The Cisco Security Options

Cisco provides IOS options and hardware products to help secure your network and make securing the network easier. The router IOS now has a number of security options, such as virtual private network (VPN) capabilities and integration with intrusion detection system (IDS) sensors and the firewall feature set.

Each of the different security options is also available as a separate security appliance; typically, an appliance is another piece of hardware designed for a specific task. Some of the different appliances follow:

• VPN concentrators and hardware clients An appliance designed specifically for encryption and decryption to offload the work from routers, servers, workstations, and other infrastructure devices.

• IDSs Available to examine traffic passing along the wire looking for known signatures of attacks as well as other anomalies. One IDS option is an add-on card for the 6500 catalyst switch, a separate appliance for critical servers, known as a host-based IDS.

• PIX Firewall The PIX Firewall uses its own proprietary operating system, featuring a stateful packet-inspecting system based on the Adaptive Security Algorithm (ASA), cut-through proxy, hot standby, and failover capabilities.