Cisco's PIX security appliances and Cisco ASA 5500 Series adaptive security appliances combine comprehensive firewall, intrusion protection, and Virtual Private Network features in an economical, one-box package. Both of these product lines have been replaced by the ASA 5500-X family of firewalls with Firepower Services. (Refer to configuration and debugging support for Cisco AA 5500-X firewalls with Firepower Services.) Still, PIX and earlier-generation Cisco ASA 5500 Series adaptive security appliances are extensively used and continue to deliver small and mid-size companies a reliable firewall solution.

Cisco PIC and legacy ASA 5500 firewalls offer powerful user and application policy enforcement, mutlivector attack protection, and secure access services. The enhanced knowledge sharing of consolidated protection features in a single package provides users deploying these integrated solutions the advantages of enhanced security, reduced cost of ownership, and smaller management costs. PIX security appliances and the ASA 5500 product line join IOS Firewall, the Firewall Services Module (FWSM) for Cisco Catalyst 6500 switches, and 7600 Series routers as components of Cisco's flexible, self-contained firewall product. Based on an expandable, modular platform, every device is designed with a particular feature set to provide more efficient security to different networking environments. These solutions can be individually installed to secure certain facets of a connectivity environment, or can be grouped for a layered, defense-in-depth approach based on the design best practices described in the Cisco SAFE Blueprint. Completing the modular firewall product line, Cisco provides a complete security management portfolio, spanning Cisco security appliance and IOS Software security components and embedded appliance managers, to self-contained management programs, helping to make sure that businesses can productively use their Cisco security infrastructure investments. PIX Security Appliance Series
PIX firewall appliances offer reliable policy enforcement, multi-source attack defense, and safe connectivity features in economical, simple-to-configure solutions. These purpose-built appliances provide a wealth of integrated security and connectivity services including application-aware firewall features, Voice over IP and multimedia protection, robust multi-site and remote-access IP Security (IPsec) Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity, high availability, intelligent networking features, and versatile administration solutions. The PIX firewall Appliance family spans small plug-and-go appliances for small offices and at home offices to modular high-bandwidth products with ROI for enterprise and ISP environments, PIX firewalls deliver high levels of protection, performance, and availability for network environments of any size.

PIX Firewalls Consultants
Built around a hardened, specialized operating system that offers rich security features, Cisco PIX firewall appliances provide a high level of protection and have earned EAL 4 status and ICSA Firewall and IPsec certification. Cisco PIX firewalls provide protection for a wide array of Voice over IP and additional multimedia standards such as H.323 Version 4, Session Initiation Protocol, Cisco Skinny Client Control Protocol, RTSP, and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), helping businesses to safeguard deployments of a wide array of current and upcoming IP voice and multimedia applications. Cisco PIX security appliances offer a wealth of setup, tracking, and analysis options, giving businesses the flexibility to use the techniques that best meet their requirements. Management options include centralized, policy-based administration utilities, integrated web-accessible management, and compatibility with remote-monitoring standards such as Simple Network Management Protocol and syslog. The integrated ASDM system provides a powerful web-based control solution that greatly streamlines the installation, in-place configuration, and tracking of a specific PIX security appliance without requiring any additional software other than a standard web browser and Java plug-in to be running on an administrator's PC.

Administrators can also remotely configure, monitor, and troubleshoot Cisco PIX security appliances via a command-line interface. Secure command-line interface (CLI) access is available through several techniques including Secure Shell Protocol, Telnet through IP Security (IPsec), and out-of-band via a console port. Cisco PIX security appliances also include dependable automatic-update features, a collection of protected remote-management options that ensure security settings and software images are kept up to date. Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) Firewalls
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances Firewalls are specially engineered solutions that incorporate advanced, best-of-breed protection and VPN services plus an adaptive architecture. The result is a powerful, multifunction network protection appliance better able to protect small and medium company and larger networks and, at the same time, lower the overall deployment and maintenance costs formerly required for this high degree of protection.

Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewalls Consulting
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 Series Firewalls build on engineering developed for the Cisco PIX 500 firewall, Cisco's IPS 4200 family Intrusion Prevention System, and the Cisco VPN 3000 family concentrator. These technologies enable the Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall product line to offer a platform that defends against a broad range of attacks. Cisco ASA Firewalls provide application protection, local containment, and clean Virtual Private Network functionality throughout Cisco's product line. This breadth of protection allows the guarding of any network section, including the most common attack vectors like remote sites, LAN-attached inside users, and remote connected VPNs. Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances 5500 Series firewalls provide robust application security via intelligent, application-aware inspection engines that examine network flows at Layers 4-7. This produces a more secure network including web, voice, and mobile wireless services. To protect networks from application-layer assaults and to give organizations more control over the applications and protocols utilized in their environments, Cisco's inspection engines integrate extensive application and protocol knowledge and rely on protection enforcement solutions such as protocol anomaly detection and state tracking. Also incorporated are attack sensing and remediation techniques including application and protocol command filters and content verification. Cisco ASA firewall inspection engines also provide management of instant messaging and tunneling applications, enabling organizations to enforce usage policies and recover bandwidth for vital business processes. While increasing security, Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewalls also lower installation and operational expenses. By providing broad VPN and protection services, the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 Series firewall can be a the only platform for a multitude of environments, enabling platform standardization. The Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances 5500 Series firewall can be deployed as a converged attack-prevention device at a central location by taking advantage of its access control, process inspection, and malicious assault remediation technologies. The Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewall can also be used as a dedicated remote access device utilizing its VPN capabilities. Alternatively, the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) firewall serves equally well in the network interior for inter-office access control and to defend against malware inside users might inadvertently release into the environment. For small business and branch office networks, the Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewall serves as an all-in-one platform providing comprehensive intrusion prevention and VPN services while suiting the cost structure and performance models of these deployments.

This adaptive single-platform, many-use design reduces the total number of appliances that must be deployed and maintained while providing a standard operating and management environment throughout all those installations. This approach simplifies the training of configuration, tracking, support, and protection personnel. To further reduce operations expenses, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances 5500 Series firewalls are also highly network aware, allowing them to insert gracefully into the environment without interfering with legitimate traffic and processes. How Progent Can Assist You with Cisco Firewalls
Cisco's ASA 5500 Series firewalls and PIX security appliances provide an array of setup, tracking, and analysis features that give you the flexibility to deploy these firewalls to match your business requirements. Progent's CCIE certified network consultants can assist you to support your existing network infrastructure that incorporates Cisco ASA or PIX firewalls and that provides security, fault tolerance, throughput, and manageability. Progent's firewall experts can also help you to upgrade to Cisco ASA 5500-X firewalls with Firepower Services.

Progent's GISA and CISM-certified information security engineers can help you to develop a security policy that makes sense for your business and can configure your PIX or ASA firewall to support your security policies. Progent's security evaluation consultants can evaluate the strength of your current firewall solution and validate the security of your entire information system network. Progent's Help Desk Call Center can provide emergency remote technical support for Cisco products and offer quick access to a Cisco expert. To find out more details about Progent's engineering help for Cisco technology, pick a subject:

In order to get in touch with Progent about engineering assistance for Cisco technology, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.

© 2002-2026 Progent Corporation. All rights reserved.