Yeah...but do you *really* want one? From past experience, "all-in-one"
solutions aren't always a good thing.
- Performance usually suffers (a good example is turning on the IDS
signatures on a Netscreen firewall and see what happens to performance).
- Firewalls with anti-virus/IPS capabilities usually only scan for
well-known malware/worms etc. and aren't as comprehensive as dedicated
systems.
- If you're relying on one box to do all your security work, you're
going to be losing your anti-virus, IPS and firewall capabilities if
that box goes down.
just my $0.02
Cheers,
Pete
Peter Baussmann
Firewall Specialist
IDC Operations
Telstra Pty Ltd
t: 0262560975
m: 0429402403
e: peter.baussmann@team.telstra.com
_____
From: Chris Serafin [mailto:chris@chrisserafin.com]
Sent: Thursday, 16 February 2006 7:05 AM
To: 'dabance'; firewalls@securityfocus.com
Subject: RE: PIX Vs ASA
Their basically EOL'ing the smaller PIX boxes and replacing them with
the 8xx series for SOHO firewalls. Larger PIX boxes will stay the same
with the addition of the PI-OS 7.0. The ASA's are an all-in-one
solutution with VPN/firewall/router/IPS/anti-virus. Check below:
And yes..... I want one,
Chris Serafin
IT Security / VoIP Engineer
chris@chrisserafin.com
A New Breed of Network Protection
The Cisco(r) ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliance is a modular
platform that provides the next generation of security and VPN services.
Several tailored packages have been developed to address unique customer
needs via the following editions:
Enterprise Editions
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd80402ef
1.html> - composed of 4 location-specific editions: Firewall Edition
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd8040397
8.html> , IPS Edition
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd80402ef
4.html> , Anti-X Edition
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd80402e8
8.html> , and VPN Edition
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd80402e3
9.html> ; each edition combines a focused set of services to meet the
needs of specific environments within the enterprise network. These
packages enable superior protection by providing the right services for
the right location. At the same time, the Cisco ASA 5500 Series enables
standardization on a single platform to reduce the overall operational
cost of security. A common environment for configuration simplifies
management and reduces training costs for staff, while the common
hardware platform of the series reduces sparing costs.
Business Edition
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_brochure0900aecd80402e3
6.html> - The Cisco(r) ASA 5500 Series Business Edition provides small
and medium-sized companies with comprehensive gateway security and VPN
connectivity. With its combined firewall and anti-X capabilities, the
Cisco ASA 5500 Series is able to stop threats at the gateway before they
enter the network and impact business operations. These same services
are extended to remote access users providing a threat protected VPN
connection.
_____
From: dabance [mailto:dabance@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 2:20 AM
To: firewalls@securityfocus.com
Subject: PIX Vs ASA
Hi,
Recently i have seen the word ASA on cisco site and even CSPFA is
replaced by Securing Networks with PIX and ASA (SNPA). I believe that
cisco has introduced a new security platorm called ASA. Can anyone
please explain me what it is ??....whether this ASA 5500 series is going
to replace the old PIX Firewalls in future???...
Kindly throw some lights on the above mentioned....
regards,
Joesph
