Introduction

This book focuses on the complete product line of Cisco firewalls: the PIX and ASA Security Appliance families, the Catalyst Firewall Services Module (FWSM), and the Cisco IOS firewall. Of the many sources of information and documentation about Cisco firewalls, very few provide a quick and portable solution for networking professionals.

This book is designed to provide a quick and easy reference guide for all the features that can be configured on any Cisco firewall, not just the PIX. In essence, an entire bookshelf of firewall documentation, along with other networking reference material, has been "squashed" into one handy volume that you can take with you.

This book covers only the features that can be used for stateful traffic inspection and overall network security. Although Cisco firewalls can also support VPN functions, those subjects are not covered here. They are presented in their entirety in Cisco IPSec VPN Handbook (ISBN 1-58705-203-2). There, IPSec topics are presented for Cisco Security Appliances, VPN-capable routers and switches running the Cisco IOS software, and the Cisco 3000 VPN Concentrator familyall shown together for comparison.

NOTE

This book is based on the most current Cisco firewall software releases available at press time. PIX firewalls are presented according to Releases 7.0 and 6.3, FWSM according to Release 2.3, and the IOS firewall according to the 12.3 major release. If you are using an earlier version of this software, you might find that the configuration commands differ slightly.

At press time, Cisco began using different terminology: PIX firewalls became known as PIX security appliances. This new terminology has been incorporated in this book where appropriate. However, the term firewall is still most applicable, because this book deals with both appliances and embedded modules. As you read this book, keep in mind that the terms firewall and security appliance are used interchangeably.