The ideal prep guide for earning your CCST Networking certification
CCST Cisco Certified Support Technician Study Guide: Networking Exam is the perfect way to study for your certification as you prepare to start or upskill your IT career. Written by industry expert and Cisco networking guru Todd Lammle, this Sybex Study Guide uses the trusted Sybex approach, providing 100% coverage of CCST Networking exam objectives. You’ll find detailed information and examples for must-know Cisco networking topics, as well as practical insights drawn from real-world scenarios.
This Study Guide provides authoritative coverage of key exam topics, including standards and concepts, addressing and subnet formats, endpoints and media types, infrastructure, diagnosing problems, and security. You also get one year of FREE access to a robust set of online learning tools, including a test bank with hundreds of questions, a practice exam, a set of flashcards, and a glossary of important terminology, all supported by Wiley's support agents who are available 24x7 via email or live chat to assist with access and login questions. The CCST Networking certification is an entry point into the Cisco certification program, and a pathway to the higher-level CCNA, so it’s a great place to start as you build a rewarding career!
- Study 100% of the topics covered on the Cisco CCST Networking certification exam
- Get access to flashcards, practice questions, and more great resources online
- Master difficult concepts with real-world examples and clear explanations
- Learn about the career paths you can follow and what comes next after the CCST
This Sybex study guide is perfect for anyone wanting to earn their CCST Networking certification, including entry-level network technicians, networking students, interns, and IT professionals.
Table of Contents
Introduction xxi
Assessment Test xxxi
Chapter 1 Internetworking 1
Internetworking Basics 2
Internetworking Models 10
The Layered Approach 10
Advantages of Reference Models 11
The OSI Reference Model 12
The Application Layer 14
The Presentation Layer 15
The Session Layer 15
The Transport Layer 15
The Network Layer 21
The Data Link Layer 23
The Physical Layer 26
Summary 29
Exam Essentials 29
Review Questions 31
Chapter 2 Introduction to TCP/IP 33
Introducing TCP/IP 34
A Brief History of TCP/IP 34
TCP/IP and the DoD Model 35
The Process/Application Layer Protocols 37
The Host- to- Host or Transport Layer Protocols 46
The Internet Layer Protocols 55
IP Addressing 64
IP Terminology 64
The Hierarchical IP Addressing Scheme 65
Private IP Addresses (RFC 1918) 70
IPv4 Address Types 71
Layer 2 Broadcasts 71
Layer 3 Broadcasts 72
Unicast Address 72
Multicast Address 73
Summary 74
Exam Essentials 75
Review Questions 77
Chapter 3 Easy Subnetting 81
Subnetting Basics 82
How to Create Subnets 83
Subnet Masks 84
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) 86
IP Subnet-Zero 87
Subnetting Class C Addresses 88
Using a Subnet Calculator 99
Subnetting Class B Addresses 99
Subnetting Class A Addresses 107
Summary 110
Exam Essentials 111
Review Questions 112
Chapter 4 Network Address Translation (NAT) & IPv6 115
When Do We Use NAT? 116
Types of Network Address Translation 118
NAT Names 118
How NAT Works 119
Why Do We Need IPv6? 120
The Benefits and Uses of IPv 6 122
IPv6 Addressing and Expressions 123
Shortened Expression 123
Address Types 124
Special Addresses 126
How IPv6 Works in an Internetwork 127
Manual Address Assignment 127
Stateless Autoconfiguration (EUI- 64) 128
Neighbor Discovery (NDP) 129
Summary 130
Exam Essentials 131
Review Questions 133
Chapter 5 IP Routing 137
Routing Basics 138
The IP Routing Process 141
Testing Your IP Routing Understanding 146
Configuring IP Routing 151
Static Routing 151
Default Routing 153
Dynamic Routing 154
Routing Protocol Basics 154
Summary 156
Exam Essentials 156
Review Questions 158
Chapter 6 Switching 161
Switching Services 162
Three Switch Functions at Layer 2 163
VLAN Basics 169
Broadcast Control 172
Security 173
Flexibility and Scalability 173
Identifying VLANs 174
Assigning Switch Ports to VLANs 176
Routing Between VLANs 178
Summary 180
Exam Essentials 180
Review Questions 182
Chapter 7 Cables and Connectors 185
The Basic Network Topologies 186
Local Area Networks 187
Wide Area Networks 189
Metropolitan Area Networks 190
