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Cisco ASA 5500 Series Configuration Guide using the CLI
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Introduction to the Cisco ASA 5500 Series
The ASA provides advanced Stateful Firewall and VPN concentrator functionality in one device, and for
some models, an integrated Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) module or an integrated Content Security
and Control (CSC) module. The ASA includes many advanced features, such as multiple security
contexts (similar to virtualized firewalls), transparent (Layer 2) firewall or routed (Layer 3) firewall
operation, advanced inspection engines, IPsec VPN, SSL VPN, clientless SSL VPN support, and many
more features.
This chapter includes the following sections:
Hardware and Software Compatibility, page1-1
VPN Specifications, page1-1
New Features, page1-1
Firewall Functional Overview, page1-24
VPN Functional Overview, page1-28
Security Context Overview, page1-29

Hardware and Software Compatibility

For a complete list of supported hardware and software, see the Cisco ASA Compatibility:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/compatibility/asamatrx.html

VPN Specifications

See Supported VPN Platforms, Cisco ASA 5500 Series:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/compatibility/asa-vpn-compatibility.html

New Features

This section includes the following topics:
New Features in Version 8.6(1), page1-2
New Features in Version 8.4(5), page1-4