CompTIA Network+ performance-based questions (PBQs)

The five kinds of PBQ in the course

CompTIA doesn't publish a list of PBQ formats. The 75 in NetPlus Mastery come in five, and every example below is from the free Domain 1.

• MatchPair each item with what it is or what it does. One task matches eight fiber and copper connectors, from SC to BNC, to their descriptions, and another matches office requirements to the router, switch, IDS or load balancer that meets them.
• CategorizeSort items into groups, such as hubs, switches, routers and protocols by the OSI layer they work at, or campus tasks by the access, distribution and core layers.
• OrderPut things in sequence, like the seven layers of the OSI model from Layer 1 up.
• ConfigureChoose a setting for each requirement, such as the transport and port for each firewall rule in a change request, or the details of a workstation's subnet from its IPv4 settings.
• HotspotSelect everything on the screen that fits, such as each port on a legacy server that sends logins in cleartext, or the pool member a load balancer will send the next connection to.

How to handle PBQs on exam day

• Read every requirement first. A PBQ usually has several parts to get right. Read all of them before you place anything, so you answer the task on the screen.
• Skip a long one and come back. Network+ PBQs are simulations, and CompTIA lets you skip a simulation and return to it later with your work saved. If one is eating minutes, answer the multiple-choice questions and come back with the time that's left.
• Never leave one blank. CompTIA says simulation PBQs can earn partial credit, and it doesn't say which ones. A half-finished task may still earn points. An empty one won't.
• Solve it your way. CompTIA says some PBQs can be solved more than one way, and the scoring allows for it. Getting to the result the task asks for is what counts.
• Use Reset on purpose. It clears everything you've done on that question. Your other answers stay as they are.

Questions about Network+ PBQs

• What is a performance-based question on Network+?

  It's a task to complete instead of an answer to pick. CompTIA lists Network+ among its exams with simulation PBQs, which stand in for a tool or a screen where you do what the question asks. On N10-009 they sit among the multiple-choice questions.
• How many PBQs are on the Network+ N10-009 exam?

  There's no published number. The exam has up to 90 questions in total, multiple-choice and performance-based, and 90 minutes to answer them.
• Do Network+ PBQs give partial credit?

  They can. CompTIA says partial credit may be given on simulation PBQs, the kind Network+ uses, but it keeps the scoring of each question confidential. You can't know which ones give it, so finish as much of every PBQ as you can.
• Can I skip a Network+ PBQ and come back to it?

  Yes. CompTIA lets you skip a simulation PBQ and return to it later, and it keeps your work on it when you move on. The Reset button clears that one question and nothing else.
• Where can I practice Network+ PBQs for free?

  Start with the two on this page. Domain 1 of NetPlus Mastery, Networking Concepts, is free with an account and has 24 of them, these two included, each next to the lesson that teaches it.