220-1201 cheat sheet

Exam at a glance

Domain weightings

How much of the exam each domain covers. Spend your study time in proportion — the heavier the domain, the more questions you'll see.

Key terms

Motherboard

A motherboard is the main printed circuit board that connects a computer's CPU, RAM, storage, and expansion cards and routes power and data between them. A+ Core 1 covers motherboard form factors, connectors, and BIOS/UEFI configuration.

BIOS/UEFI

The BIOS/UEFI is the firmware that initializes hardware and starts the boot process when a computer powers on. A+ Core 1 covers UEFI settings such as boot order, Secure Boot, and hardware configuration.

RAM

RAM (random-access memory) is the volatile working memory a computer uses to hold running programs and data. A+ Core 1 covers RAM types (DDR4, DDR5, SODIMM), channels, and installation and troubleshooting.

SSD

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a storage device that uses flash memory with no moving parts, offering much faster access than a hard disk drive. A+ Core 1 covers SSD form factors and interfaces such as SATA and NVMe M.2.

RAID

RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is a technology that combines multiple drives for performance, redundancy, or both. A+ Core 1 covers common levels including RAID 0 (striping), RAID 1 (mirroring), RAID 5, and RAID 10.

TCP/IP Port

A TCP/IP port is a numbered endpoint that identifies a specific network service on a device, such as 443 for HTTPS or 53 for DNS. A+ Core 1 requires memorizing common ports and whether they use TCP or UDP.

DHCP

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is the service that automatically assigns IP addresses and network settings to devices. A+ Core 1 covers DHCP alongside static addressing and APIPA link-local addresses.

DNS

DNS (Domain Name System) is the service that resolves human-readable names such as example.com into IP addresses. A+ Core 1 covers DNS configuration and troubleshooting name-resolution problems.

802.11

Wi-Fi is the common name for the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless-LAN standards operating in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. A+ Core 1 covers 802.11 standard generations, frequencies, and channels.

Access Point

An access point is a networking device that lets wireless clients connect to a wired network. A+ Core 1 covers access points alongside routers, switches, and other SOHO networking hardware.

Hypervisor

A hypervisor is software that creates and runs virtual machines by allocating physical hardware resources to them. A+ Core 1 covers client-side virtualization, hypervisor types, and the resources a VM requires.

IaaS

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud model that delivers virtualized compute, storage, and networking that customers manage themselves. A+ Core 1 covers IaaS alongside PaaS and SaaS and cloud characteristics such as elasticity.

POST

POST (power-on self-test) is the diagnostic sequence firmware runs at startup to check core hardware before booting. A+ Core 1 covers interpreting POST beep codes and error messages when troubleshooting hardware.