Cisco Security Cloud Control: Secure Firewall Management

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Cisco Security Cloud Control: Secure Firewall Management

External links for devices

Updated: October 16, 2026

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Explains external links for devices in Security Cloud Control Firewall Management.

An external link is a hyperlink feature that

  • creates connections to external resources and associates them with managed devices

  • enables convenient access to device local managers (Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) for ASA), documentation, corporate wikis, or any chosen URL, and

  • allows multiple link associations with devices and the same link with multiple devices simultaneously.

External link properties

You can associate as many external links with a device as you want. You can also associate the same link with multiple devices at the same time.

The diagram illustrates the concept of external link associations with devices, showing how multiple links can be connected to a single device and the same link can be shared among multiple devices.

The links you create can reach anywhere, but your company's security requirements do not change. For example, if you ordinarily need to be connected to your corporate network, by being on-premises or through a VPN connection to reach a particular URL, those requirements remain. If your company blocks specific URLs, those URLs continue to be blocked. URLs that are not restricted continue to not be restricted.

The {location} variable can be incorporated in your URLs. This variable will be populated with the IP address of your device. For example:

https://{location}

should reach the ASDM for your ASAor the FDM of your FDM-managed device.

This task enables you to create external links from your device that provide quick access to related settings, requirements, and user workflow information.

External links allow you to associate URLs with specific devices or model devices in your inventory, providing convenient access to related documentation or resources.

Procedure

  1. From the Security Cloud Control Home page, click Firewall.

  2. Choose Security Devices.

  3. Click the Devices tab to locate the device or the Templates tab to locate the model device.

  4. Click the appropriate device type tab.

  5. Select a device or model.

    You can use the filter and search functionalities to find the required device.

  6. Enter a name for the link in the details pane under the External Links section.

  7. Enter the URL for the link in the URL field. You need to specify the full URL. For example, for Cisco, enter http://www.cisco.com.

  8. Click + to associate the link with the device.

The external link is now associated with the selected device and appears in the External Links section of the device details pane.

Create an external link to provide convenient access to the Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) of your ASA the Firepower Device Manager (FDM) of your FDM-managed device directly from Security Cloud Control.

This external link provides a convenient way to open the Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) of your ASA the Firepower Device Manager (FDM) of your FDM-managed device, directly from Security Cloud Control.

Procedure

  1. In the left pane, click Security Devices.

  2. Click the Devices tab to locate the device or the Templates tab to locate the model device.

  3. Click the appropriate device type tab.

    You can use the filter and search functionalities to find the required device.

  4. Select a device or model.

  5. In the details pane, on the right, go to the External Links section.

  6. Enter a name for the link such as ASDM FDM.

  7. Enter https://{location} in the URL field. The {location} variable will be populated with the IP address of your device.

  8. Click the + box.

The external link is created and you can now access ASDMFDM directly from Security Cloud Control.

Create external links for multiple devices to provide quick access to external resources or device management interfaces directly from the device inventory.

External links allow you to create shortcuts to external resources associated with your devices, such as device management interfaces or external documentation. You can apply the same external link to multiple devices simultaneously.

Procedure

  1. Choose Security Devices.

  2. Click the Devices tab to locate the device or the Templates tab to locate the model device.

  3. Click the appropriate device type tab.

    You can use the filter and search functionalities to find the required devices.

  4. Select multiple devices or models.

  5. In the details pane, on the right, go to the External Links section.

  6. Enter a name for the link.

  7. Enter the URL you want to reach using one of these methods:

    • Enter 
      https://{location}
      in the URL field. The {location} variable will be populated with the IP address of your device. This creates an automatic link to the ASDM for your device.

    • Enter the URL for the link in the URL field. You need to specify the full URL, for example, for Cisco enter http://www.cisco.com.

  8. Click + to associate the link with the device.

The external link is created and associated with all selected devices. The link appears in the External Links section for each device and can be accessed by clicking on the link name.

Edit or delete external links to manage device and model device configurations in Cisco Defense Orchestrator.

Use this procedure when you need to modify or remove external links associated with devices or model devices in your inventory.

Procedure

  1. Choose Security Devices.

  2. Click the Devices tab to locate the device or the Templates tab to locate the model device.

  3. Click the appropriate device type tab.

    You can use the filter and search functionalities to find the required device.

  4. Select a device or model.

  5. In the details pane, go to the External Links section.

  6. Mouse-over the name of the link to reveal the edit and delete icons.

  7. Click the appropriate icon to edit or delete the external link and confirm your action.

The external link is successfully edited or deleted from the device or model device configuration.

This task allows you to modify or remove external links from multiple devices simultaneously, providing efficient management of device connections across your network inventory.

External links provide additional connectivity and reference points for devices in your network. When managing multiple devices, you may need to update or remove these links to maintain accurate device configurations and improve network organization.

Follow these steps to edit or delete external links for multiple devices:

Procedure

  1. In the left pane, click Security Devices.

  2. Click the Devices tab to locate the device or the Templates tab to locate the model device.

  3. Click the appropriate device type tab.

    You can use the filter and search functionalities to find the required devices.

  4. Select multiple devices or models.

  5. In the details pane, on the right, go to the External Links section.

  6. Mouse-over the name of the link to reveal the edit and delete icons.

  7. Click the appropriate icon to edit or delete the external link and confirm your action.

The external links for the selected devices are updated or removed based on your chosen action. The changes are applied immediately to all selected devices.