Cisco ASA 5580 Features

The 5580 is the Flag-Ship Cisco ASA model. It comes as two versions, the ASA 5580-20 and the ASA 5580-40, which differ in the performance parameters. The ASA 5580 is basically an HP Server Chassis with 6 slots on the back for inserting interface card modules. The 5580 is designed for the largest and most traffic demanding network topologies. It is ideal for high-speed data centers and large campus networks. It supports the largest firewall throughput in the hardware firewall market, with 5 Gbps (5580-20) and 10 Gbps (5580-40) capacity. It is also the only model supporting 10Gbps interfaces. Like the 5550, it does not support an embedded Security Services Module (SSM), so you cannot integrate an IDS/IPS functionality inside the same chassis.
Let’s see the features of the ASA 5580 in more detail below: Read the rest of this entry

Cisco ASA 5550 Features

Now let us see the next ASA model in the series which is the Cisco ASA 5550. With over one gigabit firewall performance (1.2 Gbps) this appliance can be easily used on ISP public services segments or on medium data rate campuses and data centers. From this model and up, there is no support for Security Services Module (SSM), so basically you can not include an IDS/IPS or Content Inspection functionality integrated inside the box. However, with this model you get the advantage of having eight gigabit integrated copper ports (8-10/100/100) PLUS four optical gigabit ports (4 SFPs), which means you will not run out of network port capacity easily.

Let’s see the features of the ASA 5550 in more detail below: Read the rest of this entry

Cisco ASA 5540 Features

Next in the line is the Cisco ASA 5540 Firewall appliance. This device is geared towards large enterprises which need firewall throughput of 650Mbps. The ASA 5540 is the highest model that supports a Security Services Module (SSM) in order to offer Content Inspection or Intrusion Prevention IPS services to the network. The SSM module can host also a four-port Gigabit Ethernet card, in addition to the Content Inspection or IPS modules. The higher-end models 5550 and 5580 DO NOT support the SSM module. Note also the greatly enhanced number of supported VPN sessions (5000 or 2500 for SSL VPN) compared with smaller models. This enhancement makes the 5540 ideal for replacing the older VPN 3000 Concentrator device.

Let’s see the features of the ASA 5540 in more detail below: Read the rest of this entry