Full English Description for Cisco PIX 515
1. Official Short Order Description (Datasheet Standard Format)
Cisco PIX 515: Modular 1U rack-mount mid-range stateful inspection security appliance from Cisco PIX 500 Series, predecessor to the enhanced PIX 515E refresh model. Equipped with two onboard 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports plus two field-upgradable PCI expansion slots for additional FE/VPN accelerator cards, running Cisco PIX OS 5.x / 6.x (limited PIX OS 7.x compatibility with memory upgrade). Powered by Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm (ASA), it delivers stateful SPI firewall, IPsec site-to-site & remote access VPN, inline IDS intrusion detection, NAT/PAT, VoIP fixup protocol inspection, multi-zone DMZ segmentation, and stateful failover high availability. Performance: up to 170 Mbps cleartext firewall throughput, 130,000 concurrent TCP/UDP connections, licensed in Base (R) and Unrestricted (UR) tiers supporting different interface counts, VPN tunnel capacity and failover modes. Managed via serial CLI, embedded PIX Device Manager (PDM) web GUI, Cisco Secure Policy Manager (CSPM), SNMP v1/v2 and Syslog. Fully End-of-Sale and End-of-Support legacy hardware, superseded by PIX 515E and later ASA 5500 Series firewallsCisco.
2. Complete Detailed Product Overview
Product Line Positioning
Released as the core mid-tier modular PIX platform for small-to-medium enterprise branch offices, the Cisco PIX 515 sits above desktop PIX-501/506/506E and below high-end PIX 525/535 chassis. It separates from the vintage PIX 510 by offering built-in Fast Ethernet ports, PDM graphical web management, native failover support and expandable PCI slots for multi-segment DMZ deployments.
The PIX 515 shares identical PIX OS feature codebase with the PIX 515E, differing only in slower 433 MHz Intel Celeron CPU and lower baseline throughput. It targets enterprise branch sites requiring flexible multi-interface segmentation (inside, outside, DMZ, management), scalable IPsec VPN aggregation, and redundant active/standby firewall failover without the cost of high-end PIX models. The platform reached End-of-Sale in 2004 and End-of-Support in 2011; no official firmware updates, bug fixes or Cisco technical support are available todayCisco.
Physical Hardware & Modular Port Architecture
Form Factor & Mechanical Specifications
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Standard 1U 19-inch rack-mount metal chassis; desktop-capable with optional rubber feet
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Single internal AC power supply (no redundant power supplies standard) with variable-speed cooling fan
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Front panel multi-color LED indicators: Power, System Fault, Per-port Link/Activity, VPN Tunnel Status
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Integrated physical security lock slot for anti-tampering protection
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Base hardware core: 433 MHz Intel Celeron processor, standard 64 MB SDRAM (field-upgradeable to 128 MB), fixed 16 MB flash storage for PIX OS, configurations and event logs
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Two PCI expansion slots for field-installable interface or VPN accelerator cards, maximum 6 total physical Ethernet interfaces after expansionCisco
Onboard Fixed Rear Panel Ports
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2 × Built-In 10/100 Fast Ethernet RJ45 Ports
Dual auto-negotiate copper ports pre-installed as default Inside trusted and Outside untrusted segments, Auto-MDI/MDIX cable detection.
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2 × PCI Expansion Slots
Compatible field-upgradeable cards:
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PIX-1FE: Single-port 10/100 Fast Ethernet RJ45 card
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PIX-4FE: Four-port 10/100 Fast Ethernet RJ45 card
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PIX-VAC: VPN Accelerator Card for hardware IPsec encryption offload
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RJ45 RS-232 Serial Console Port
Out-of-band CLI management at 9600 baud for initial bootstrap, password recovery and offline configuration editing.
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IEC AC Power Input Socket
Internal integrated power supply, 100–240V universal AC input.
