W GU C172 2025
ULTIM ATE Netw or k & Secur ity
Fun dam en tals Study System |
400+ OA-Align ed Pr actice
Question s w ith Step-by-Step
Visual Guides | Cover s Com pTIA
Net+ N10-008, Subn ettin g, &
NIST CSF | Platin u m Edition (PDF
,+ Packet Tr acer Labs + Anki Deck)
| GUARANTEED PASS
, lOMoARcPSD|57630370
C172 Study Guide – Updated ****
Insights from my experience of taking the OA twice:
● The details about the specs of cables are not essen=al: if you know
the basics of which cable is most likely to be used, you are in a good
place. (T1, T3, Coaxial, UTP, Fiber Op=c)
● The specific details about 802.11 standards (frequency, ODFM vs
DSSS, etc) were never asked on either OA I took.
● Knowing the names of specific aRack names was helpful on a few of
the ques=ons (smurf aRack, teardrop, ping of death, bluejacking,
etc.)—I would review these before the test.
● Feel comfortable with the CIA triad and the AAA—there are about
three ques=on for each topic.
● Know your OSI model—what physical components make up each
layer, what protocols are used in each layer, and what each layer
actually does.
● Know your networks: PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN, WLAN, VLAN, etc.
● There are roughly three ques=ons about network commands
(ipconfig, ping, etc.) and what they do.
● Understand Firewalls and their uses.
● Know the difference between switches, repeaters, hubs, routers, and
modems
When in doubt, use the process of elimina=on—if you know what an
op=on means, and it doesn’t make sense in the context, don’t consider it.
Most ques=ons I wasn’t sure about, I could wean down to two viable
op=ons because the other op=ons didn’t even make sense. For example,
for some OSI ques=ons, a couple of the op=ons weren’t actual layers on
the OSI model.
*** Update 2: A reddit user created a flash card set and quiz that I think is
beneficial so I’m adding the link here.
hRps://quizlet.com/401533092/c172-wgu-complete-v3-flash-cards/
, lOMoARcPSD|57630370
****Update 3 (FunAdministra=on334) I’ve formaRed this to be shorter, for
prin=ng purposes. I’ve edited typos and misinforma=on, to the best of my
ability. Notes are a very personal thing, so please make a copy and alter it
in a way that suits your own learning needs. 1/21/2021
*****Update 4 (8 Feb 2021 geek-girls-r-fun) Updated study guide with
info from the cohorts and updates about the OA from other Redditors.
Studied this guide with an experienced IT friend for 12 hours, updated the
study guide for an addi=onal 6 hours and passed the first =me. I used this
quizlet: OA&PA Study Guide by kamerasheree. I
used the Match feature of quizlet to make the
learning more interesting. I did not read the
text aside fromUnit 2 for details on Basic
Network commands but I did work on a
helpdesk about 25 years ago so I have an
idea of how networking & security work. Watched
videos by Messer on OSI & Firewalls (links in
guide below). I triedthe quizzes recommended in
the Course Tips and found OSI Layers, Command-
Line Utilities & Networking Attacks to be relevant. I
took the PA twice, once right before the OA.
NOTE:
Immediately aftertaking the OA, I revised this study
guide to REMOVE anything that I didn’t see on
the test. Yellow highlights are things I
remember being on the OA.
*****Update 4 (8 Feb 2021 geek-girls-r-fun) Update the firewall videos to:
hRps://youtu.be/qLb2ioDBofg
Introduc:on to Networking Concepts (38% of assessment)
Network Devices
Recommended Video: Understanding the OSI Model - CompTIA Network+
N10-007 - 1.2 - Professor Messer IT
CerHficaHon Training Courses
ULTIM ATE Netw or k & Secur ity
Fun dam en tals Study System |
400+ OA-Align ed Pr actice
Question s w ith Step-by-Step
Visual Guides | Cover s Com pTIA
Net+ N10-008, Subn ettin g, &
NIST CSF | Platin u m Edition (PDF
,+ Packet Tr acer Labs + Anki Deck)
| GUARANTEED PASS
, lOMoARcPSD|57630370
C172 Study Guide – Updated ****
Insights from my experience of taking the OA twice:
● The details about the specs of cables are not essen=al: if you know
the basics of which cable is most likely to be used, you are in a good
place. (T1, T3, Coaxial, UTP, Fiber Op=c)
● The specific details about 802.11 standards (frequency, ODFM vs
DSSS, etc) were never asked on either OA I took.
● Knowing the names of specific aRack names was helpful on a few of
the ques=ons (smurf aRack, teardrop, ping of death, bluejacking,
etc.)—I would review these before the test.
● Feel comfortable with the CIA triad and the AAA—there are about
three ques=on for each topic.
● Know your OSI model—what physical components make up each
layer, what protocols are used in each layer, and what each layer
actually does.
● Know your networks: PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN, WLAN, VLAN, etc.
● There are roughly three ques=ons about network commands
(ipconfig, ping, etc.) and what they do.
● Understand Firewalls and their uses.
● Know the difference between switches, repeaters, hubs, routers, and
modems
When in doubt, use the process of elimina=on—if you know what an
op=on means, and it doesn’t make sense in the context, don’t consider it.
Most ques=ons I wasn’t sure about, I could wean down to two viable
op=ons because the other op=ons didn’t even make sense. For example,
for some OSI ques=ons, a couple of the op=ons weren’t actual layers on
the OSI model.
*** Update 2: A reddit user created a flash card set and quiz that I think is
beneficial so I’m adding the link here.
hRps://quizlet.com/401533092/c172-wgu-complete-v3-flash-cards/
, lOMoARcPSD|57630370
****Update 3 (FunAdministra=on334) I’ve formaRed this to be shorter, for
prin=ng purposes. I’ve edited typos and misinforma=on, to the best of my
ability. Notes are a very personal thing, so please make a copy and alter it
in a way that suits your own learning needs. 1/21/2021
*****Update 4 (8 Feb 2021 geek-girls-r-fun) Updated study guide with
info from the cohorts and updates about the OA from other Redditors.
Studied this guide with an experienced IT friend for 12 hours, updated the
study guide for an addi=onal 6 hours and passed the first =me. I used this
quizlet: OA&PA Study Guide by kamerasheree. I
used the Match feature of quizlet to make the
learning more interesting. I did not read the
text aside fromUnit 2 for details on Basic
Network commands but I did work on a
helpdesk about 25 years ago so I have an
idea of how networking & security work. Watched
videos by Messer on OSI & Firewalls (links in
guide below). I triedthe quizzes recommended in
the Course Tips and found OSI Layers, Command-
Line Utilities & Networking Attacks to be relevant. I
took the PA twice, once right before the OA.
NOTE:
Immediately aftertaking the OA, I revised this study
guide to REMOVE anything that I didn’t see on
the test. Yellow highlights are things I
remember being on the OA.
*****Update 4 (8 Feb 2021 geek-girls-r-fun) Update the firewall videos to:
hRps://youtu.be/qLb2ioDBofg
Introduc:on to Networking Concepts (38% of assessment)
Network Devices
Recommended Video: Understanding the OSI Model - CompTIA Network+
N10-007 - 1.2 - Professor Messer IT
CerHficaHon Training Courses
