Velocity Reviews - Pix 515 vs. ASA 5500

In article <1172068768.960038.188400@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups .com>,
<peter.boynton@abatec.es> wrote:

>We try to price a PIX 515 R DMZ model today with our local provider
>in Madrid. They said they still could get the 515 but would rather
>sell us the ASA 5510 because according to them Cisco is fazing out the
>PIX line.

>Questions.
>1. Is this true?

It would not be unexpected.

>2. If I can configure the 515 without too many problems how easy/hard
>will the ASA 5510 be.

Except for a few items not implemented on the ASA yet, the ASA uses
the same command language as PIX 7.x.

>3. Are there real advantages to going with the ASA?

Newer, faster, support for additional features, more likely to live on.

>4. Would I be dumb to sick with the PIX?

>Like I said we have certain experience with the PIX line and it has
>been our company standard. We don't have too much time to get trained
>on new equipment so we dont know who to believe.

If you are starting from PIX 6, then ASA is noticably different --
but then so would be the PIX 7 that would arrive on the PIX 515E.

My understanding is that there are a couple of PIX 6 features that
haven't -yet- made it into PIX 7 / ASA 7, mostly having to do with
PPTP and L2TP.

But what you should watch out for is the pricing / licensing model.
The ASA line has features that have to be licensed seperately,
and optional modules. The brochures about what all is available on
the ASA line are sales brochures, a bit blurry as to what is
included in the base device and what you have to pay extra for.

Also, the top end ASA at the moment is (last time I checked) about
twice as fast as a PIX 525, but substantially slower than a PIX 535.
Check the performance ratings --- and check again if you intend to
use any of the differentiating features such as the anti-X features,
as those cannot keep up with the base firewall / VPN configurations.

I haven't checked the performance figures for a couple of months;
my recollection is that the device corresponding in performance
to the 515E is the model -after- the 5510.