Cisco ASA 5505 vs Cisco ASA 5510
Which one is better?
As usual, it depends on what you need, but read on for our opinions.
Up front, we’ll mention that the 5505 is considerably less expensive than the 5510. Pricing is trending downward, so send a quick email for current pricing.
Cisco ASA 5505 vs Cisco ASA 5510 current pricing request.
Primary differences:
- 5505 can switchport trunk with security plus license, 5510 uses subinterfaces to trunk.
- 5510 supports more encrypted/unencrypted throughput.
- 5505 doesn’t support stateful failover. Failover is possible, but is stateless active/standby failover. but if needed, you are better off moving up to the 5520.
- 5505 is not rack mounted. PN ASA5505-RACK-MNT= is a rack mount kit, but it’s not a perfect 1U fit.
- The 5510 just has more grunt to handle additional connections, throughput and users. Functionally they are about identical.
- The 5510 supports HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) , whereas the 5505 does not.
- The 5505 has more physical interfaces (including two PoE ports). The 5510 has only four physical interfaces.
More on the extra interfaces on the 5505:
The thinking behind the 5505 having more interfaces is that it is designed more as a branch office device. This will allow the extra switchports to function not only as a firewall and router, but also as a switch, making it more like an all-in-one device.
So, if your environment required a 5510 you would already have a separate switch and would not need the ASA to do the switching.
Do you have other differences or disagree with ours? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this page.
Not sure what you need? Give us a quick call and we will help you decide which is best for you: 855-932-6627
Cisco ASA 5505 and 5510
| Cisco ASA 5505 | Cisco ASA 5510 | |
|---|---|---|
| Users/Nodes | 10, 50, or unlimited | Unlimited |
| Firewall Throughput | Up to 150 Mbps | Up to 300 Mbps |
| Max Firewall and IPS Throughput | Up to 150 Mbps with AIP-SSC-5 | Up to 150 Mbps with AIP-SSM-10 or 300Mbps with AIP-SSM-20 |
| 3DES/AES VPN Throughput | Up to 100 Mbps | Up to 170 Mbps |
| IPsec VPN Peers | 10; 25 | 250 |
| Premium AnyConnect VPN Peers | 2 included / 25-or more max | 2 included / 250 max |
| Concurrent Connections | 10,000; 25,000 | 50,000; 130,000 |
| New Connections/Second | 4000 | 9000 |
| Integrated Network Ports | 8-port Fast Ethernet switch (including 2 PoE ports) | 5 Fast Ethernet ports; 2 Gigabit Ethernet + 3 Fast Ethernet ports |
| VLANs | 3/20 (with trunking support) | 50/100 |
| Security Contexts | 0 | max 5 with Security Plus |
| Expansion Slot | 1, SSC | 1, SSM |
| Flash Slot | 0 | 1 |
| USB 2.0 Ports | 3 | 2 |
| Serial Ports | 1 RJ-45 console | 2 RJ-45, console and auxiliary |
| Memory | 512 MB | 1 GB |
| Minimum System Flash | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Form Factor | Desktop or ASA5505-RACK-MNT= | 1 RU, 19-in. rack-mountable |