Core Performance & Licensing Tiers
Throughput & Session Capacity
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Maximum cleartext stateful firewall throughput: 170 Mbps
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Maximum concurrent TCP/UDP connection table entries: 130,000
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IPsec VPN throughput (software-only):
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DES: 22 Mbps, 3DES: 12 Mbps
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IPsec VPN throughput with optional PIX-VAC hardware accelerator: up to 63 Mbps, 2000 simultaneous IPsec tunnelsCisco
Two Primary License SKUs
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PIX 515-R (Restricted Base License)
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Max 3 physical Ethernet interfaces
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Max 100 simultaneous IPsec VPN tunnels
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Supports only Active/Standby stateful failover (no Active/Active multi-context)
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Unlimited internal LAN host count, no user seat limitations
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PIX 515-UR (Unrestricted Premium License)
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Full support for up to 6 physical Ethernet interfaces via PCI expansion cards
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Max 200 simultaneous IPsec VPN tunnels
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Supports Active/Standby and Active/Active stateful failover
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Enables multi-context virtual firewall segmentation (PIX OS 7.x+)
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Required for DMZ multi-segment deployments with extra PCI interface cards
Full Integrated Security & Networking Feature Suite (PIX OS 5.x / 6.x, limited 7.x compatibility)
1. Stateful Inspection Firewall (Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm)
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Full stateful packet inspection tracking all TCP/UDP connection states to block invalid stateless traffic
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Static, dynamic and turbo access control lists (ACLs) for granular inbound/outbound traffic filtering
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Multi-vector DoS/DDoS flood mitigation, port scan detection and malformed packet blocking
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Layer 7 fixup protocol inspection engines for FTP, H.323, SIP, SCCP Skinny, RTSP, NetBIOS to preserve NAT traversal for VoIP and multimedia workloads
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Transparent firewall mode support starting in PIX OS 7.x (requires 128 MB RAM upgrade)
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Third-party URL web content filtering integration for outbound web access control
2. Standards-Based IPsec VPN Suite
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Site-to-site LAN-to-LAN IPsec tunnels for inter-branch private connectivity over public internet
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Remote access IPsec VPN for Cisco VPN Client teleworker tunnels back to corporate headquarters
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IKEv1 key exchange protocol, compatible with DES, 3DES, AES encryption and MD5/SHA-1 authentication
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X.509 digital certificate enrollment via SCEP for scalable multi-site VPN deployments
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GRE tunnel encapsulation for routed non-IPsec traffic across VPN links
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Optional PIX-VAC hardware acceleration card to boost VPN throughput and tunnel scale
3. NAT & Broadband Networking Services
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Static one-to-one NAT, dynamic NAT pools, PAT port address translation to share a single public IP across hundreds of internal devices
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Native PPPoE client for DSL broadband ISP authentication and dynamic public IP assignment (PIX OS 6.x+)
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Local DHCP server supporting up to 256 internal IP address leases for LAN endpoints
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Static routing and policy-based routing (PBR); IPv4-only native support (limited partial IPv6 in OS 7.x)
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Local DNS caching to reduce external DNS query latency
4. Intrusion Detection & Threat Defense
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Built-in inline IDS engine with 55+ predefined attack signatures to detect worms, exploits and brute-force network scanning
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Automatic dynamic host blocking to quarantine malicious source IP addresses after detected security events
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Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (URPF) anti-spoof filtering to block forged source IP packets
5. AAA Access Control & Audit Logging
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Complete AAA authentication, authorization and accounting via external RADIUS and TACACS+ servers
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Local user credential database for standalone device administrative login
