Full English Description for Cisco ASA5585-X-SSP40-K9 (ASA 5585-X SSP-40 Security Plus Unrestricted K9 Bundle)
1. Official Short Order Description
Cisco ASA5585-X-SSP40-K9: High-performance 2RU rack-mount modular next-generation Adaptive Security Appliance (NGFW) from Cisco ASA 5585-X series, quad-core SSP-40 security services processor blade with permanent Security Plus K9 unrestricted license. Equipped with 6 built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit copper ports, 4 native SFP+ 10GE fiber uplink slots, dedicated Fast Ethernet out-of-band management port, one half-width empty SSP expansion slot for optional FirePOWER NGIPS SSP or CX unified content security blades, dual redundant hot-swappable AC power supply bays, running ASA OS 8.x / final supported ASA OS 9.1 firmwareCisco. Built on Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm, it delivers wire-speed stateful SPI firewall, full DES/3DES/AES hardware-accelerated IKEv1/IKEv2 IPsec/DMVPN/FlexVPN, AnyConnect Premium SSL/DTLS remote access VPN, NAT/PAT, unified communications TLS proxy, VoIP fixup inspection, multi-context virtual firewalls, and dual Active/Standby & Active/Active stateful failover with native multi-chassis firewall/VPN clustering. Performance benchmarks: up to 20 Gbps real-world jumbo frame stateful firewall throughput (10 Gbps multiprotocol HTTP), 4,000,000 maximum concurrent TCP/UDP connections, 200,000 new connections per second, 3 Gbps full 3DES/AES VPN throughput, supporting 10,000 simultaneous IPsec IKE peers and 1024 logical routed VLAN interfacesCisco. K9 license removes all DES-only crypto limitations, unlocks unlimited TLS proxy sessions, full multi-context segmentation and complete dual-mode high availability/clustering functions. Managed via serial console, embedded ASDM web GUI, Cisco Security Manager (CSM), Syslog and SNMPv3. Fully End-of-Sale (Aug 25, 2017) and End-of-Support (Aug 31, 2022) obsolete hardware, superseded by Firepower 4100/9300 modular NGFW platformsCisco.
2. Complete Detailed Product Overview
Product Line Positioning
The Cisco ASA5585-X-SSP40-K9 is the high-performance flagship modular chassis of the ASA 5585-X datacenter NGFW family, positioned above mid-tier SSP-20 models and below top-of-line SSP-60 variants. Designed for tier-1 service provider central office backbone peering gateways, hyperscale multi-tenant MSP colocation boundaries, and ultra-large enterprise multi-datacenter core security edges requiring high-density native 10GE fiber uplinks, massive concurrent session scale, expandable integrated FirePOWER threat defense blades and unrestricted enterprise strong crypto capabilitiesCisco.
The K9 suffix stands for factory pre-activated full Security Plus unrestricted license, eliminating all DES-only limitations of K8 base SKUs, enabling unlimited TLS proxy capacity, maximum multi-context virtual firewall segmentation, and load-balanced Active/Active failover for distributed multi-customer traffic isolation. The ASA 5585-X platform reached End-of-Sale August 25, 2017 and End-of-Support August 31, 2022; no official firmware patches, vulnerability fixes or Cisco TAC technical support are available today, replaced by modern Firepower modular security appliancesCisco.
