An overview of the new CompTIA Cloud+ Certification (CV0-002)
Posted on
August 1, 2019
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CompTIA's new Cloud+ exam (CV0-002) incorporates new technologies while dropping down the number of exam domains.

Last year, CompTIA updated the Cloud+ certification exam (now CV0-002) and made a significant number of changes to it. Not only have new technologies been added in, but the number of exam domains dropped to five and the number of questions dropped from 100 to 90.

The passing score stays the same at 750 on a scale from 100 to 900, and the multiple-choice questions now have some performance-based� counterparts added in the mix as well. The current cost is $319 and the following table shows the domains, their weighting, and the topics beneath each (a complete list can be found online):

CompTIA's new Cloud+ exam (CV0-002) incorporates new technologies while dropping down the number of exam domains.



Selected Troubleshooting Topics to Study

While a successful candidate will need to have a good knowledge of every topic listed in the table above and in the CompTIA exam prep guide, the following lists some of the troubleshooting-related topics to focus on, since that domain did not exist in the previous iteration of the exam.

The troubleshooting methodology that is often found on other exams from CompTIA (think Network+) is now here as well. It requires you to know the steps to take to resolve a problem in an orderly way. While the number of steps has differed from time to time, it is now six:

CompTIA's new Cloud+ exam (CV0-002) incorporates new technologies while dropping down the number of exam domains.



A number of tools can help troubleshoot connectivity issues and ones to be familiar with include the following:

CompTIA's new Cloud+ exam (CV0-002) incorporates new technologies while dropping down the number of exam domains.



There are a number of common networking issues the exam now asks you to be familiar with and many of them overlap with topics found on the Network+ exam:

Incorrect subnet: When the subnet mask is incorrect, the router thinks the network is divided into segments other than how it is actually configured. Because the purpose of the router is to route traffic, a wrong value here can cause it to try to route traffic to subnets that do not exist. The value of the subnet mask on the router must match the true configuration of the network.

Incorrect IP address: Every IP address on a network must be unique. This is true not only for every host, but for the router as well, and every network card in general. The scope of the network depends on the size of the network that the card is connected to; if it is connected to the LAN, the IP address must be unique on that LAN, whereas if it is connected to the internet, it must be unique on it. If there is a duplicate address, in the best scenario you will receive messages indicating duplicate IP addresses, and in the worst scenario, network traffic will become unreliable. In all cases, you must correct the problem and make certain duplicate addresses exist nowhere on your network, including the routers.

Incorrect gateway: The default gateway configured on the router is where the data goes after it leaves the local network. Although many routes can be built dynamically, it is often necessary to add the first routes when installing/replacing a router. You can use the ip route command on most Cisco routers to do this from the command line, or most routers include a graphical interface for simplifying the process. When you have the gateways configured, use the ping and tracert/traceroute utilities to verify connectivity and proper configuration.

DNS errors: When the wrong Domain Name Service (DNS) values (typically primary and secondary) are entered during router configuration, users cannot take advantage of the DNS service. Depending on where the wrong values are given, name resolution may not occur (if all values are incorrect), or resolution could take a long time (if only the primary value is incorrect), thus giving the appearance that the web is taking a long time to load. Make sure the correct values appear for DNS entries in the router configuration to avoid name resolution problems.

Misconfigured firewall: As a security rule, only needed ports should be enabled and allowed on a network. Unfortunately, you don't always have a perfect idea of which ports you need, and it is possible to inadvertently have some blocked TCP/UDP ports that you need to use. If you find your firewall is blocking a needed port, open that port (make an exception) and allow it to be used.

Incorrect firewall settings: Incorrect firewall settings typically fall under the category of blocking ports that you need open (previously addressed) or allowing ports that you don't need. From a security perspective, the latter situation is the worse because every open port represents a door that an intruder could use to access the system or at least a vulnerability. Be sure to know which ports are open, and close any that are not needed.

Summary

This month, we looked at the newest iteration of the CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam (CV0-002) and some of the troubleshooting-related topics to know when studying for it. Next month, we will follow this up with a self-test of 25 questions based on topics covered by the exam.

About the Author

Emmett Dulaney is a professor at Anderson University and the author of several books including Linux All-in-One For Dummies and the CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Exam Cram, Seventh Edition.

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