Item: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have several Cisco ASA and FTD firewalls in use within our organization. The ASA name is the legacy platform for the now current FTD firewalls. Both platforms provide security access for both internal networks to communicate and for external to internal network accesses. Cisco does a great job providing firewalls that are easy to manage and configure (by a skilled network administrator). The central management system; FirePower is pretty straight forward to deploy changes needed to any firewall across our network.

Pros and Cons

centralized management via a web based interface
easy , one time license setup
easy yearly software maintenance renewal process and easy access to tech support when renewed
adaptable and performance driven to protect networks
excellent analytics engine to detect malware and security events and block them

rather expensive to get into for many models
working with cisco acct management is not easy and getting into a streamlined renewal process can be problematic
some software upgrade require other security changes which mean its a continual upgrading process to stay current. and can be cumbersome

Return on Investment

Easier administration of one platform across the business
Cross deploy certain policies for firewalls across all firewalls and from one central policy
one renewal per year for all devices
economics of scale with buying all devices from one vendor and getting larger discounts for more devices from that vendor

Alternatives Considered

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate, NetScaler ADC, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series and CrowdStrike Falcon

Cisco has made it easy to buy, set up, and manage all of our firewalls with the central FirePower Management Center. All licensing is done via one license portal too. Tech support is standardized for all ASA devices and like support engineers who know the different models to provide timely help for any issues. Cisco Talos is a premier could platform which scours the internet looking for threats and develops protections for the ASA's and as such provides zero second coverage when it best can detect global issues.

Key Insights

Do you think Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software again?

Yes

Other Software Used

NetScaler ADC, ShareFile, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco ASA's are great for internal network connected access between a firewall and the central management server. And, for complex networks where high security requirements with overly strict compliance are necessary. For networks with limited connectivity to the core or for poor network connectivity these are not the best solution. There are other more stand-alone firewall's that do this better. These firewall's are a little more complex to set up to start with so significant knowledge of these devices is required to set them up and ensure they are best practice installed.

Adaptable yet Powerful Firewall Solution

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software