Introduction

So far, we have performed virtually all administration on the PIX firewall through the command-line interface, or CLI. In addition to the CLI for configuration and monitoring, the PIX firewall also supports a graphical user interface (GUI). Using PIX Device Manager (PDM), an administrator can use a Web browser to install, configure, and maintain the PIX firewall.

PDM is a Java-based GUI used to manage the Cisco PIX firewall. PDM is a software image that runs from flash memory on the PIX firewall, enabling administrative access via a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encrypted HTTPS session. PDM replaces PIX Firewall Manager (PFM) software, which was available in PIX software version 5.3( x) and some earlier versions. PDM allows firewall administrators to work from a variety of authorized workstations configured with a compliant browser and includes nearly all PIX CLI functionality. For example, using PDM, administrators can add, modify, and delete firewall rule sets, configure network address translation (NAT), or set up a VPN.

In addition to altering PIX configurations, PDM facilitates administrative monitoring of the PIX firewall through powerful graph and table displays for near-real-time insight into PIX performance.

In this chapter, you will learn how to install and enable PDM, specifically version 2.1. You will then learn how to use PDM's GUI to configure and monitor the PIX firewall.