Have you considered working as an Internet, Intranet, Extranet, or e-commerce professional? Have you considered adding these skills to your current set of IT abilities? It is a certainty that being able to effectively keep businesses securely on the Internet, along with effective Intranets and/or Extranets, is a business must in many cases.
CompTIA has an entry-level certification that provides a measure of baseline skills that Internet, Intranet, Extranet, or e-commerce professionals should posses. The i-Net+ certification was created to provide evidence of baseline skills for these types of professionals who have at least six months of experience with Internet, Intranet, Extranet, or e-commerce experience. It is important to note that candidates for this certification can be IT or non-IT professionals.
The i-Net+ Certification
As just mentioned, the i-Net+ certification is for professionals with at least six months of experience, and this certification will test your abilities and competencies in Internet basics, Internet security and business concepts, networking, development, and clients.
To achieve this certification, you only have to pass one exam as well. Some of CompTIA’s certifications do require passing two exams, but this one does not as of this writing. The exam you have to take will contains 74 questions and you are given 90 minutes to complete the exam. The questions have been developed and reviewed extensively by industry professionals and subject matter experts. The grading scale is based on a 100-900 scale and a passing score of 655 is required.
What’s on the i-Net+ Exam??
Now that you have a basic understanding about the makeup of the test, let’s dive into the content you will be responsible for mastering to achieve an i-Net+ certification.
The following table gives you a glimpse at the objectives covered by the i-Net+ exam and the percentages each of these objectives are represented on the actual exam (source: www.comptia.com):
| Domain | % of Exam |
| 1.0 Internet Basics & Clients | 30% |
| 2.0 Development | 20% |
| 3.0 Networking | 20% |
| 4.0 Internet Security | 20% |
| 5.0 Business Concepts | 10% |
We’ll briefly explore each of these objectives below so you can get a high-level view of the topics CompTIA and the i-Net+ experts feel are critical for inclusion on the exam. Just remember that it is critical for you to stay current with the topics any exam vendor may supply. Sometimes, people can take a while to study and prepare for an exam; meanwhile, the exam vendor makes a change to the objectives list and you are not aware of it and are not prepared for the change in content on exam day. Exam objectives can and do change without much notice, so stay tuned to the exam vendor for information. In the case of the i-Net+ exam, as well as all other CompTIA certifications, you can stay current with exam objectives by periodically visiting www.comptia.com and finding the “certifications” page.
Domain 1—Internet Basics and Clients
As the title explains, this domain will test your knowledge of Internet basics. Topics will include understanding performance and security for site functionality, understanding caching and its role in Internet performance, understanding search engines and being able to mark data to get the maximum exposure through search engines, understanding Internet infrastructures such as TCP/IP, DHCP, and network connections, to name a few, using or updating client software, and understanding administration of Web sites to be able to help in this area.
Domain 2—Development
This domain doesn’t require you to be a programming guru. What is expected of you here is to, first, be aware of programming-related terms and concepts. The development domain also expects you to be aware of multimedia plug-ins, file formats, as well as extensions. You also could be tested on the connection of Web servers to databases, formats needed to connect wireless devices, and testing of pre-production Web and e-commerce servers. The only programming related ability required here is to be able to create an HTML page.
Domain 3—Networking
Quite a few items exist in this domain. If you happen to be a non-IT person, be prepared to spend some time studying here because much of this content could be a little confusing at first. What you can expect here are items such as understanding common Internet infrastructure terms, like backbone, network access points, and so forth. Also, you will be examined on your ability to determine various connectivity problems as well as remote activity protocols. Another area is to understand and describe the use of DNS and name-resolution. DNS is a deep and complicated topic, so don’t be alarmed if you look up resources on it. Just be familiar with the DNS concepts the i-Net+ exam expects you to know. Lastly, you will be tested on your knowledge of e-mail technologies, network topologies, network troubleshooting basics, and the capabilities of application server providers. This is not a comprehensive list of domain three topics, either. As I mentioned above, this is a big domain! Be sure to visit www.comptia.com for the full insight to all of the topics this domain requires of the i-Net+ candidate.
Domain 4—Internet Security
This section is critical for anyone involved in Internet, Intranet, Extranet, and e-commerce work. Keeping one’s site(s) secure is paramount. In this section, you will be required to understand access control, intrusion detection, monitor suspicious activity, DMZs, and firewalls, to name a few. These are all critical aspects of good site security.
Domain 5—Business Concepts
This domain will test your knowledge of business concepts related to Internet and e-commerce situations. You will be examined on e-business models, marketing, and legal considerations. You will also be tested on your knowledge of e-Business and e-Commerce concepts and terms based on their definitions (which you must know) and you will need to demonstrate an understanding of how these operate in the Internet and e-commerce world.
Important Facts about the i-Net+ Certification
The following list gives you some general facts you should be aware of in case you decide to pursue this certification:
- The i-Net+ exam costs anywhere from $93 to $225 U.S. dollars, depending on your membership status with CompTIA and any corporate memberships your organization may have with CompTIA.
- Both Pearson VUE and Thomson Prometric testing services offer this exam. Go to either www.vue.com or www.prometric.com for registration details.
- The exam code that registration officials need is IK0-002.
- The exam’s questions are in the multiple-choice format as of this writing.
- Once you pass the i-Net+ exam you will be certified for life, as CompTIA certifications are lifetime.
Conclusions
The world of Internet, e-Business, and e-commerce continues to build and thrive. Having skills that allow you to operate in this field is sure to enhance your marketability. Passing the i-Net+ exam gives you the fundamental skills that will allow you to start your career in this field. As with any certification program you follow, get plenty of study resources, take lots of practice exams, study hard, and good luck!
