CUNP study guide
CUNP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Unix Network Professional (CUNP) is a vendor-neutral credential aimed at administrators who already run Unix-like systems day to day and now need to prove they can design, configure, secure, and debug the network layer on those systems. It suits mid-level sysadmins, NOC and infrastructure engineers, and DevOps practitioners whose work spans Linux or BSD hosts, daemons, packet filters, and routing tables. The CUNP study guide has 8 sections and about 3,219 words.
01Unix/Linux System and Network Fundamentals
This domain tests the Unix model that every network service depends on: processes, file descriptors, sockets, users, permissions, signals, and the kernel/user boundary. CUNP-style questions often ask why a daemon cannot bind a port, why a socket disappears when a process exits, or which identity a service actually runs as.
434 words, about 2 min02Network Architecture, Protocols, and the TCP/IP Stack
This domain tests how data is encapsulated and delivered across the TCP/IP stack. CUNP questions typically require you to identify the layer responsible for a symptom, interpret a capture, or explain TCP versus UDP behavior without relying on memorized OSI slogans.
407 words, about 2 min03Unix Network Configuration and Interface Management
This domain tests how to configure and inspect Unix/Linux interfaces, addresses, routes, name resolution, and persistent network settings. Modern exams expect iproute2 knowledge, not deprecated ifconfig habits, and an understanding of how configuration is applied at boot.
393 words, about 2 min04Network Services and Daemon Administration
This domain tests running, supervising, and validating network daemons on Unix systems. CUNP questions often present a service that will not start, listens on the wrong address, or fails after a configuration change, and expect you to use service-manager and daemon-specific evidence.
400 words, about 2 min05Routing, Firewalling, and Traffic Control
This domain tests packet forwarding decisions, stateful filtering, NAT, and traffic shaping on Unix/Linux. CUNP questions expect you to read a routing table, place a rule in the correct nftables or iptables chain, and explain why NAT or forwarding fails.
396 words, about 2 min06Network Security, Authentication, and Access Control
This domain tests authentication, authorization, cryptographic trust, and access control for Unix network services. CUNP questions often ask why an SSH key is rejected, why a TLS client fails verification, or how PAM and sudo interact with service access.
397 words, about 2 min07Troubleshooting, Monitoring, and Performance Analysis
This domain tests a disciplined method for diagnosing network and host performance faults. CUNP questions reward evidence gathering across layers and punish jumping to a favorite tool before localizing the problem.
397 words, about 2 min08Shell Scripting and Network Automation
This domain tests reliable shell scripts that configure, query, and monitor networked Unix systems. CUNP questions focus on quoting, exit status, safe remote execution, idempotency, scheduling, and avoiding scripts that work only in an interactive shell.
395 words, about 2 min