Use this guide to review AP Networking the way the exam tests it: by skill, applied to real scenarios. Start with the four skills, then work through each unit.

The Four Skills (Master These First)

Unit 1 Review: Managing My Connections

• Troubleshooting a device (1.1): Apply the troubleshooting loop to a slow or unresponsive device. Separate device-side causes (memory, CPU, storage, software) from network-side causes.
• Connecting and optimizing (1.2): Get the most out of your network connection — configuration and settings that enable connectivity and performance.
• Identifying security needs (1.3): Recognize what could go wrong and where a single device is vulnerable.
• Securing the device (1.4): Lock it down — apply a baseline of protective controls.

Unit 2 Review: Managing My Shared Connections

• Troubleshooting a SOHO network (2.1): Extend the loop from one device to a small office/home office network.
• Documenting the network (2.2): Identification and documentation as a networking discipline.
• Upgrading and advanced features (2.3, 2.4): Smart upgrades and the advanced capabilities of a small network.
• Securing the network (2.5, 2.6): Identify the network's security needs, then apply layered defenses.

Unit 3 Review: Managing Many Connections

Unit 3 scales from a small network to many connections — a building or campus with multiple segments, more devices, and more users. Expect the same skill arc applied at larger scale.

• Connecting at scale: Configure switches, VLANs, and multi-device topologies so many hosts can communicate.
• Troubleshooting many connections: Find bottlenecks and isolate faults when the network is large enough that the problem is not obvious.
• Routing and addressing: Direct traffic between segments and manage IP addressing, subnets, and DNS for many hosts.
• Securing at scale: Monitor the whole network, detect threats, and apply layered defenses across segments.

Unit 4 Review: Managing Our Global Connections

Unit 4 applies everything at internet scale — connecting your network to the wider world and protecting data as it travels across public infrastructure.

• Reaching the wider world: Connect a network to the internet and understand how it fits into global infrastructure.
• How data travels globally: Protocols, routing, and reliable transmission across large-scale networks.
• Reliability and troubleshooting at scale: Keep global connections resilient and diagnose problems that span networks.
• Protecting data in transit: Secure data as it crosses public networks, applying defense-in-depth to internet-scale systems.