Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Next-Generation Firewalls

Table Of Contents

Cisco ASA Compatibility

ASA and ASDM Compatibility

ASA and VPN Compatibility

ASA 5500 and Module Compatibility

ASA Services Module and Switch Compatibility

ASA 1000V Compatibility

ASA Memory Information

Memory Requirements

Memory Upgrade Kits

Viewing Flash Memory

DRAM, Flash Memory, and Failover or ASA Clustering

PIX 500 and ASDM Compatibility

Cisco ASA Compatibility

---

Updated: December 18, 2013

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 and VPN Compatibility

•ASA 5500 and Module Compatibility

•ASA Services Module and Switch Compatibility

•ASA 1000V Compatibility

•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 1000V
ASA 7.0	ASDM 5.0. Recommended: 5.0(8).	No	YES	No	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 7.1(1)	ASDM 5.1. Recommended: 5.1(2).	No	YES	No	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 7.1(2)	ASDM 5.1(2)	No	YES	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 7.2	ASDM 5.2. Recommended: 5.2(4).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(2)	ASDM 6.0(2) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(3)	ASDM 6.0(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(4)	ASDM 6.1(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.0(5)	ASDM 6.2(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.1(1)	ASDM 6.1(1) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	No	No	No	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.1(2)	ASDM 6.1(5) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	No	No	No	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.2(1)	ASDM 6.2(1) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.2(2)	ASDM 6.2(5) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.2(3)	ASDM 6.3(4) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.2(4)	ASDM 6.3(5) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.2(5)	ASDM 6.4(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.3(1)	ASDM 6.3(1) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.3(2)	ASDM 6.3(2) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	No	No	No
ASA 8.4(1)	ASDM 6.4(1) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.4(2)	ASDM 6.4(5) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.4(3)	ASDM 6.4(7) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.4(4.1)1	ASDM 6.4(9) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.4(5)	ASDM 7.0(2) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.4(6)	ASDM 7.1(2.102) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.4(7)	ASDM 7.1(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	No	No
ASA 8.5(1)	ASDM 6.5(1).	No	No	No	No	No	No	YES	No
ASA 8.6(1)	ASDM 6.6(1).	No	No	No	No	YES	No	No	No
ASA 8.7(1.1)2	ASDM 6.7(1).	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	YES
ASA 9.0(1)	ASDM 7.0(1) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No
ASA 9.0(2)	ASDM 7.1(2) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No
ASA 9.0(3)	ASDM 7.1(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No
ASA 9.1(1)	ASDM 7.1(1) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No
ASA 9.1(2)	ASDM 7.1(3) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No
ASA 9.1(3)	ASDM 7.1(4) and later. Recommended: 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No
ASA 9.1(4)	ASDM 7.1(5).	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	No

1 Version 8.4(4) was removed from Cisco.com due to build issues; please upgrade to Version 8.4(4.1) or later. 2 Version 8.7(1) was removed from Cisco.com due to build issues; please upgrade to Version 8.7(1.1) or later.

ASA and VPN Compatibility

See the following document:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/compatibility/asa-vpn-compatibility.html

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	ASA Advanced Inspection and Prevention (AIP) SSC-5	6.22	ASA 8.2(1) and later
ASA 5510	ASA 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
		7.1	ASA 8.0(2) and later
	ASA 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
	ASA 4GE SSM	N/A	ASA 7.0(4) and later
ASA 5520	ASA 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
		7.1	ASA 8.0(2) and later
	ASA AIP SSM-40	6.0(4)	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
		7.1	ASA 8.0(4) and later
	ASA 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
	ASA 4GE SSM	N/A	ASA 7.0(4) and later
ASA 5540	ASA 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
		7.1	ASA 8.0(2) and later
	ASA AIP SSM-40	6.0(4)	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
		7.1	ASA 8.0(4) and later
	ASA 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
	ASA 4GE SSM	N/A	ASA 7.0(4) and later
ASA 5550	No support (the ASA 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	ASA IPS SSP software module	7.1(3)	ASA 8.6(1) and later
		7.2	ASA 8.6(1) and later
	ASA CX SSP software module Requirements: Cisco solid state drive (SSD)	9.1	ASA 9.1(1) and later
		9.2	ASA 9.1(3)
ASA 5585-X6	ASA SSP-20 and -60 Requirements: Single ASA SSP in slot 0	(See ASA OS)	ASA 8.2(3) and later; 8.4(1) and later.
	ASA SSP-10 and -40 Requirements: Single ASA SSP in slot 0	(See ASA OS)	ASA 8.2(4) and later; 8.4(1) and later.
	ASA IPS SSP-10, -20, -40, and -60 Requirements: Install in slot 1, with matching-level ASA SSP in slot 0	7.1	ASA 8.2(5)7 and later; 8.4(2) and later.
		7.2	ASA 8.2(5) and later; 8.4(2) and later.
	Dual ASA SSPs for ASA SSP-40 and ASA SSP-60 Requirements: Matching-level for both SSPs	(See ASA OS)	ASA 8.4(2) and later
	Dual ASA SSPs for ASA SSP-10 and ASA SSP-20 Requirements: Matching-level for both SSPs	(See ASA OS)	ASA 9.0(1) and later
	ASA CX SSP-10 and -20 Requirements: Install in slot 1, with matching-level ASA SSP in slot 0	9.0	ASA 8.4(4.1) and later.
		9.1	ASA 9.1(1) and later.
		9.2	ASA 9.1(3)
	ASA CX SSP-40 and -60 Requirements: Install in slot 1, with matching-level ASA SSP in slot 0	9.2	ASA 9.1(3)
	•ASA 4-port 10G Network Module •ASA 8-port 10G Network Module •ASA 20-port 1G Network Module Requirements: Install one or two network modules in slot 1, with ASA SSP in slot 0:	N/A	ASA 8.4(4.1) and later; 9.1(2).

