Cisco ASA 5500 Adaptive Security Appliance and ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls for Small Offices and Branch Locations
You are used to select Cisco ASA 5500 Series, or tend to migrate to new Cisco ASA 5500-X? Why migrating to Cisco ASA 5500-X, especially for Small Offices and Branch Locations? The detailed feature comparison of Cisco ASA 5505, ASA 5512-X and ASA 5515-X may tell you why…
Compare Cisco ASA 5505, ASA 5512-X and ASA 5515-X
| Feature | Cisco ASA 5505; Security Plus | Cisco ASA 5512-X; Security Plus | Cisco ASA 5515-X |
| Stateful inspection throughput (maximum1) | Up to 150 Mbps | 1 Gbps | 1.2 Gbps |
| Stateful inspection throughput (multiprotocol2) | – | 500 Mbps | 600 Mbps |
| IPS throughput3 | Up to 75 Mbps with AIP‑SSC-5 | 250 Mbps (extra hardware not required) | 400 Mbps (extra hardware not required) |
| Next-generation throughput4(multiprotocol) | – | 200 Mbps | 350 Mbps |
| 3DES/AES VPN throughput5 | Up to 100 Mbps | 200 Mbps | 250 Mbps |
| Users or nodes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| IPsec VPN peers | 25* | 250 | 250 |
| Cisco Cloud Web Security users | For detailed sizing guidance see the CWS Connector Sizing for ASA 5500 and ASA 5500-X | ||
| Premium AnyConnect VPN peers(included/maximum) | 2/25 | 2/250 | 2/250 |
| Concurrent connections | 10,000; 25,000* | 100,000 | 250,000 |
| New connections per second | 4000 | 10,000 | 15,000 |
| Virtual interfaces (VLANs) | 3 (trunking disabled)/ 20 (trunking enabled)* | 50; 100 | 100 |
| Security contexts (included/maximum)6 | Not available | 0,0; 2,5 | 2,5 |
| High availability | Not supported* | Not supported; active/active and active/standby** | Active/active and active/standby |
| Expansion slot | 1 SSC | 1 interface card | 1 interface card |
| User-accessible flash slot | – | No | No |
| USB 2.0 ports | 3 (1 on front, 2 on rear) | 2 | 2 |
| Integrated I/O | 8 Fast Ethernet with 2 PoE ports | 6 GE copper | 6 GE copper |
| Expansion I/O | – | 6 GE Copper or 6 GE SFP | 6 GE Copper or 6 GE SFP |
| Serial ports | 1 RJ-45 console | 1 RJ-45 console | 1 RJ-45 console |
| Solid state drive | – | 1 slot, 120 GB MLC SED | 1 slot, 120 GB MLC SED |
| Memory | 512 MB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Minimum system flash | 128 MB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| System bus | Multibus architecture | Multibus architecture | Multibus architecture |
| Temperature | 32 to 104°F (0 to 40°C) | 23 to 104°F (-5 to 40°C) | 23 to 104°F (-5 to 40°C) |
| Relative humidity | 5 to 95 percent noncondensing | 10 to 90 percent noncondensing | 10 to 90 percent noncondensing |
| Altitude | Designed and tested for 0 to 9840 ft (3000 m); agency approved for 2000 m | Designed and tested for 0 to 15,000 ft (4572 m) | Designed and tested for 0 to 15,000 ft (4572 m) |
| Shock | 1.14 m/sec (45 in./sec) 1/2 sine input | 70G, 4.22 m/sec | 70G, 4.22 m/sec |
| Vibration | 0.41 Grms2 (3 to 500 Hz) random input | 0.41 Grms2 (3 to 500 Hz) random input | 0.41 Grms2 (3 to 500 Hz) random input |
| Acoustic noise | 60 dBa max | 64.2 dBa max | 64.2 dBa max |
| Temperature | -13 to 158ºF (-25 to 70ºC) | -13 to 158ºF (-25 to 70ºC) | -13 to 158ºF (-25 to 70ºC) |
| Relative humidity | 5 to 95 percent noncondensing | 10 to 90 percent noncondensing | 10 to 90 percent noncondensing |
| Altitude | 0 to 15,000 ft (4570m) | Designed and tested for 0 to 15,000 ft (4570m) | Designed and tested for 0 to 15,000 ft (4570m) |
| Shock | 30G | 70G, 4.22 m/sec | 70G, 4.22 m/sec |