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Persistent local event logging + remote Syslog export to external SIEM/log servers for compliance audit trails
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SNMP v1/v2 monitoring for device health, traffic utilization and fault alert reporting
Management & Configuration Tools
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PIX CLI Console: Traditional Cisco IOS-style command-line interface via serial console or SSH remote access
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PIX Device Manager (PDM v3.x): Embedded HTTPS web-based graphical GUI for single-device visual configuration, real-time traffic charts and security event reporting (not supported on vintage PIX 510)
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Cisco Secure Policy Manager (CSPM): Centralized enterprise policy management platform for bulk multi-PIX deployment orchestration
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TFTP server image backup/restore for firmware OS and full configuration file archiving
Key Differentiators vs Related PIX Models
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vs PIX 510: Newer generation, built-in 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports, PDM web GUI support, higher throughput, failover capability, 16 MB flash memory, larger connection table capacity
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vs PIX 515E: Slower 433 MHz CPU (433 MHz vs upgraded 600 MHz on 515E), lower baseline VPN throughput, identical feature set and PCI expansion architecture
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vs PIX-501/506/506E: Modular rack-mount chassis with expandable PCI slots, unlimited host licensing, higher concurrent sessions and VPN tunnel capacity, multi-DMZ multi-interface segmentation support
Typical Historical Deployment Scenarios
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Medium enterprise branch office multi-segment internet edge firewall with dedicated DMZ for web, email and application servers
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Regional corporate IPsec VPN hub aggregating hundreds of remote retail and satellite office tunnels
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Small service provider colocation multi-tenant boundary security gateway with isolated customer VLAN segments
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Active/Standby redundant firewall pair for business continuity and zero-traffic-loss failover
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Legacy network lab training platform for PIX OS stateful firewall, IDS and multi-site IPsec VPN architecture
3. E-commerce Short Marketing Description
Cisco PIX 515 Modular 1U Rack-Mount Stateful Inspection Firewall, mid-range PIX 500 Series security appliance with two onboard 10/100 FE ports + two PCI expansion slots for extra interfaces/VAC VPN accelerator cards, running PIX OS 5.x / 6.x. Available in Restricted (R) and Unrestricted (UR) license tiers, delivering stateful SPI firewall, IPsec site-to-site/remote access VPN, inline IDS intrusion detection, NAT/PAT, PPPoE broadband support and stateful failover high availability. Up to 170 Mbps cleartext throughput, 130,000 concurrent TCP/UDP sessions, managed via serial CLI, PDM web GUI and CSPM centralized policy manager. Obsolete end-of-support modular enterprise branch firewall, predecessor to enhanced PIX 515E refresh model.
4. Product Catalog Keyword Tags
Cisco, PIX 515, PIX 500 Series Modular Enterprise Security Appliance, Legacy Stateful Inspection Firewall, 1U 19-inch Rack-Mount Chassis, 2 Onboard 10/100 Fast Ethernet Ports, 2 PCI Expansion Slots (1FE/4FE/VAC VPN Accelerator), 433 MHz Intel Celeron CPU, 64/128 MB SDRAM, 16 MB Flash Memory, Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm ASA, PIX OS 5.x / 6.x (Limited 7.x Compatibility), Stateful Packet Inspection SPI, IPsec IKEv1 Site-to-Site & Remote Access VPN, DES/3DES/AES Encryption, Optional VAC Hardware VPN Acceleration, Inline IDS Intrusion Detection System, NAT PAT Static Dynamic Address Translation, PPPoE DSL Broadband Client, VoIP Fixup Protocol Inspection, AAA RADIUS TACACS+ Authentication, PDM PIX Device Manager Web GUI, Cisco Secure Policy Manager CSPM, Syslog SNMP v1/v2 Monitoring, 170 Mbps Max Cleartext Throughput, 130,000 Concurrent TCP/UDP Connections, Restricted R / Unrestricted UR License Tiers, Stateful Active/Standby Active/Active Failover, Multi-Segment DMZ Support, Unlimited Internal Host License, End-of-Sale End-of-Support Obsolete Hardware, Predecessor to PIX 515E Enhanced Refresh Model, Multi-Tenant Branch Internet Edge Firewall
Naming Rule Explanation
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PIX: Private Internet Exchange, Cisco legacy dedicated firewall product family, fully replaced by ASA Adaptive Security Appliance line
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515: Mid-range modular rack-mount model number within the PIX 500 enterprise branch sub-series
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No suffix base model: Original baseline hardware; PIX 515E = enhanced refresh variant with faster 600 MHz CPU and improved throughput
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Hardware Distinction: The PIX 515 is a modular expandable rack-mount platform supporting multi-DMZ segmentation and hardware VPN acceleration, unlike fixed-port desktop PIX-501/506 series designed exclusively for small single-LAN SOHO environments.
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