1 ASA Version 8.1 is supported only on the ASA 5580, which does not support modules. 2 IPS 7.0 and later 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 ASA 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 Switch Compatibility

Table 3 shows the switch hardware and software compatibility.

Table 3 Support for the ASASM

ASA Release	Switch Hardware	Supervisor Engine or Route Switch Processor	Cisco IOS Release
8.5(1) and later	Catalyst 6500-E	SUP 720-10GE with MSFC3 & PFC3C (VS-S720-10G-3C)	12.2(33)SXJ21 and later
		SUP 720-10GE with MSFC3 & PFC3CXL (VS-S720-10G-3CXL)
		SUP 720 with MSFC3 & PFC3B (WS-SUP720-3B)
		SUP 720 with MSFC3 & PFC3BXL (WS-SUP720-3BXL)
8.5(1.7) and later	Catalyst 6500-E	SUP 2T with MSFC5 & PFC4 (VS-S2T-10G)	15.0(1)SY1 and later
		SUP 2T with MSFC5 & PFC4XL (VS-S2T-10G-XL)
9.0(1) and later	Cisco 7606-S, 7609-S	RSP 720 with 10GE ports, MSFC4 & PFC-3C (RSP720-3C-10GE)	15.2(4)S2 or later
		RSP 720 with 10GE ports, MSFC4 & PFC-3CXL (RSP720-3CXL-10GE)
		RSP 720 with 2GE ports, MSFC4 & PFC-3C (RSP720-3C-GE)
		RSP 720 with 2GE ports, MSFC4 & PFC-3CXL (RSP720-3CXL-GE)
		SUP 720 with MSFC3 & PFC3B (WS-SUP720-3B)
		SUP 720 with MSFC3 & PFC3BXL (WS-SUP720-3BXL)
9.0(1) and later	Cisco 7604, 7609-S, 7613-S	SUP 2T with MSFC5 & PFC4 (VS-S2T-10G)	15.1(1)SY and later
		SUP 2T with MSFC5 & PFC4XL (VS-S2T-10G-XL)

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

ASA 1000V Compatibility

Table 4 ASA 1000V Compatibility 

ASA 1000V OS	ASDM	Nexus 1000V OS, with VSM1 and VEM2	VNMC3	VMware vCenter VSphere Hypervisor, Enterprise Plus	VMware vCenter Server and vSphere Client, Enterprise Plus
ASA 8.7(1.1)	ASDM 6.7(1)	Nexus 4.2(1)SV1(5.2)	VNMC 2.0	4.1, 5.0	4.1, 5.0

1 Virtual Supervisor Module. 2 Virtual Ethernet Module. 3 Cisco Virtual Network Management Center.

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 or ASA Clustering

Memory Requirements

Table 5 lists the standard and recommended flash memory and DRAM, as well as how the DRAM is allocated to firewall/VPN functionality and module functionality.

The ASA 5500-X models can run a software module such as the ASA IPS or ASA CX alongside the ASA firewall and VPN functions. For these models, DRAM is evenly and statically distributed between the Firewall/VPN functionality and the software module functionality, with 50% allocated to each. Memory for the software module is reserved even if you are not running a software module; you cannot use that memory for firewall and VPN functions. For other models with hardware modules, such as the ASA 5585-X, the modules include their own memory, so all of the ASA memory is used for firewall and VPN.

Note that the shipping DRAM increased after February 2010; the DRAM requirements for 8.3 and higher match the newer default shipping sizes. The newer default shipping DRAM is the current maximum DRAM you can install in your unit. See the "Memory Upgrade Kits" section to order an upgrade kit.

---

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.

---

---

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

---

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

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

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)

DRAM, Flash Memory, and Failover or ASA Clustering

In a failover or cluster configuration, the 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 or clustering chapters in the configuration guide.

---

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

---

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.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)

Copyright © 2008-2013 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.