Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances

Table Of Contents

Cisco ASA Compatibility

ASA and ASDM Compatibility

ASA 5500 and Module Compatibility

ASA Services Module and Catalyst 6500 Compatibility

Identity Firewall Active Directory PC Requirements

ASA Memory Information

Memory Requirements

Memory Upgrade Kits

Viewing Flash Memory

DRAM, Flash Memory, and Failover

PIX 500 and ASDM Compatibility

Cisco ASA Compatibility

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May 21, 2012

This document lists the Cisco ASA software and hardware compatibilityand requirements. This document also lists the older PIX 500 series compatibility.

This document includes the following sections:

•ASA and ASDM Compatibility

•ASA 5500 and Module Compatibility

•ASA Services Module and Catalyst 6500 Compatibility

•Identity Firewall Active Directory PC Requirements

•ASA Memory Information

•PIX 500 and ASDM Compatibility

ASA and ASDM Compatibility

Table 1 shows the ASA software and ASDM compatibility for each ASA model.

Table 1 ASA and ASDM Compatibility 

ASA OS	ASDM	ASA Model:
		ASA 5505	ASA 5510, 5520, 5540	ASA 5550	ASA 5580	ASA 5512-X, 5515-X, 5525-X, 5545-X, 5555-X	ASA 5585-X	ASASM
ASA 7.0	ASDM 5.0. Recommended: 5.0(8).	No	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 7.1(1)	ASDM 5.1. Recommended: 5.1(2).	No	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 7.1(2)	ASDM 5.1(2)	No	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 7.2	ASDM 5.2. Recommended: 5.2(4).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(2)	ASDM 6.0(2) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(3)	ASDM 6.0(3) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(4)	ASDM 6.1(3) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(5)	ASDM 6.2(3) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.1(1)	ASDM 6.1(1) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	No	No	No	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.1(2)	ASDM 6.1(5) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	No	No	No	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.2(1)	ASDM 6.2(1) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.2(2)	ASDM 6.2(5) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.2(3)	ASDM 6.3(4) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No
ASA 8.2(4)	ASDM 6.3(5) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No
ASA 8.2(5)	ASDM 6.4(3) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No
ASA 8.3(1)	ASDM 6.3(1) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.3(2)	ASDM 6.3(2) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.4(1)	ASDM 6.4(1) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No
ASA 8.4(2)	ASDM 6.4(5) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No
ASA 8.4(3)	ASDM 6.4(7) and later. Recommended: 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES
ASA 8.4(4)	ASDM 6.4(9).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES
ASA 8.5(1)	ASDM 6.5(1).	No	No	No	No	No	No	YES
ASA 8.6(1)	ASDM 6.6(1).	No	No	No	YES	YES	YES	No

ASA 5500 and Module Compatibility

Table 2 shows the modules supported on each ASA model. To see the ASDM versions supported for each ASA version on your model, see the "ASA and ASDM Compatibility" section.

Table 2 ASA Module Compatibility 

ASA Model	Modules Supported	Module OS	ASA OS1
ASA 5505	Advanced Inspection and Prevention (AIP) SSC-5	6.22	ASA 8.2(1) and later
ASA 5510	AIP SSM-10	5.03	ASA 7.0(1) and later
		5.13,4	ASA 7.0(1) and later
		6.0	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.1	ASA 8.0(2) and later
		6.2	ASA 8.0(2) and later
		7.0	ASA 8.0(2) and later
	Content Security and Control (CSC) SSM-10 and -20	6.0	ASA 7.1(1)
		6.1	ASA 7.1(1) and later
		6.2	ASA 7.1(1) and later
		6.35	ASA 7.1(1) and later
		6.6	ASA 8.4(2) and later
	4GE SSM	N/A	ASA 7.0(4) and later
ASA 5520	AIP SSM-10 and -20	5.03	ASA 7.0(1) and later
		5.13,4	ASA 7.0(1) and later
		6.0	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.1	ASA 8.0(2) and later
		6.2	ASA 8.0(2) and later
		7.0	ASA 8.0(2) and later
	CSC SSM-10 and -20	6.0	ASA 7.1(1)
		6.1	ASA 7.1(2) and later
		6.2	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.35	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.6	ASA 8.4(2) and later
	4GE SSM	N/A	ASA 7.0(4) and later
ASA 5540	AIP SSM-20	5.03	ASA 7.0(1) and later
		5.13,4	ASA 7.0(1) and later
		6.0	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.1	ASA 8.0(2) and later
		6.2	ASA 8.0(2) and later
		7.0	ASA 8.0(2) and later
	AIP SSM-40	6.0(4) and later	ASA 8.0(4) and later
		6.1	ASA 8.0(4) and later
		6.2	ASA 8.0(4) and later
		7.0	ASA 8.0(4) and later
	CSC SSM-10 and -20	6.0	ASA 7.1(1)
		6.1	ASA 7.1(2) and later
		6.2	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.35	ASA 7.2(1) and later
		6.6	ASA 8.4(2) and later
	4GE SSM	N/A	ASA 7.0(4) and later
ASA 5550	No support (the 4GE SSM is built-in and not user-removable)	N/A	N/A
ASA 5580	No support	N/A	N/A
ASA 5512-X, 5515-X, 5525-X, 5545-X, 5555-X	IPS SSP software module	7.1(3)	ASA 8.6(1)
ASA 5585-X6	SSP-20 and -60, single SSP	(See ASA OS)	ASA 8.2(3) and later; 8.4(1) and later.
	SSP-10 and -40, single SSP	(See ASA OS)	ASA 8.2(4) and later; 8.4(1) and later.
	IPS SSP-10, -20, -40, and -60, with matching-level SSP	7.1	ASA 8.2(5)7 and later; 8.4(2) and later.
	Dual SSPs for SSP-40 and SSP-60, matching-level	(See ASA OS)	ASA 8.4(2) and later

