplicate IP
DNS failure
DHCP failure
VLAN mismatch
routing issue
port blocked
wireless connectivity issue

Troubleshooting methodology:

Identify Problem
      ↓
Establish Theory
      ↓
Test Theory
      ↓
Create Action Plan
      ↓
Implement
      ↓
Verify
      ↓
Document

Lab 20 — Enterprise Network+ Capstone

The final lab combines the entire Network+ skill set.

Mission Scenario

You are assigned to deploy and troubleshoot a small enterprise network containing:

Internet
   ↓
Edge Router / Firewall
   ↓
Core Network
   ├── VLAN 10 — Users
   ├── VLAN 20 — Servers
   ├── VLAN 30 — Management
   └── VLAN 40 — Guest Wireless

You must:

design the IPv4 addressing plan
configure subnets
configure VLANs
configure trunking
establish inter-VLAN routing
configure DHCP
configure DNS
configure NAT/PAT
implement wireless networking
implement basic firewall controls
verify routing
inspect ARP and MAC tables
capture traffic with Wireshark
troubleshoot introduced faults
document the network
produce a final network assessment

Capstone Skills

Network Design
      ↓
IP Addressing
      ↓
Switching
      ↓
VLANs
      ↓
Routing
      ↓
DHCP / DNS
      ↓
NAT
      ↓
Wireless
      ↓
Security
      ↓
Monitoring
      ↓
Troubleshooting
      ↓
Documentation

Complete Network+ Lab Sequence

Lab 01 — Build Your Network+ Lab Environment

Lab 02 — TCP/IP and Network Connectivity Fundamentals

Lab 03 — IPv4 Addressing and Subnetting

Lab 04 — IPv6 Addressing and Connectivity

Lab 05 — Ethernet, MAC Addressing and ARP Investigation

Lab 06 — Ethernet Switching Fundamentals

Lab 07 — VLAN Configuration and Inter-VLAN Connectivity

Lab 08 — Spanning Tree and Layer 2 Redundancy

Lab 09 — Static Routing Fundamentals

Lab 10 — Dynamic Routing with OSPF

Lab 11 — DHCP Configuration and Troubleshooting

Lab 12 — DNS Resolution and Troubleshooting

Lab 13 — NAT and PAT Configuration

Lab 14 — Wireless Network Configuration and Troubleshooting

Lab 15 — Network Services and Common Protocol Investigation

Lab 16 — Network Traffic Analysis with Wireshark

Lab 17 — Network Security and Access Control

Lab 18 — VPN and Remote Access Networking

Lab 19 — Network Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Lab 20 — Enterprise Network+ Capstone

Recommended Runbooks After the Labs

Once these 20 labs are complete, I would keep the Network+ runbooks much smaller than the CySA+ set because Network+ is more infrastructure/troubleshooting focused:

Runbook 01 — Network Connectivity Troubleshooting

Runbook 02 — IP Addressing, DHCP and DNS Troubleshooting

Runbook 03 — Switching and VLAN Troubleshooting

Runbook 04 — Routing Troubleshooting

Runbook 05 — Wireless Network Troubleshooting

Runbook 06 — Network Performance and Packet Analysis

Runbook 07 — Network Outage and Service Restoration

This gives us a clean 20 Labs + 7 Runbooks structure, matching the professional style we used for CySA+ without making Network+ unnecessarily large.