Cisco IT Consultants

Cisco's PIX family security appliances and ASA Series adaptive security appliances integrate comprehensive firewall, intrusion protection, and Virtual Private Network (VPN) features in an affordable, single-cabinet package. Both product families deliver robust user and application policy enforcement, mutlivector assault protection, and safe connectivity features. The increased intelligence sharing of integrated security features in a stand-alone platform provides users deploying these integrated solutions the advanced of enhanced security, lower COI, and less maintenance expense.

Cisco PIX firewalls and Cisco's ASA 5500 Series combine with IOS Firewall, the Firewall Services Module for Catalyst 6500 family switches, and Cisco 7600 family routers as components of Cisco's versatile, integrated firewall product. Based on an expandable, building-block approach, every offering is equipped with a particular array of options to deliver better security to different network situations. These products can be independently deployed to protect specific areas of a connectivity environment, or can be grouped for a layered, defense-in-depth strategy following the design best practices outlined in the Cisco SAFE Blueprint. Rounding out the integrated firewall product line, Cisco provides a complete security management catalog, spanning Cisco security device and Cisco IOS security features and embedded appliance managers, to standalone management utilities, helping to ensure that businesses can effectively use their Cisco security infrastructure investments.

PIX Firewall Appliances
The popular Cisco PIX firewalls offer robust user and application policy enforcement, multivector attack defense, and safe connectivity services in economical, out-of-the-box solutions. These specialized appliances provide a wealth of integrated protection and connectivity services such as state-of-the=art process-aware firewall services, industry-leading VoIP and multimedia security, reliable multi-site and remote-connectivity IP Security VPN connectivity, excellent resiliency, intelligent networking features, and versatile management options. The PIX firewall family spans compact plug-and-play devices for small offices or home offices to modular gigabit appliances with greater investment protection for large business and ISP customers, Cisco PIX firewalls deliver high levels of security, performance, and reliability for networks of any size.

Cisco PIX security appliances deliver a wealth of configuration, tracking, and analysis options, giving IT managers the versatility to utilize the techniques that most closely meet their needs. Management solutions range from centralized, policy-based administration utilities to integrated Web-accessible management to compatibility with remote-tracking standards like SNMP and syslog. The integrated Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) system offers a powerful Web-based management platform that significantly streamlines the installation, ongoing configuration, and monitoring of a single Cisco PIX firewall appliance without the need of any extra software beyond an ordinary Web browser and Java applet to be installed on a manager's computer. Administrators can furthermore remotely set up, track, and troubleshoot Cisco PIX firewall appliances via a command-line interface (CLI). Secure CLI interface access is possible using several techniques, including Secure Shell (SSHv2) Protocol, Telnet through IP Security (IPSec), and out-of-band via a console port. Cisco PIX firewalls also have dependable auto-update features, a set of revolutionary protected remote-administration services that ensure security configurations and software images are kept up to date. Also, PIX security appliances are compatible with several setup and monitoring tools offered by Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data partners.

Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewalls
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances 5500 Series Firewalls are specially engineered solutions that bring together advanced, industry-leading protection and Virtual Private Network support plus an innovative, flexible architecture. The result is a robust, versatile network security solution better able to defend small and midsize business (SMB) and enterprise networks and, at the same time, reduce the overall installation and maintenance costs of this unprecedented degree of protection.

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances 5500 Series firewalls provide robust application protection through smart, application-sensitive inspection engines that examine network flows at Layers 4-7. This produces a more secure network including Web, voice, and 3G-mobile wireless connectivity. To defend environments from application-layer attacks and to offer businesses greater policing of the applications and protocols used in their networks, Cisco's inspection engines integrate extensive application and protocol knowledge and employ protection enforcement technologies that include anomaly detection and application and protocol state monitoring. Also included are assault sensing and remediation technology such as application/protocol command filters and URL deobfuscation. Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances firewall inspection engines also deliver control over IM and tunneling applications, allowing organizations to police usage policies and free up bandwidth for critical business applications.

While improving security, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances firewalls also decrease deployment and operational costs. By offering broad Virtual Private Network and security services, the Cisco ASA firewall can be used as the single device for a multitude of environments, enabling platform commonality. The Cisco ASA firewall can be used as a consolidated threat-prevention device at the datacenter by taking advantage of its access control, process inspection, and malicious assault remediation technologies. The Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewall can also be deployed as a dedicated remote access solution using its Virtual Private Network capabilities. Alternatively, the Cisco ASA firewall serves equally well inside the network for interdepartmental access management and to guard against malware inside workers might unknowingly release into the environment. In small business and branch office environments, the Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewall serves as a total solution platform offering complete threat defense and VPN services while suiting the budgets and operational demands of such situations. This adaptive one-device, many-use design reduces the number of platforms that must be deployed and maintained while providing a common functional and administrative system throughout all those deployments. This approach streamlines the education of configuration, tracking, troubleshooting, and protection staff. To further minimize maintenance expenses, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 Series firewalls are also exceptionally network conscious, enabling them to insert gracefully into the network without interfering with legitimate data flow and applications.

How Progent's Cisco Certified Experts Can Help Your Business with Cisco PIX and ASA Firewalls
Cisco's PIX security appliances and Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewalls incorporate an array of setup, monitoring, and analysis options which offer you the flexibility to set up these security appliances to match your business needs. Progent's CISM and CISA certified network security consultants can assist you to create a security strategy appropriate for your situation and can set up your firewall to support your security strategy. Progent's CISA-certified IS security auditing engineers and GIAC-qualified network security engineers can evaluate the effectiveness of your current firewall solution and help determine the overall security of your whole information system network. Progent can also troubleshoot your security appliances either remotely or onsite, and can train your existing network maintenance staff to set up and support your PIX or ASA firewalls.

For additional information concerning Progent's consulting assistance for Cisco technology, pick a topic: