Item: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Rating: 9
Author: Jeffrey Thoenen

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cisco ASA across our whole enterprise network. We use them to protect our local LANs to support PCI compliance and to protect any internet-facing circuits.

Pros and Cons

Cisco ASAs are simple to configure and manage.
Cisco ASAs allow easy setup of VPNs.
Cisco ASAs provide secure segmentation to offer compliance with PCI.

The CLI commands of the ASA is a bit different than Cisco's IOS devices.

Return on Investment

With the explosion of data breaches, the ROI is easily justified, as breaches can reach into the millions of dollars.

Alternatives Considered

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

The Palo Alto firewalls do a decent job of packet forwarding, but the GUI is slow and cumbersome.

Other Software Used

PRTG Network Monitor, Scrutinizer, Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR 4000)

Cisco allows easy configuration of VPNs to various vendors that need access to your internal networks. Make sure to size the ASA correctly for the application, as it has various supported throughput speeds according to the model.

Cisco ASA to Protect Your Networks

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco ASA

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros and Cons

Return on Investment

Alternatives Considered

Other Software Used

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software Feature Ratings