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Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software

Overview

What is Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software?

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the core OS for the ASA suite. It provides firewall functionality, as well as integration with context-specific Cisco security modules. It is scaled for enterprise-level traffic and connections.

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Recent Reviews

Cisco ASA Review.

4 out of 10
August 05, 2022
Incentivized
We have used ASA to interconnect branch offices and also as a gateway. It's been a good product over the past years. Nowadays a lot of …
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CiscoASA Firepower

8 out of 10
December 09, 2021
Incentivized
Our business uses ASA'a as firewalls and for routing. We route 2 incoming connections and route them to allow our customers to come in on …
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Cisco ASA

7 out of 10
November 24, 2021
Incentivized
We use Cisco ASA as an internal firewall where we configure rules for internal communications and communications between servers also it's …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 11 features
  • VPN (48)
    9.0
    90%
  • Firewall Management Console (47)
    8.5
    85%
  • Active Directory and LDAP (47)
    8.3
    83%
  • Reporting and Logging (48)
    5.9
    59%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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N/A
Unavailable

What is Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software?

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the core OS for the ASA suite. It provides firewall functionality, as well as integration with context-specific Cisco security modules. It is scaled for enterprise-level traffic and connections.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Alternatives Pricing

What is Azure Firewall?

Microsoft's Azure Firewall is a managed cloud-based network security service that protects Azure Virtual Network resources.

What is Perimeter 81?

Perimeter 81 is a Zero Trust Network as a Service from the company of the same name in Tel Aviv, designed to simplify secure network, cloud and application access for the modern and distributed workforce.

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Features

Firewall

A firewall is a filter that stands between a computer or computer network and the Internet. Each firewall can be programmed to keep specific traffic in or out

8.1
Avg 8.5
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Product Details

What is Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software?

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the core operating software for Cisco’s ASA suite. It supports a variety of specialized network security and firewall options, allowing users to modularize to their business needs. It is scaled for enterprises through “clustering” ASAs, enabling 128 Gbps processing load and 50 million concurrent connections.

Cisco ASA provides a robust VPN setup process and integrates with other Cisco security offerings, including Cloud Web security and Trustsec. CWS provides cloud-based systems security across public and private clouds, and Trustsec is a software-defined segmentation product that mitigates the scope of network threats and data breaches. The platform also supports IPv4 and IPv6, enabling a smoother evolution in Internet Protocols for users.

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the core OS for the ASA suite. It provides firewall functionality, as well as integration with context-specific Cisco security modules. It is scaled for enterprise-level traffic and connections.

Reviewers rate VPN and High Availability highest, with a score of 9.

The most common users of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(222)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-2 of 2)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
December 09, 2021

CiscoASA Firepower

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our business uses ASA'a as firewalls and for routing. We route 2 incoming connections and route them to allow our customers to come in on one dedicated SLA provisioned fiber line and a general internet line for internet browsing. We also utilize the failover capability of the ASAs for redundancy. We will utilize the security features when we have completed an upgrade project.
  • Routing
  • Firewall
  • Security
  • Ease of use
  • Cisco's purchase model is difficult
  • Level of skill required
These appliances are great for small or medium business that needs a higher level of security will additional functions able to be purchased. It is a great reliable device for routing and firewall use, I've monitored user activity and utilization of our internet connection bandwidth noted outside attacks, DOS type when we see slowdowns, found infected computers by seeing them communicate with outside systems. A lot of helpful resources in the ASA
Firewall (11)
55.45454545454546%
5.5
Identification Technologies
60%
6.0
Visualization Tools
90%
9.0
Content Inspection
N/A
N/A
Policy-based Controls
90%
9.0
Active Directory and LDAP
N/A
N/A
Firewall Management Console
100%
10.0
Reporting and Logging
70%
7.0
VPN
N/A
N/A
High Availability
100%
10.0
Stateful Inspection
100%
10.0
Proxy Server
N/A
N/A
  • We were able to remove load balancers when we upgraded to the newer 5505 ASA
  • Solid online device, very reliable with high client satisfaction
  • integrated well with our managed switching
We moved from older ASAs to Firepower and were excited to see the new features and higher reliability. Throughput is faster and as our old ASAs were breaking down intermittently it was time for the upgrade. The newer GUI has a better dashboard and is easy to maneuver in, easier to get to the area you want to manage
2
IT management and system administration
2
IT manager and system administrator. We both share responsibility for the ASAs and utilize both our skill sets to help each other and grow in using this software
  • Routing
  • Firewall
  • Security
  • monitoring
  • blocking DOS attacks
  • analyzing incoming/outgoing date stream
  • adding in security features
We always utilize support for our hardware and software from the manufacturer
No
  • Product Features
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
We needed to upgrade our older ASAa to the ASA firepower
we would have more planning time with Cisco as our environment was pretty complex and we were trying to simplify to remove some devices from out incoming connections
Sergei Chernooki | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
Cisco ASA is used as a border firewall at the network edge and also between critical network segments and other parts of the network. With Cisco ASA we achieved remote access connectivity and event logging. Next-gen features are used at network edge with regard to performance. By using Cisco ASA awe created reliable network edge gateways with minimal Open.
  • Stateful inspection is perfectly implemented, reliable and has a very good performance.
  • NAT is feature-reach, perfectly implemented, reliable and has a very good performance.
  • VPN is feature-reach, perfectly implemented, reliable and has a very good performance (hardware limited).
  • I am not quite happy with 5500 series NGFW performance, this was fixed starting from 2100 series on.
  • HTTP inspection performance also is a bottleneck, it should not be used without clear need.
  • Licensing costs may triple the appliance price.
It does it's best when minimal OpEx is required. Initial setup may be complex for inexperienced engineers. Network visibility may be incomplete without additional tools. Performance of next-gen features may be low on cheap models.
  • It does it's best when working for 5+ years with minimal OpEx. Patches needed twice a year and clustering makes it easy and smooth. Network redesign is possible without a hardware change.
Cisco does transport-layer inspections, NAT and VPN just great. CheckPoint is more expensive, gives greater network visibility compared to Cisco ASA, next-gen features work faster on CheckPoint (model-dependent). Management Centre for Cisco NGFW is a heavy virtual appliance with a complex interface, you may need a special training for it. FortiGate is just cheaper by price per protected Megabyte per second.
3
Network and security engineers, support engineers. I also provide training to customers.
1
You will need authorized training or long-term experience to efficiently support Cisco ASA. Service contract also needed to obtain patches and vendor-side support.
  • Network border firewall.
  • Perimeter protection.
  • NAT and VPN gateway.
  • VXLAN tunnel endpoint.
  • Routing between VPN tunnels in star topology.
  • Datacenter virtual firewall.
I am committed to low-OpEx usage model, know most (nearly all) hw and sw features and have a good customer base to continue to use Cisco ASA.
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