1 ASA Version 8.1 is supported only on the ASA 5580, which does not support modules. 2 IPS 7.0 is not supported on the AIP SSC. 3 ASDM 5.2 and later lets you launch IDM from ASDM to manage IPS release 5.0 and 5.1. For natively-integrated management, use IPS 6.0 and later. 4 IPS 5.1(4) is the minimum version that supports signature updates. 5 ASDM 5.2 and above lets you launch Trend Micro Content Security from ASDM to manage CSC 6.0, 6.1, and 6.2. For natively-integrated management, use CSC 6.3 and above with ASDM 6.2(3) and above. 6 The 5585-X is supported in 8.2 and 8.4; it is not supported in 8.3. 7 IPS SSP support was added in interim release 8.2(4.4); however, this table does not list interim releases when there is a recommended maintenance release that you should use instead.

ASA Services Module and Catalyst 6500 Compatibility

Table 3 shows the switch hardware and software compatibility.

Table 3 Support for the ASASM

ASA Release	Switch Hardware	Supervisor Engine and MSFC	Cisco IOS Release
8.5(1) and later	Catalyst 6500-E	720-10GE with MSFC3 PFC3C (VS-S720-10G-3C)	12.2(33)SXJ21 and later
		720-10GE with MSFC3 PFC3CXL (VS-S720-10G-3CXL)
		720 with MSFC3 PFC3B (WS-SUP720-3B)
		720 with MSFC3 PFC3BXL (WS-SUP720-3BXL)
8.5(1.7) and later	Catalyst 6500-E	2T with MSFC5 PFC4 (VS-S2T-10G)	15.0(1)SY1 and later
		2T with MSFC5 PFC4XL (VS-S2T-10G-XL)

1 Originally-support ed IOS Version 12.2(33)SXJ1 has a caveat (CSCts88817) that can cause the ASASM to reload under certain circumstances. Therefore, we recommend using 12.2(33)SXJ2 or later.

Identity Firewall Active Directory PC Requirements

The Identity Firewall integrates with Windows Active Directory in conjunction with an external Active Directory (AD) Agent that provides the actual identity mapping. The ASA uses Windows Active Directory as the source to retrieve the current user identity information for specific IP addresses.

You can install the Active Directory Agent on a separate server or on the server where the Active Directory Domain Controller is installed.

Table 4 lists the minimum hardware requirements for the AD agent and the Active Directory Server Domain Controller.

Table 4 Minimum Hardware Requirements

Component	OS	Hardware
AD Agent	Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2008 R2 Server	Intel Quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, 2 x 250GB of HDD, 1GE Network Interface
Active Directory Server Domain Controller	Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2008 R2 Server	Intel Quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, 2 x 250GB of HDD, 1GE Network Interface

ASA Memory Information

The ASA includes DRAM and internal flash memory. On some models, you can optionally use an external flash memory as well. This section includes the following topics:

•Memory Requirements

•Memory Upgrade Kits

•Viewing Flash Memory

•DRAM, Flash Memory, and Failover

Memory Requirements

Table 5 lists the standard and recommended flash memory and DRAM. Note that the shipping DRAM increased after February 2010; the DRAM requirements for 8.3 and higher match the newer default shipping sizes. See the "Memory Upgrade Kits" section to order an upgrade kit.

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Note ASA 5520s and ASA 5540s that were manufactured before August 2011 have 4 DIMM sockets. ASA 5520s and ASA 5540s manufactured after this date have 2 DIMM sockets.

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Note If a memory upgrade might be required, the required memory is in bold. See the "Memory Upgrade Kits" section.