Physical Hardware & Dual Half-Width SSP Modular Architecture
Form Factor & Mechanical Specifications
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Standard 2RU 19-inch rack-mount metal chassis, rack rails included; optional rubber feet for standalone desktop placement
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Dual hot-swappable redundant universal auto-switch AC power supply bays (100–240V 50/60Hz), dual power supplies factory standard on SSP-40 SKUsCisco
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Variable-speed intelligent redundant cooling fans with front-to-back airflow, NEBS Level 3 compliant for telecom rack deployment
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Front panel multi-color diagnostic LED array: Power, System Status Fault, SSP blade operational state, global traffic activity, PSU health, fan fault indicator
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Integrated physical security lock slot for anti-tampering protection
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Hardware core (SSP-40 firewall blade): Quad multi-core security processors, fixed 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 64 GB compact flash storage for ASA OS, configurations and persistent event logsCisco
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Two independent half-width SSP expansion slots: Slot0 pre-loaded SSP-40 firewall blade, Slot1 empty for optional matching FirePOWER NGIPS SSP or CX content security blades (SSP blades non-hot-swappable; power cycle required for replacement)
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Dual rear USB 2.0 ports for external flash configuration backup, firmware upgrades and log offloading
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Environmental compliance: 0°C to +40°C operating temperature, 10%–90% non-condensing humidity, altitude up to 3050m; UL 60950-1, CE, FCC Class A, FIPS 140-2 Level 1 certified
Rear Panel Fixed Port Layout
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6 × Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Auto-MDI/MDIX RJ45 Copper Ports (GigabitEthernet0/0 – 0/5)
Native copper Gigabit ports to deploy independent Inside trusted LAN, Outside untrusted WAN and multiple isolated DMZ server zones without extra I/O modules
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4 × SFP+ 10 Gigabit Fiber Slots (GigabitEthernet0/6 – 0/9)
Supports SFP+ transceivers for long-distance 10G backbone interconnections between datacenters or upstream carrier peering linksCisco
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1 × Dedicated 10/100 Fast Ethernet Out-of-Band Management Port (Management0/0)
Fully segregated management interface isolated from production data plane traffic for secure device administration, independent of routed security VLANs
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Single SSP Expansion Slot Bay
Compatible field-installable matching service blades:
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FirePOWER SSP-40: Integrated next-generation NGIPS, AVC application control, malware protection, URL filtering threat defense, NGIPS throughput up to 4000 MbpsCisco
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CX SSP-40: Unified content security (cloud web filtering, anti-spam, antivirus, anti-malware, user-based content control, maximum 7,500 licensed users)
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RJ45 RS-232 Serial Console Port
Out-of-band CLI management at default 9600 baud for initial bootstrap, password recovery and offline bulk configuration editing
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DB-15 Dedicated Inter-Chassis Stateful Failover Serial Port
Used for real-time session synchronization between redundant ASA5585-X chassis pairs to retain active VPN/NAT/UC sessions during sub-second traffic failover
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Dual IEC AC power input sockets for hot-swappable redundant power supply units
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Two rear USB 2.0 storage ports for external flash archival and OS image deployment
Core Performance & K9 Security Plus Full License Capabilities
Throughput & Connection Benchmarks (SSP-40 Blade)
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Maximum cleartext stateful firewall throughput: 10 Gbps multiprotocol HTTP, 20 Gbps jumbo frame throughputCisco
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Maximum concurrent TCP/UDP connection table entries: 4,000,000
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Maximum new connections per second: 200,000
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Maximum 64-byte packet forwarding rate: 5,000,000 packets per secondCisco
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IPsec VPN throughput (hardware-accelerated full 3DES/AES): Up to 3 Gbps
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NGIPS throughput with FirePOWER SSP-40 top-tier hardware module: Up to 4000 MbpsCisco
K9 Unrestricted License Exclusive Advantages vs ASA5585-X-SSP40-K8 Base DES License
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Encryption suite: Full native DES, 3DES-168, AES-128/AES-192/AES-256 strong enterprise crypto (K8 locked to DES weak encryption only)
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Simultaneous IPsec IKEv1/IKEv2 tunnels (site-to-site + remote access): Max 10,000 permanent peers (hard cap on K8)
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Logical routed VLAN interfaces: Up to 1024 separate security zones (identical hardware VLAN limit across K8/K9)
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TLS proxy sessions for encrypted SIP/SCCP unified communications inspection: Unlimited chassis-wide capacity (1000 hard cap on K8 base license)
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High Availability: Supports both stateless Active/Standby and load-balanced Active/Active multi-context failover (K8 limited to Active/Standby redundant pairs only)
