Introduction

Cisco PIX firewalls offer world-class security and high levels of performance and reliability. They are a mature product, having been a part of enterprise and service provider networks since 1995. Cisco PIX firewalls can support small office/home office (SOHO) environments and large enterprises and service providers. This chapter introduces the Cisco PIX firewalls, and provides details on each model. This information is useful in determining which firewall is appropriate for your requirements.

The PIX provides a robust firewall that can protect your network from attacks, and can also restrict access to legitimate users and services. The PIX goes beyond its firewall nature by providing additional services such as encryption for data transported across insecure networks and basic intrusion detection.

Cisco PIX firewalls can be configured using a number of methods, including commands and web interfaces. Cisco also provides a graphical user interface (GUI [PIX Device Manager (PDM)]) for accomplishing most configurations.

Our goal in this chapter is to provide information that you can use to build a working PIX design, from initial planning to a robust configuration. We have gathered commands and built configurations that reflect common scenarios, to make this chapter particularly useful to you. The PIX has many practical features, and knowledge of these features will enable you to get the most out of your PIX.