As information security threats are exploding, the network security certifications are getting more and more attention and demand. The Cisco CCNA Security Certification is an excellent choice for a starting network professional since enterprises started to seek professionals with security skills. The Cisco CCNA security leads also to two other popular and hot certifications, the CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional) and the CCIE Security.

At the time of this writing, the CCNA Security requires candidates to pass a single exam, the 640-553 IINS ( Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security ). This exam is 90 minutes and consists of 55-65 questions. The exam tests candidates their ability to secure Cisco Routers and switches, and their associated networks. Exam topics include security threats facing modern network infrastructures, securing cisco routers and switches, implementing AAA on cisco routers, mitigating threats using Access Control Lists, mitigating common layer 2 attacks, implementing the cisco ios firewall and IPS features etc.

If you are planning to pursue a professional certification, then the Cisco CCNA security is a great starting step for your professional career. For CCNA Security training, Trainsignal offers a complete exam coverage with Video Training for IINS 640-553.

The Cisco Firewall Service Module (FWSM) is a module card installed on 6500 switches or 7600 routers and is based on the Cisco PIX/ASA security software. It integrates security services in the popular 6500/7600 network devices, providing one of the fastest firewall data rates in the industry. With 5 Gbps firewall throughput per module, and four modules per chassis, you can scale your firewall performance to a maximum 20 Gbps throughput in a single chassis. This is an excellent choice for service providers or for large data center environments, since you can integrate firewall security inside your network infrastructure without loosing performance.

As it is installed as a module inside the 6500/7600 platforms, it basically works on the backplane of the switch/router allowing any port of the network device to operate as a firewall port. VLANs of the switch can be assigned as “interface legs” of the FWSM, thus forcing traffic between VLANs to pass through the firewall which applies statefull inspection and control in the traffic flow. Having also an integrated firewall box inside your network infrastructure makes administration easier and lowers your total cost of ownership.

If you have lost the administrator password to access the security appliance you can recover the password with the following steps:

Step1: Connect to the firewall using a console cable

Step2: Power cycle the appliance (power off and then on)

Step3: Press the Escape key to enter ROMMON mode

Step4: Use confreg command to change the configuration register to 0×41

rommon #1> confreg 0×41

Step5:  Configure the security appliance to ignore the startup configuration.

rommon #2> confreg

The ASA firewall will display the current configuration register value and boot parameters and ask you if you want to change them

Current Configuration Register: 0×00000041

Configuration Summary:

  boot default image from Flash

  ignore system configuration 

Do you wish to change this configuration? y/n [n]: y

Step6: At the prompt enter Y to change the parameters.

Step7: Accept the default values for all settings (at the prompt enter Y)

Step8: Reload the ASA appliance by entering the following command

rommon #3> boot

The firewall will reboot and load the default configuration instead of the startup configuration.

Step9:   Enter into EXEC mode

hostname> enable

When prompted for the password, press Enter (the password in blank now)

Step 10: Access the global configuration mode and change the passwords as required:

hostname# configure terminal
hostname(config)# password password
hostname(config)# enable password password
hostname(config)# username name password password

Step 11: Load the default configuration register value (0×1) by entering the following command:

hostname(config)# no config-register

Step 12: Save the new passwords to the startup configuration by entering the following command:

hostname(config)# copy running-config startup-config

If for any reason the software image on your Cisco ASA appliance is corrupted and the device does not boot to normal operating mode, then you can load a new image using ROMMON (ROM monitor mode) and TFTP. Follow the steps below to get into ROMMON mode and then assign all necessary settings for uploading the new image file:

Step1: Connect to the ASA firewall using a console cable.

Step2: Power off the appliance and then power it on.

Step3: When the appliance starts, press the Escape key on your keyboard to force the appliance to enter ROMMON mode.

Step4: In ROMMON mode, configure all necessary settings for connecting to the TFTP server to load the new image. You need to connect a PC with TFTP server on a firewall port (e.g Ethernet0/0). Then enter the following commands on the ASA.

rommon #1> ADDRESS=192.168.1.10
rommon #2> SERVER=192.168.1.1
rommon #3> GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
rommon #4> IMAGE=asa800-232-k8.bin
rommon #5> PORT=Ethernet0/0
 

The above configuration will assign an IP address of 192.168.1.10 to interface Ethernet0/0 of the firewall appliance. It will also tell the firewall that the TFTP SERVER is at address 192.168.1.1 and the image to load is asa800-232-k8.bin

Step5: Execute the TFTP upload from the ASA using:

rommon #6> tftp

The above instructs the firewall to start uploading the image file from TFTP.

After the firewall reboots, login and check that the new image has been installed (show version)