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Multi-context virtual firewalls: Up to 250 independent isolated virtual security contexts (completely disabled on K8 DES license)
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Native multi-chassis firewall/VPN clustering and load balancing fully enabled for distributed WAN hub aggregationCisco
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AnyConnect Premium SSL/DTLS remote access peers: 10,000 permanent factory licensed concurrent sessions
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Internal LAN host capacity: Unlimited, no hard-coded user count throttling
Full Integrated Security & Networking Feature Suite (ASA OS 8.x / 9.1 Final Supported Release)
1. Stateful Adaptive Security Algorithm Firewall
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Wire-speed full stateful packet inspection tracking all TCP/UDP connection states to eliminate stateless filter bypass attacks
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Object-group based inbound/outbound ACLs for granular multi-zone traffic permission/denial rule management
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Multi-vector enterprise-grade DoS/DDoS mitigation: SYN flood protection, port scan detection, full TCP normalization, malformed packet filtering, IP spoof suppression
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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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Native Transparent Layer 2 firewall mode for inline datacenter security deployment without network re-addressing
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Third-party URL web content filtering integration (expandable via optional CX SSP blade)
2. Standards-Based Multi-Protocol VPN Suite
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Site-to-site LAN-to-LAN IPsec tunnels for secure inter-datacenter private backbone connectivity over public internet
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Remote access IPsec VPN for legacy Cisco VPN Client software teleworker tunnels
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Clientless SSL VPN + AnyConnect Premium SSL/DTLS remote access for browser/software-based global mobile workforce connectivity (10,000 permanent concurrent sessions)
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Dual IKEv1/IKEv2 key exchange protocol support, full X.509 digital certificate enrollment via SCEP for scalable multi-site enterprise deployments
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GRE tunnel encapsulation for routed non-IPsec traffic across VPN fabrics
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Dedicated on-board hardware crypto acceleration to eliminate CPU bottlenecks for 10,000 concurrent IPsec tunnels
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Native multi-chassis VPN clustering and load balancing for distributed regional remote access hub deployments
3. Broadband & Datacenter Routing / NAT Services
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Static one-to-one NAT, dynamic NAT pools, PAT port address translation for multi-tenant public IP sharing
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Native PPPoE client for large-scale broadband ISP aggregation deployments
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Local DHCP server supporting up to 4096 internal IP address leases for wired LAN endpoints
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Static routing, policy-based routing (PBR), BGP, OSPF, EIGRP dynamic interior/exterior routing protocol support
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Dual-stack native IPv4 protocol stack, limited partial IPv6 functionality on ASA OS 9.1
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Local persistent DNS caching to reduce external DNS lookup latency and bandwidth consumption
4. Threat Defense & Unified Security Stack
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Base built-in IDS engine with hundreds of predefined exploit, worm and brute-force scan signatures; advanced next-generation IPS functionality requires matching optional FirePOWER SSP-40 blade
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Automatic dynamic host blacklisting to quarantine malicious source IP addresses after detected security breaches
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Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (URPF) strict/loose anti-spoof filtering to block forged source IP traffic in multi-tenant environments
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Persistent local flash event logging + remote Syslog export to centralized SIEM platforms for regulatory compliance audit trails
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Encrypted administrative access only: SSHv2 remote CLI, HTTPS ASDM web GUI, encrypted SNMPv3 secure device monitoring
5. AAA Access Control & Audit Logging
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Complete AAA authentication, authorization and accounting via external RADIUS and TACACS+ servers for multi-tenant segregated administrative access control
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Local user credential database for standalone device emergency administrative login
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Comprehensive logging architecture supporting buffered flash storage, USB flash log offloading and remote Syslog archival
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SNMPv3 secure monitoring for real-time device health, throughput utilization, PSU/fan fault and VPN tunnel status alert reporting
6. Application-Aware Hierarchical QoS & Bandwidth Management
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Four-level priority queuing to prioritize real-time voice/video unified communications over recreational streaming, SaaS and P2P file-sharing traffic
