Item: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Rating: 9
Author: Arpit Singh

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cisco ASA is a useful firewall for small and middle-sized organizations that need a firewall and router together. They provide us VPN, NAT, [and] routing features that help us to create secure connections with clients. We have multiple sites and clients across the [organization] so we created the IPSec Site to Site VPN for secure data transfer from one side to another side. We are using this firewall on our all sites.

Pros and Cons

Unified communications capabilities
Support both IPSec and SSL VPN
Multi-node clustering
High-performance
IPV6 support
Support advaced routing protocols
Support policy based routing
Easy packet flow
Command line is very simple
Cisco AnyConnect

Beginner can't configure ASA through ASDM
Very slow GUI
Lots of vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS

Return on Investment

Cisco provides one of the best technical support
Every type of Cisco study material and training videos available
Easy to download IOS from Cisco website
Very easy to configure
CLI commands are very easy to remember

Alternatives Considered

ClearOS

We have a small network so we were using ClearOS for security but this firewall is just a basic functionality so we decided to change and installed the Cisco ASA firewall. Cisco ASA provides us lots of features like NAT, routing, as well as security features for protecting our infrastructure. Technical support is also very helpful and provides the solution within SLA.

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

Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller, Cisco ASA, Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services

Likelihood to Recommend

According to my experience, Cisco is very useful and [their firewall] has good features. It provides you security with router functionality so you don't need to buy additional routers if you have a small network. It provides lots of options in NAT and features in VPN so you can configure it your own way.

My Experience with Cisco ASA || Adaptive Security Appliance

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software