31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams
Second Edition
Ben Conry
Cisco Press
800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA
31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams
Second Edition
Ben Conry
Copyright 2012 Cisco Systems, Inc.
Published by:
Cisco Press
800 East 96th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing September 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58713-260-5
ISBN-10: 1-58713-260-5
Warning and Disclaimer
This book is designed to provide information about preparing for CompTIA A+ certification exams 220-701 and 220-702. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied.
The information is provided on an as is basis. The authors, Cisco Press, and Cisco Systems, Inc., shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.
The opinions expressed in this book belong to the author and are not necessarily those of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Trademark Acknowledgments
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Cisco Press or Cisco Systems, Inc., cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
Corporate and Government Sales
The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests. For more information, please contact: U.S. Corporate and Government Sales 1-800-382-3419
For sales outside the United States please contact: International Sales
Feedback Information
At Cisco Press, our goal is to create in-depth technical books of the highest quality and value. Each book is crafted with care and precision, undergoing rigorous development that involves the unique expertise of members from the professional technical community.
Readers feedback is a natural continuation of this process. If you have any comments regarding how we could improve the quality of this book, or otherwise alter it to better suit your needs, you can contact us through email at . Please make sure to include the book title and ISBN in your message.
We greatly appreciate your assistance.
Publisher Paul Boger
Associate Publisher Dave Dusthimer
Manager, Global Certification Erik Ullanderson
Business Operation Manager, Cisco Press Anand Sundaram
Executive Editor Mary Beth Ray
Managing Editor Sandra Schroeder
Development Editor Box Twelve Communications, Inc.
Senior Project Editor Tonya Simpson
Copy Editor Keith Cline
Technical Editor(s) Sharon Hain, Bill Shurbert
Editorial Assistant Vanessa Evans
Book Designer Louisa Adair
Cover Designer Sandra Schroeder
Composition Bronkella Publishing
Indexer Erika Millen
Proofreader Dan Knott
Americas Headquarters
Cisco Systems, Inc.
San Jose, CA
Asia Pacific Headquarters
Cisco Systems (USA) Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
Europe Headquarters
Cisco Systems International BV
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Cisco has more than 200 offices worldwide. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the Cisco Website at www.cisco.com/go/offices.
CCDE, CCENT, Cisco Eos, Cisco HealthPresence, the Cisco logo, Cisco Lumin, Cisco Nexus, Cisco StadiumVision, Cisco TelePresence, Cisco WebEx, DCE, and Welcome to the Human Network are trademarks; Changing the Way We Work, Live, Play, and Learn and Cisco Store are service marks; and Access Registrar, Aironet, AsyncOS, Bringing the Meeting To You, Catalyst, CCDA, CCDP, CCIE, CCIP, CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, CCVP, Cisco, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert logo, Cisco IOS, Cisco Press, Cisco Systems, Cisco Systems Capital, the Cisco Systems logo, Cisco Unity, Collaboration Without Limitation, EtherFast, EtherSwitch, Event Center, Fast Step, Follow Me Browsing, FormShare, GigaDrive, HomeLink, Internet Quotient, IOS, iPhone, iQuick Study, IronPort, the IronPort logo, LightStream, Linksys, MediaTone, MeetingPlace, MeetingPlace Chime Sound, MGX, Networkers, Networking Academy, Network Registrar, PCNow, PIX, PowerPanels, ProConnect, ScriptShare, SenderBase, SMARTnet, Spectrum Expert, StackWise, The Fastest Way to Increase Your Internet Quotient, TransPath, WebEx, and the WebEx logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.
All other trademarks mentioned in this document or website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (0812R)
About the Author(s)
Ben Conry teaches a cybersecurity magnet program at Sollers Point Magnet High School. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1995 with a Bachelors degree in music education with an emphasis in composition. He earned a Masters degree in instructional technology from Johns Hopkins University in 2002. Currently, he holds CCNA, CCAI, and CompTIA A+ certifications. He has received awards and citations for his commitment to educational excellence and for preparing students for college and the workforce. Ben lives with his wife and two children in Lutherville, Maryland.
About the Contributing Author
James Pyles (CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+) works as a consultant, author, editor, and technical writer. He has been involved in numerous Ethernet rollout projects, software and hardware installations and upgrades, and Windows and UNIX operating system upgrades. James has provided support services for a city government IT department and a wireless network vendor, and he has supported a usability lab for Hewlett-Packard. He has served as a technical writer for EmergeCore Networks, Aquent Studios, iAnywhere/Sybase, and as a developmental editor for Global Support Content Operations at Hewlett-Packard.
James has authored and served as technical editor on several books about CompTIA A+, Microsoft SharePoint, and GIMP. He has also been a contributor to Linux Pro Magazine and UbuntuUser Magazine. His most recent book is CompTIA A+ Certification Practice Exams (McGraw-Hill Osborne, January 2011). He currently works as a technical writer at Keynetics, Inc., in Boise, Idaho.
About the Technical Reviewers
Sharon Hain (A+, CCNA) has been a high school and community college instructor for more than 40 years, implementing computer repair and networking programs in the high school and taking a lead role in developing those programs at the community college. She works closely with the Cisco learning programs and acted in an advisory capacity there and for other start-up high school and community college programs. Sharon has worked for many years as a mentor to students and instructors in this field.