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Per-port bandwidth shaping and policing on all Gigabit copper/10GE fiber WAN/LAN/DMZ interfaces to eliminate congestion across multi-tenant segments
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DSCP marking preservation across IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels for consistent enterprise end-to-end QoS policy enforcement
Management & Configuration Tools
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ASA CLI Console: Full IOS-style command-line interface via serial console or encrypted SSHv2 remote access for bulk scripting and advanced troubleshooting
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Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM): Embedded HTTPS graphical web GUI for single-chassis visual configuration, real-time traffic utilization dashboards and security event reporting
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Cisco Security Manager (CSM): Centralized enterprise policy management platform for bulk multi-ASA deployment orchestration, mass firmware upgrades and cross-device compliance audit reporting
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TFTP + USB flash dual methods for OS firmware and full configuration backup/restore; offline config editing supported
Key Differentiators vs Related ASA Platforms
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vs ASA5585-X-SSP40-K8 Base DES License:
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Full unrestricted 3DES/AES strong encryption suite (K8 locked to DES weak encryption only)
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10,000 IPsec VPN peers / unlimited TLS proxy sessions vs K8’s 5,000 VPN / 1000 TLS hard cap
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Enables up to 250 multi-context virtual firewalls and Active/Active load-balanced failover (K8 lacks both core carrier-grade features)
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vs ASA5585-X-SSP20-K9 Mid-Tier Model: Quad-core SSP-40 processors (dual core on SSP-20), 4 GB memory (12 GB on SSP-20), 20 Gbps jumbo frame firewall throughput (10 Gbps on SSP-20), 4 million concurrent sessions (2 million on SSP-20), four native SFP+ 10GE slots (two on SSP-20)
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vs ASA5585-X-SSP60-K9 Top-Tier Model: Lower 20 Gbps throughput (40 Gbps on SSP-60), single standard power supply (dual redundant factory baseline on SSP-60), smaller memory footprint
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vs Legacy ASA5580-20B/40B-K9: Compact 2RU chassis with native integrated 10GE SFP+ ports (ASA5580 requires separate I/O expansion cards), dual SSP modular slots for integrated FirePOWER IPS blades, unified ASA/FirePOWER coexistence architecture
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vs Fixed-port ASA5550-K8/K9: Modular dual-blade expandable chassis with native 10GE fiber ports, massive 4 million concurrent sessions, support for integrated FirePOWER threat defense blades
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vs Discontinued PIX-535: Modern unified ASA OS architecture, native IPv6 support, ASDM graphical GUI, AnyConnect SSL VPN capability, modular IPS expansion and flexible multi-context virtual segmentation
Typical Historical Deployment Scenarios
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Tier-1 service provider central office backbone security gateway aggregating thousands of wholesale enterprise IPsec VPN customer tunnels
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Ultra-large enterprise multi-datacenter core gigabit/10GE internet edge firewall with isolated multi-context DMZ zones for web, email, database and cloud application servers
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Large MSP multi-tenant colocation boundary security appliance with independent multi-context virtual firewall segmentation for segregated customer network traffic
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Active/Active redundant chassis pair for load-balanced multi-tenant remote access SSL VPN services and zero-traffic-loss mission-critical disaster recovery continuity
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High-fidelity legacy network lab training platform for carrier-grade ASA OS stateful firewall, optional FirePOWER next-gen IPS, multi-context virtual firewalls and high-density 10GE datacenter security architecture learning
3. E-commerce Short Marketing Description
Cisco ASA5585-X-SSP40-K9 Security Plus Premium High-Performance 2RU Rack-Mount Gigabit Modular Adaptive Security Appliance, legacy ASA 5585-X series unrestricted K9 chassis with six built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit copper ports, four native SFP+ 10GE fiber uplinks, dedicated Fast Ethernet out-of-band management port and one empty half-width SSP expansion slot for FirePOWER IPS/CX unified content security blades, fully compatible with ASA OS 8.x / final supported ASA OS 9.1 firmware. K9 bundle unlocks full DES/3DES/AES strong encryption, unlimited internal host capacity, stateful SPI firewall, IPsec site-to-site/AnyConnect SSL remote access VPN, optional hardware inline NGIPS, NAT/PAT, PPPoE broadband aggregation, VoIP unified communications TLS proxy inspection, multi-context virtual firewalls and dual Active/Standby/Active/Active stateful failover with native chassis clustering. Up to 20 Gbps jumbo frame cleartext firewall throughput, 4,000,000 concurrent TCP/UDP sessions and 10,000 simultaneous IPsec VPN tunnels with hardware crypto offload, managed via serial CLI, embedded ASDM web GUI and Cisco Security Manager. Obsolete end-of-support high-performance carrier/data center modular firewall for tier-1 ISP central office PoPs, hyperscale multi-tenant MSP colocation and ultra-large enterprise multi-datacenter VPN aggregation deployments.
