Section 3.4 : Network Policies and Best Practices for CompTIA Network+

Natnael Gossaye

5 Sep 2025

When people think about networking, they often focus on disaster recovery, high availability, or failover systems. While those are important, the everyday practices that quietly keep a network functional are just as critical. In this section of the CompTIA Network+ exam, the emphasis is on how addresses are assigned, how names are resolved, and how time is kept in sync. These aren’t flashy technologies, but without them, a network cannot remain stable or secure.

Dynamic Addressing: Making IP Management Simple

Manually assigning IP addresses on a large network would be a nightmare. That’s where DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) steps in. It automatically hands out IP addresses, subnet masks, gateways, and more to client devices.

A few terms you need to know:

Reservations – Locks an IP address to a device’s MAC address (useful for printers, servers, or anything that must stay consistent).
Scope – Defines the pool of addresses DHCP can assign.
Lease Time – Controls how long a device can keep its address before renewing.
Options – Provides extra details like the default gateway or DNS servers.
Relay (IP Helper) – Forwards DHCP requests across subnets, letting one DHCP server serve multiple networks.
Exclusions – Blocks off addresses that should never be assigned automatically (to avoid conflicts with static IPs).

In IPv6 environments, there’s also SLAAC (Stateless Address Autoconfiguration). This allows devices to self-assign an IP using router advertisements no DHCP server required. It’s especially useful for lightweight or temporary networks.

Name Resolution: Turning Names Into Numbers

Computers don’t understand “google.com.” They understand IP addresses. DNS (Domain Name System) bridges that gap by translating human-readable names into machine-friendly numbers

Security in DNS

Because DNS traffic is a prime target for attackers, newer technologies improve its security:

DNSSEC – Ensures data integrity with cryptographic signatures.
DoH (DNS over HTTPS) – Encrypts DNS queries over port 443.
DoT (DNS over TLS) – Encrypts DNS queries over port 853.

Common DNS Record Types

A Record – Maps a domain to an IPv4 address.
AAAA Record – Maps to IPv6.
CNAME – An alias pointing to another domain.
MX – Mail server for the domain.
TXT – Custom text entries (commonly for SPF or DKIM email security).
NS – Points to authoritative name servers.
PTR – Reverse lookup: IP to hostname.

Zones and Servers

Forward Zone – Hostname → IP.
Reverse Zone – IP → Hostname.
Authoritative DNS – Holds the original records.
Non-Authoritative DNS – Relays cached information.
Primary vs. Secondary DNS – Editable vs. read-only copies for redundancy.
Recursive DNS – Does the work of querying other servers until an answer is found.

And don’t forget the hosts file — a simple text file that predates DNS but is still useful for testing or local overrides.

Time Protocols: Keeping the Network in Sync

A surprising amount of IT depends on synchronized time. Authentication, logs, and even financial transactions can break if clocks drift apart.

NTP (Network Time Protocol) – The standard for keeping devices in sync.
PTP (Precision Time Protocol) – Offers microsecond-level accuracy, essential in industries like telecom, finance, and automation.
NTS (Network Time Security) – Adds cryptographic authentication to NTP, helping defend against spoofed time servers.

Why This Matters for the Exam (and Real Life)

For the Network+ exam, you’ll need to recognize these terms and know when to apply them. Expect scenario-based questions like:

Matching DNS record types to their function.
Choosing between SLAAC vs. DHCPv6 in IPv6 setups.
Identifying whether a response is authoritative or non-authoritative.
Understanding the precision difference between NTP and PTP.
Knowing which ports are used by DoH (443) and DoT (853).

In real-world networking, these aren’t just test questions — they’re the tools that keep your network secure, efficient, and reliable.