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

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cisco ASA sits between our company and the Internet. With it, we keep out all the bad traffic that we don't want and allow the traffic that we do. On the flip side, we only allow what we want from the inside to go out. It can easily edit access rules, NAT rules, DMZ, etc.

Pros and Cons

Access rule, it's easy to edit them.
NAT rules, very easily to quickly set up.
Upgrading, you just point to the new image. It's a fairly simple process.

It only inspects traffic passing through it. Some other next-gen firewalls are able to inspect internal/lateral traffic as well.
While the ASDM GUI is great to use, it's a little finicky in terms of the version corresponding to what ASA version.

Return on Investment

Our company wouldn't survive without Cisco ASA and the VPN capabilities during the pandemic.
We can quickly setup a port forwarding or use a public IP in the DMZ.
I find the Packet Tracer or Packet Capture features very useful in troubleshooting an issue.

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?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

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

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

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

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

I think it's highly effective at what it does. I haven't even mentioned VPN access yet which certainly is extremely relied upon in these times of remote working. That being said, it's not the only security appliance that you need. Once an attacker gets inside your network, the [Cisco] ASA is virtually non-existent. Also, they are quite pricey so for some smaller offices that don't need quite a robust system, there are other options, such as Meraki, that might be suited better.

Cisco ASA is top for a traditional firewall/VPN solution.

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software