The CompTIA Server+ certification exam is one of the sought-after credentials, validating technical skills and knowledge required in data center and cloud environment jobs.
This article will discuss the CompTIA Server+ exam objectives, which are divided into four major categories.
What is the CompTIA Server+ certification exam?
The CompTIA Server+ certification exam is a global credential, validating the hands-on skills of IT professionals who install, manage and troubleshoot servers in data centers and on-premise and hybrid environments.
CompTIA Server+ is the only credential ensuring that IT professionals at the administration level can perform the job in any environment. The new Server+ certification exam covers the critical hardware and software technologies of on-premise and hybrid server environments, such as cloud computing and scripting.
A certified CompTIA Server+ professional will have the following knowledge:
- Install, configure, and manage server hardware and server operating systems
- Implement proper server hardening and security controls
- Successfully troubleshoot common server problems
- Demonstrate an understanding of key disaster recovery, high-availability, and backup concepts
CompTIA Server+ exam details
Required exam: SK0-005 Number of questions: 90 Types of questions: Multiple choice and performance-based Length of test: 90 minutes Recommended experience • Two years of hands-on experience working in a server environment • CompTIA A+ certified or equivalent knowledge Passing score: 750
CompTIA Server+ exam objectives (domain)
Here is the breakdown of CompTIA Server+ exam objectives, which are divided into four major categories:
1.0 Server Hardware Installation and Management - 18% 2.0 Server Administration - 30% 3.0 Security and Disaster Recovery - 24% 4.0 Troubleshooting - 18%
Domain - 1.0 Server Hardware Installation and Management
This domain in the Server+ exam covers many important categories required to manage and install the hardware systems. This includes installing physical hardware, deploying and managing storage, and performing server hardware maintenance.
The domain is accountable for 18% of the overall questions in the Server+ exam.
This domain is divided into three critical areas:
1.1 Given a scenario, install physical hardware.
• Racking • Power cabling • Network cabling • Server chassis types • Server components
1.2 Given a scenario, deploy and manage storage.
• RAID levels and types • Capacity planning • Hard drive media types • Interface types • Shared storage
1.3 Given a scenario, perform server hardware maintenance.
• Out-of-band management • Local hardware administration • Components • Drives • Hot-swappable hardware • Basic input/output system (BIOS)/Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)
Domain - 2.0 Server Administration
Server administration, domain number two, is responsible for validating server-related technical skills. This includes installing server operating systems, configuring servers to use network infrastructure services, configuring and maintaining server functions and features, explaining the concepts of high availability for servers and licensing concepts, and much more.
This domain makes up 30% of the questions in the CompTIA Server+ exam, making it one of the important domains.
Server administration is divided into eight categories:
2.1 Given a scenario, install server operating systems.
• Minimum operating system (OS) requirements • Hardware compatibility list (HCL) • Installations • Partition and volume types • File system types
2.2 Given a scenario, configure servers to use network infrastructure services.
• IP configuration • Virtual local area network (VLAN) • Default gateways • Name resolution • Addressing protocols • Firewall • Static vs. dynamic • MAC addresses
2.3 Given a scenario, configure and maintain server functions and features.
• Server roles requirements • Directory connectivity • Storage management • Monitoring • Data migration and transfer • Administrative interfaces
2.4 Explain the key concepts of high availability for servers.
• Clustering • Fault tolerance • Redundant server network infrastructure
2.5 Summarize the purpose and operation of virtualization.
• Host vs. guest • Virtual networking • Resource allocation and provisioning • Management interfaces for virtual machines • Cloud models
2.6 Summarize scripting basics for server administration.
• Script types • Environment variables • Comment syntax • Basic script constructs • Basic data types • Common server administration scripting tasks
2.7 Explain the importance of asset management and documentation.
• Asset management • Documentation management • Document availability • Secure storage of sensitive documentation
2.8 Explain licensing concepts.
• Models • Open source • Subscription • License vs. maintenance and support • Volume licensing • License count validation • Version compatibility
Domain - 3.0 Security and Disaster Recovery
The third domain of the Server+ exam covers essential skills related to security and disaster recovery. This includes data security concepts, physical security concepts, data security risks, and mitigation strategies, applying server hardening methods, explaining the importance of backups and restores, and much more.
The Security and Disaster Recovery domain accounts for 24% of the questions in the Server+ exam.
The domain is divided into eight major categories:
3.1 Summarize data security concepts.
• Encryption paradigms • Retention policies • Data storage • UEFI/BIOS passwords • Bootloader passwords • Business impact
3.2 Summarize physical security concepts.
• Physical access controls • Environmental controls
3.3 Explain important concepts pertaining to identity and access management for server administration.
• User accounts • User groups • Password policies • Auditing • Multifactor authentication (MFA) • Single sign-on (SSO)
3.4 Explain data security risks and mitigation strategies.
• Security risks • Mitigation strategies
3.5 Given a scenario, apply server hardening methods.
• OS hardening • Application hardening • Host security • Hardware hardening • Patching
3.6 Summarize proper server decommissioning concepts.
• Proper removal procedures • Media destruction • Media retention requirements • Cable remediation • Electronics recycling
3.7 Explain the importance of backups and restores.
• Backup methods • Backup frequency • Media rotation • Backup media types • File-level vs. system-state backup • Restore methods • Backup validation • Media inventory before restoration
3.8 Explain the importance of disaster recovery.
• Site types • Replication • Testing
Domain - 4.0 Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting, the last domain of the CompTIA Server+ exam, makes up 28% of the questions in the exam. The domain covers many important technical skills related to troubleshooting, such as troubleshooting theory and methodology, common hardware failures, storage problems, common OS and software problems, network connectivity issues, and much more.
This domain is divided into six major categories:
4.1 Explain the troubleshooting theory and methodology.
• Identify the problem and determine the scope • Establish a theory of probable cause (question the obvious) • Test the theory to determine the cause • Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem • Implement the solution or escalate • Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures • Perform a root cause analysis • Document findings, actions, and outcomes throughout the process
4.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common hardware failures.
• Common problems • Causes of common problems • Tools and techniques
4.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot storage problems.
• Common problems • Causes of common problems • Tools and techniques
4.4 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common OS and software problems.
• Common problems • Causes of common problems • OS and software tools and techniques
4.5 Given a scenario, troubleshoot network connectivity issues.
• Common problems • Causes of common problems • Tools and techniques
4.6 Given a scenario, troubleshoot security problems.
• Common concerns • Causes of common problems • Security tools
