Information AboutCisco Pix |
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Cisco PIX ('''P'''rivate '''I'''nternet E'''X'''change) is a Firewall originally designed by Brantley Coile and John Mayes of Network Translation, Inc. Their company was acquired in 1995 by Cisco Systems, Inc , who now sells the PIX technology and continues its development. The PIX became Cisco's flagship firewall product after their failed product, the Centri firewall, which ran on Windows NT 4. The PIX runs a custom-written proprietary Operating System originally called Finesse ('''F'''ast '''I'''nter'''NE'''t '''S'''erver '''E'''xecutive), but now the software is known simply as PIX OS. It is classified as a Network Layer Firewall with Stateful Inspection . By its design it allows internal connections out (outbound traffic), and only allows inbound traffic that is a response to a valid request or is allowed by an ACL (Access Control List) or a conduit. The PIX can be configured to perform many functions including NAT ( Network Address Translation ) and PAT ( Port Address Translation ). The PIX is constructed using Intel -based/Intel-compatible motherboards and Intel network Chipset s. The PIX 520 shares basic components, such as motherboard, chassis, NIC's, flash cards, etc, with the Cisco LocalDirector 416/420/430 and the Cisco Service Selector Gateway 6510 (SSG-6510), though each runs a different operating system. The PIX Boots off of a proprietary ISA Flash memory Daughtercard in the case of the PIX Classic, 10000, 510, 520, and 535, and it boots off of integrated flash memory in the case of the PIX 501, 506/506e, 515/515e, 525, and WS-SVC-FWM-1-K9. Due to the standard nature of the PIX's components, it is technically feasible to construct (but legally questionable to sell) a "frankenpix" from older computer parts that use the Intel chipset, such as motherboards and network cards. The only nonstandard part involved is the ISA flash card, from which the machine boots. Such cards may be acquired from people upgrading their PIX to a newer OS, as the newer PIX OS images won't fit on the 512kB or 2 MB flash cards found in the PIX Classic, PIX 10000, PIX 510, and PIX 520; except for the 501 and 506, which have 8 MB of flash, one must have at least 16 MB of flash to run versions 5.2 on up. The PIX technology is also sold in a Blade , the FireWall Services Module (FWSM, part code:WS-SVC-FWM-1-K9), for the Cisco Catalyst 6500 switch series and the 7600 Router series. Recently, Cisco has introduced the Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) which combines functionality from the PIX, VPN 3000 series and IDS product lines. The ASA series of devices run PIX code 7.0 and later. History and hardware/software specfications ---Information on models supported as of 6/27/2005 verified from Cisco's PIX Brochure (page 2) and the specific product pages Performance specifications ---Information on models supported as of 6/27/2005 verified from Cisco's PIX Brochure (page 2) and the specific product pages Footnotes Brantley Coile now operates Coraid , which designs and manufactures Network-attached_storage The "inside" port is connected to an internal, unmanaged, auto-polarity 4 port Switch . Restricted package / Unrestricted package limits (referred to by Cisco as R and UR/FO/FO-AA, respectively). For PIX-525 512Mb RAM not supported but it works. According to Cisco, the 1000baseSX card is not officially supported by the 515/515e, but it will work. VAC acceleration vs VAC+ (in parenthesis) acceleration (Implies Unrestricted package). Older 520's made before February 2000 and with a serial number less than 18025677 shipped with a 2 MB flash card. Newer 520's shipped with a 16 MB flash card. The WS-SVC-FWM-1-K9 blade has no fixed ports or internal expansion; it makes use of either VLAN interfaces (being used by physical interfaces on a remote switch) or the physical interfaces on the switch/router it is installed in. PIX Classic firewalls with a serial number of 06002015 or lower came with 512k flash. Newer models came with 2 MB flash. The WS-SVC-FWM-1-K9 blade only supports IPSec VPN for management. It doesn't have the ability to terminate a VPN connection for remote users. The PIX 520 received updated PII processors as they became available, starting with the PII 233 and ending with the PII 350. The Intel-manufactured SE440BX-2 ATX motherboard in the 520 can support any Slot1 processor from the Celeron Covington, Celeron Mendocino, Pentium II Klamath, Pentium II Deschutes, and the Pentium III Katmai families, as long as the cpu's use 2.0v core voltage and can run on a 66 or 100 MHz Fsb . You may also use 133MHz FSB cpu's, but they will run at slower speeds, for example a 933 MHz cpu for 133 MHz FSB will only run at 700 MHz. A Slotket can also be used to install the newer 500 MHz - 1.1 GHz Socket 370 Pentium III Coppermine cpu's, as long as the slotket provides a voltage regulator and manual bus speed selector. Some PIX 520 Firewalls may use the Intel AL440LX motherboard instead of the SE440BX-2. The AL440LX may be replaced by a SE440BX-2 or similar motherboard, but the BIOS needs to be re-configured. Cannot be easily upgraded, due to clearance issues with the top cover. In early 2005, Cisco indicated that PIX OS 7.x would only support the 515, 515e, 525, and 535, while a "stripped-down" version would eventually be released for the 501 and 506e. While not officially supported, it is actually possible to update the 506E to 7.x code by removing all GUI management software. Running the highest possible PIX OS version requires the use of the PIX-FLASH-16 MB flash card, as the 5.2 through 6.3 train won't fit on a 512KB or 2 MB flash card. Shows flash chips on the 2 MB flash card versus the chips on the 16 MB flash card. Various models of the 525 use different flash chips, probably due to differing production runs. Shows flash chips on the 512KB flash card versus the chips on the 2 MB flash card. While the PIX 535 boots off of the same ISA flash card as some PIX 510's and 520's (the PIX-FLASH-16 MB) its newer on-board PIX BIOS (version 4.x) overrides the PIX BIOS on the flash card (version 3.6) at boot. Since both the 510 and 520 have standard ATX motherboards, the PCI slot count can be higher or lower than the default if the motherboard is replaced with a different one. The performance figures cited here are highly changeable, as one can upgrade the CPU in the PIX 520 to a 1GHz Pentium III, which will considerably increase its throughput in all of the below categories, putting it on a level with the 525 and 535. List of PCI and ISA expansion cards for the PIX
See also
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