Campus Area Networks 190
Personal Area Networks 190
Storage Area Networks 190
Physical Network Topologies 191
Bus Topology 191
Star Topology 192
Ring Topology 193
Mesh Topology 194
Point- to- Point Topology 195
Point- to- Multipoint Topology 196
Hybrid Topology 197
Physical Media 197
Coaxial Cable 198
Fiber- Optic Cable 204
Summary 208
Exam Essentials 208
Review Questions 209
Chapter 8 Wireless Technologies 213
Wireless Networks 215
Wireless Personal Area Networks 215
Wireless Local Area Networks 216
Wireless Metro Area Networks 216
Wireless Wide Area Networks 217
Basic Wireless Devices 217
Wireless Access Points 217
Wireless Network Interface Card 219
Wireless Antennas 220
Wireless Principles 220
Independent Basic Service Set (Ad Hoc) 220
Basic Service Set 222
Infrastructure Basic Service Set 222
Service Set ID 222
Extended Service Set 224
Nonoverlapping Wi- Fi channels 225
2.4 GHz Band 225
5 GHz Band (802.11ac) 226
Wi- Fi 6 (802.11ax) 228
Interference 229
Range and Speed Comparisons 229
Cellular Technologies 229
Technologies That Facilitate the Internet of Things 231
Wireless Security 232
Authentication and Encryption 232
Wep 233
WPA and WPA2: An Overview 234
Wpa 3 236
Network Host Utilities 238
Windows 239
MacOS 247
Linux 251
Apple 256
Android 260
Summary 264
Exam Essentials 265
Review Questions 266
Chapter 9 Cisco Devices 271
Status Lights 272
Connecting to a Cisco Device 273
Physical Ports and Cables 275
Console Port 275
Serial Port 277
Fiber Port 278
SFPs 279
Ethernet Ports 279
Straight- Through Cable 281
Crossover Cable 282
PoE 283
Remote Access 284
Terminal Emulators 284
Remote Desktop Gateway/Remote Desktop Protocol 284
Telnet 285
Secure Shell 287
Virtual Private Networks 289
Network Management Systems 290
Cloud- Managed Network (Meraki) 291
Scripts 292
Cisco Device show Commands 295
show running- config (show run) 295
show cdp neighbors 296
Documenting a Network Topology Using CDP 299
Show ip route 301
Show version 302
Show inventory 303
Show switch 304
Show mac- address- table 305
Show interface 307
Show ip interface brief 309
Privilege Level 310
The Help Command 311
Auto- Complete 313
Summary 314
Exam Essentials 314
Review Questions 315
Chapter 10 Security 319
Firewalls 320
Controlling Network Access 321
Access Control Lists 322
Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability 324
Confidentiality 324
Integrity 324
Availability 324
Authentication Methods 324
Multifactor 324
Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting 325
Encryption 327
Certificates 329
Hashes 330
Active Directory (Identity) 330
Identity Service Engine Authentication 332
Password Complexity 332
Threats 334
Vulnerabilities 335
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures 335
Zero- Day 335
Exploits 336
Social Engineering 336
Phishing 336
Malware 336
Denial of Service/Distributed Denial of Service 338
Summary 340
Exam Essentials 340
Review Questions 341
Chapter 11 Cloud & IoT 343
Cloud Computing and Its Effect on the Enterprise Network 344
Cloud Concepts 346
Service Models 347
Cloud Endpoints 350
VoIP- IoT Applications 351
Summary 352
Exam Essentials 353
Review Questions 354
Chapter 12 Troubleshooting 357
Help Desk 358
The Security Policy 359
Ticketing 361
Information Gathering Using Network Documentation 362
Using SNMP 362
Schematics and Diagrams 363
Documentation and Diagrams 367
Physical Network Diagram 367
Logical Network Diagram 368
Seven- Step Troubleshooting Process 368
Define the Problem 369
Gather Information 369
Analyze the Information 369
Eliminate Possible Causes 370
Propose a Hypothesis 370
Test the Hypothesis 370
Solve the Problem 370
Wireshark 371
Filtering and Saving 372
Diagnostic Commands 373
Firewalls 374
IP Config 375
Using Diagnostic Commands to Solve Network Issues 383
Network Bandwidth and Throughput 388
Speed Tests vs. iPerf 388
Summary 391
Exam Essentials 391
Review Questions 393
Appendix Answers to Review Questions 395
Chapter 1: Internetworking 396
Chapter 2: Introduction to TCP/IP 397
Chapter 3: Easy Subnetting 398
Chapter 4: Network Address Translation (NAT) and IPv 6 399
Chapter 5: IP Routing 400
Chapter 6: Switching 401
Chapter 7: Cables and Connectors 402
Chapter 8: Wireless Technologies 403
Chapter 9: Cisco Devices 404
Chapter 10: Security 405
Chapter 11: Cloud & IoT 406
Chapter 12: Troubleshooting 407
Index 409