| Vibration | 0.41 Grms2 (3 to 500 Hz) random input | 1.12 Grms2 (3 to 500 Hz) random input | 1.12 Grms2 (3 to 500 Hz) random input |
| AC range line voltage | 100 to 240 VAC | 100 to 240 VAC | 100 to 240 VAC |
| AC normal line voltage | 100 to 240 VAC | 100 to 240 VAC | 100 to 240 VAC |
| AC current | 1.8A | 4.85A | 4.85A |
| AC frequency | 50/60 Hz | 50/60 Hz | 50/60 Hz |
| Dual-power supplies | None | None | None |
| DC domestic line voltage | See the ASA 5500 Series Hardware Installation Guide | -40.5 to 56 VDC (-48 VDC nominal) | -40.5 to 56 VDC (-48 VDC nominal) |
| DC international line voltage | See the ASA 5500 Series Hardware Installation Guide | -55 to -72 VDC (-60 VDC nominal) | -55 to -72 VDC (-60 VDC nominal) |
| DC current | See the ASA 5500 Series Hardware Installation Guide | 15A (maximum input) | 15A (maximum input) |
| Steady state | 20W | 51W | 65W |
| Maximum peak | 96W | 56W | 70W |
| Maximum heat dissipation | 72 BTU/hr | 192 BTU/hr | 239 BTU/hr |
| Form factor | Desktop | 1RU, 19-in. rack-mountable | 1RU, 19-in. rack-mountable |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 1.75 x 7.89 x 6.87 in. (4.45 x 20.04 x 17.45 cm) | 1.67 x 16.7 x 15.6 In (4.24 x 42.9 x 39.5 cm) | 1.67 x 16.7 x 15.6 In (4.24 x 42.9 x 39.5 cm) |
| Weight (with AC power supply) | 4.0 lb (1.8 kg) | 13.39 lb (6.07 kg) | 13.39 lb (6.07 kg) |
| Safety | UL 60950, CSA C22.2 No. 60950, EN 60950 IEC 60950, AS/NZS60950 | IEC 60950-1: 2005, 2ndEdition EN 60950-1:2006+A11: 2009 UL 60950-1:2007, 2ndEdition; CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1-07, 2nd Edition | IEC 60950-1: 2005, 2nd Edition EN 60950-1:2006+A11: 2009 UL 60950-1:2007, 2ndEdition; CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1-07, 2ndEdition |
| Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) | CE marking, FCC Part 15 Class B, AS/NZS CISPR22 Class B, VCCI Class B, EN55022 Class B, CISPR22 Class B, EN61000-3-2, EN61000-3-3 | CE: EN55022 2006+A1: 2007 Class A; EN55024 1998+A1:2001+A2:2003; EN61000-3-2 2009; EN61000-3-3 2008; FCC: CFR 47, Part 15 Subpart B Class A 2010, ANSI C63.4 2009; ICES-003 ISSUE 4 FEBRUARY.2004; VCCI: V-3/2011.04; C-TICK: AS/NZS CISPR 22,2009 KC: KN22 & KN24 | CE: EN55022 2006+A1: 2007 Class A; EN55024 1998+A1: 2001+A2:2003; EN61000-3-2 2009; EN61000-3-3 2008; FCC: CFR 47, Part 15 Subpart B Class A 2010, ANSI C63.4 2009; ICES-003 ISSUE 4 FEBRUARY.2004; VCCI: V-3/2011.04; C-TICK: AS/NZS CISPR 22,2009 KC: KN22 & KN24 |
| Industry certifications | FIPS 140-2 Level 2 In process: Common Criteria EAL4+ US DoD Application-Level Firewall for Medium-Robustness Environments, and Common Criteria EAL4 for IPsec/SSL VPN | In process | In process |
- 1 Maximum throughput measured with UDP traffic under ideal conditions.
- 2 Multiprotocol = Traffic profile consisting primarily of TCP-based protocols/applications like HTTP, SMTP, FTP, IMAPv4, BitTorrent, and DNS.
- 3 Firewall traffic that does not go through the IPS service can have higher throughput.
- 4 Throughput was measured using Cisco ASA CX Software Release 9.1.1 with multiprotocol traffic profile with both AVC and WSE. Traffic logging was enabled as well.
- 5 VPN throughput and sessions count depend on the ASA device configuration and VPN traffic patterns. These elements should be taken into consideration as part of your capacity planning.
- 6 Separately licensed feature; includes two SSL licenses with base system.
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