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Table 5 Standard Memory and Memory Requirements  for the Cisco ASA Series

ASA Model	Internal Flash Memory (Default Shipping)1 ,2	DRAM (Default Shipping)
		Before Feb. 2010	After Feb. 2010 (Required for 8.3 and Higher)
5505	128 MB	256 MB	512 MB3
5510	256 MB	256 MB	1 GB
5520	256 MB	512 MB	2 GB
5540	256 MB	1 GB	2 GB
5550	256 MB	4 GB	4GB
5512-X	4 GB	N/A	4 GB
5515-X	8 GB	N/A	8 GB
5525-X	8 GB	N/A	8 GB
5545-X	8 GB	N/A	12 GB
5555-X	8 GB	N/A	16 GB
5580-20	1 GB	8 GB	8GB
5580-40	1 GB	12 GB	12 GB
5585-X with SSP-10	2 GB	N/A	6 GB
5585-X with SSP-20	2 GB	N/A	12 GB
5585-X with SSP-40	2 GB	N/A	12 GB
5585-X with SSP-60	2 GB	N/A	24 GB
ASASM	8 GB	N/A	24 GB

1 For the ASA 5510 through 5550, you might need to upgrade the internal flash memory to 512 MB or add external flash memory if you load multiple images of the AnyConnect client along with one or more images of the ASA software, ASDM, client/server plugins, or Cisco Secure Desktop. In particular, you might need to upgrade for multiple AnyConnect 3.0 and higher clients with optional modules. The ASA 5505 does not have a flash memory upgrade available. 2 The default internal flash memory for some models was 64 MB in the past; if you have one of these early units, we recommend upgrading your flash memory to at least the new shipping default. 3 For the ASA 5505, only the Unlimited Hosts license and the Security Plus license with failover enabled require 512 MB; other licenses can use 256 MB.

Memory Upgrade Kits

Table 6 lists the DRAM upgrade kits.

Table 6 DRAM Upgrade Kits 

Model	Size	Part Number
ASA 5505	512 MB	ASA5505-MEM-512=
ASA 55101	1 GB	ASA5510-MEM-1GB=
ASA 5520	2 GB	ASA5520-MEM-2GB=
ASA 5540	2 GB	ASA5540-MEM-2GB=

1 If you previously purchased the 512 MB upgrade kit for the ASA 5510 (ASA5510-MEM-512=), you must upgrade to the 1 GB memory upgrade kit to run Version 8.3.

Table 7 lists the CompactFlash upgrade kits available for the ASA 5510 through ASA 5550, for use as internal or external flash memory.

Table 7 CompactFlash Upgrade Kits

Model	Size	Part Number
ASA 5510 through ASA 5550	256 MB	ASA5500-CF-256MB=
ASA 5510 through ASA 5550	512 MB	ASA5500-CF-512MB=

Viewing Flash Memory

You can check the size of internal flash and the amount of free flash memory on the ASA by doing the following:

•ASDM—Choose Tools > File Management. The amounts of total and available flash memory appear on the bottom left in the pane.

•CLI—In Privileged EXEC mode, enter the dir command. The amounts of total and available flash memory appear on the bottom of the output.

For example:

hostname # dir

Directory of disk0:/

43     -rwx  14358528    08:46:02 Feb 19 2007  cdisk.bin

136    -rwx  12456368    10:25:08 Feb 20 2007  asdmfile

58     -rwx  6342320     08:44:54 Feb 19 2007  asdm-600110.bin

61     -rwx  416354      11:50:58 Feb 07 2007  sslclient-win-1.1.3.173.pkg

62     -rwx  23689       08:48:04 Jan 30 2007  asa1_backup.cfg

66     -rwx  425         11:45:52 Dec 05 2006  anyconnect

70     -rwx  774         05:57:48 Nov 22 2006  cvcprofile.xml

71     -rwx  338         15:48:40 Nov 29 2006  tmpAsdmCustomization430406526

72     -rwx  32          09:35:40 Dec 08 2006  LOCAL-CA-SERVER.ser

73     -rwx  2205678     07:19:22 Jan 05 2007  vpn-win32-Release-2.0.0156-k9.pkg

74     -rwx  3380111     11:39:36 Feb 12 2007  securedesktop_asa_3_2_0_56.pkg

62881792 bytes total (3854336 bytes free)

hostname #

DRAM, Flash Memory, and Failover

In a failover configuration, the two units must have the same amount of DRAM. You do not have to have the same amount of flash memory. For more information, see the failover chapters in the configuration guide.

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Note If you use two units with different flash memory sizes, make sure that the unit with the smaller flash memory has enough space for the software images and configuration files.

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PIX 500 and ASDM Compatibility

Table 2 shows the software compatibility for each PIX 500 model.

Table 8 PIX Compatibility 

PIX Model	PIX OS	ASDM
501, 506E	PIX 6.3	PDM 3.0
515/515E, 525, 535	PIX 6.3	PDM 3.0
	PIX 7.0	ASDM 5.0. Recommended: 5.0(8).
	PIX 7.1	ASDM 5.1. Recommended: 5.1(2).
	PIX 7.2	ASDM 5.2. Recommended: 5.2(4).
	PIX 8.0(2)	ASDM 6.0(2) and later. Recommended: 6.1(5).
	PIX 8.0(3)	ASDM 6.0(3) and later. Recommended: 6.1(5).
	PIX 8.0(4)	ASDM 6.1(3)1 and later. Recommended: 6.1(5).

1 8.0(4) and ASDM 6.1(5) are the final versions supported on the PIX security appliance.

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