4. Product Catalog Keyword Tags
Cisco, ASA5585-X-SSP40-K9, ASA 5500-X Series High-Performance Security Plus Adaptive Security Appliance, Legacy Modular Next-Generation Stateful Inspection Firewall, 2RU 19-inch Rack-Mount Chassis, Dual Hot-Swappable Redundant AC Power Supplies, 6 × 10/100/1000 Gigabit Copper Auto-MDI/MDIX Ports, 4 × SFP+ 10GE Fiber Uplink Slots, Dedicated FastEthernet Out-of-Band Management 0/0 Port, Dual Half-Width Non-Hot-Swap SSP Expansion Slots, Pre-Loaded Quad-Core SSP-40 Firewall Blade, Optional Matching FirePOWER SSP-40 NGIPS / CX SSP-40 Content Security Blades, Dual USB 2.0 Storage Ports, RJ45 Serial Out-of-Band Console Port, DB-15 Inter-Chassis Stateful Failover Serial Port, Multi-Core High-Speed x86 Security Processor, 4096 MB DDR2 SDRAM, 64 MB Compact Flash Storage, Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm ASA, ASA OS 8.x / 9.1 Final Supported Firmware, Stateful Packet Inspection SPI, 10 Gbps Max Multiprotocol HTTP Firewall Throughput, 20 Gbps Jumbo Frame Throughput, 3 Gbps Hardware-Accelerated 3DES/AES VPN Throughput, IPsec IKEv1/IKEv2 DMVPN FlexVPN Site-to-Site & AnyConnect SSL/DTLS Remote Access VPN, Full DES/3DES-AES Unrestricted Strong Encryption Suite, Optional FirePOWER SSP-40 Next-Generation Inline NGIPS Intrusion Prevention System, CX SSP Unified Web Filter/Anti-Spam/Anti-Virus Content Security, NAT PAT Static Dynamic Address Translation, PPPoE DSL Broadband Aggregation Client, VoIP H.323 SIP SCCP Skinny Fixup Protocol Inspection, Transparent Layer 2 Firewall Mode, Multi-Context Virtual Firewall Segmentation (Up to 250 Independent Contexts), Active/Standby & Active/Active Load-Balanced Stateful Failover Redundancy, Native Multi-Chassis Firewall/VPN Clustering & Load Balancing, 1024 Logical Routed VLAN Maximum (Security Plus License), 10,000 Max Simultaneous IPsec VPN Peers, Unlimited TLS Proxy UC Sessions, 4,000,000 Concurrent TCP/UDP Connections, ASDM Adaptive Security Device Manager Embedded Web GUI, Cisco Security Manager CSM Centralized Enterprise Policy Orchestration, Syslog SNMPv3 Secure Monitoring, Dual-Stack IPv4 / Limited IPv6 Native Support, Application-Aware Hierarchical QoS Scheduling, NEBS Level 3 FIPS 140-2 Level 1 Telecom Certified, End-of-Sale Aug 25 2017 End-of-Support Aug 31 2023 Obsolete Legacy Hardware, Security Plus K9 Unrestricted Upgrade Over ASA5585-X-SSP40-K8 DES Base License, Predecessor to ASA 5545-X Next-Generation Firewall Series, Tier-1 Service Provider Backbone PoP Multi-Tenant Boundary Firewall, Hyperscale MSP Multi-Tenant Colocation Security Gateway, Large-Scale 10,000-Session AnyConnect SSL & IPsec VPN Aggregation Hub
Naming Rule Explanation
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ASA: Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco post-PIX unified firewall product family integrating stateful firewall, VPN and optional next-generation IPS threat defense services
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5585-X: Modular 2RU datacenter-focused chassis model within the legacy ASA 5500-X next-generation firewall series, supporting dual interchangeable SSP processing blades for scalable performance
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SSP40: SSP-40 security services processor blade identifier, high-performance quad-core firewall blade with 4 GB memory and 20 Gbps jumbo frame stateful throughput
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K9: Premium unrestricted Security Plus license identifier unlocking full 3DES/AES strong encryption, unlimited TLS proxy sessions, maximum multi-context virtual firewalls and Active/Active load-balanced failover; contrasted with K8 base DES-only limited license
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Hardware Distinction Note: The ASA5585-X-SSP40-K9 uses a dual-slot modular chassis design supporting mixed firewall + FirePOWER IPS blade deployments, a key difference from fixed-port ASA 5500 series hardware. All ASA5585-X hardware is fully obsolete with no official Cisco firmware updates, vulnerability patches or TAC technical support available today.
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