Cisco upgrades ASA, NAC boxes

By Phil Hochmuth, NetworkWorld.com, 07/11/06

Cisco this week launched new versions of its multi-purpose Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA), with small offices and large data centers in mind. The company also introduced a new version of its Network Admission Control (NAC) appliance, and an upgrade to IOS software with beefed-up security features.

Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 series appliance includes Cisco's VPN, firewall and other security technologies on a single hardware platform. New additions to the ASA family include the ASA 5505, which is targeted at small offices while the ASA 5550 is aimed at large sites that require more than a gigabit-per-second of security traffic throughput.

Cisco also introduced its NAC Appliance 4.0 this week, with improved network integration and management features. The Cisco NAC Appliance can check devices such as Windows and Linux clients, printers, handheld devices and other endpoints as these devices attempt to access a LAN. Based on pre-set configurations, the device can allow or deny access based on parameters such as device type, protocol used, IP address or other factors.

Cisco also released a new version of its IOS router/switch software that adds additional security features. IOS version 12.4(9)T includes a feature that detect and stop unwanted network traffic, such as BitTorrent, KaZaA and Gnutella file sharing. The new IOS version also provides improved monitoring capabilities for the site-to-site VPN function in IOS, and added authentication and accounting tools for managing SSL VPN remote access on an IOS router.

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