Full English Description for Cisco ASA5516-FPWR-K9
1. Official Short Order Description
Cisco ASA5516-FPWR-K9: 1RU rack-mount mid-tier fixed-port next-generation Adaptive Security Appliance (NGFW) from Cisco ASA 5500-X FirePOWER integrated series, factory preloaded permanent Security Plus K9 unrestricted license with built-in FirePOWER threat defense hardware. Part number full definition:ASA 5516-X with FirePOWER Services, 8GE Data, 1GE Mgmt, AC, 3DES/AES. Equipped with 8 fixed 10/100/1000 Gigabit copper data ports + dedicated out-of-band Gigabit management port, single internal AC power supply, zero I/O expansion slots, running ASA OS up to final supported release 9.16(x). Built on Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm, it delivers wire-speed stateful SPI firewall, full hardware-accelerated DES/3DES/AES IKEv1/IKEv2 IPsec/DMVPN/FlexVPN, AnyConnect SSL/DTLS remote access VPN, AVC application visibility & control, integrated NGIPS intrusion prevention, NAT/PAT, unlimited TLS proxy for unified communications, VoIP fixup inspection, multi-context virtual firewalls, and dual-mode Active/Standby & Active/Active stateful failover with native multi-chassis VPN clustering. Performance benchmarks: up to 1.8 Gbps maximum stateful firewall throughput, 900 Mbps multiprotocol real-world HTTP throughput, 250,000 maximum concurrent TCP/UDP connections, 20,000 new connections per second, 250 Mbps full 3DES/AES VPN throughput, supporting 300 site-to-site IPsec tunnels, 300 AnyConnect remote access peers and 100 logical routed VLAN interfaces under K9 license. Managed via serial console, embedded ASDM web GUI, Cisco Security Manager (CSM), Firepower Management Center (FMC), Syslog and SNMPv3. Fully End-of-Sale August 2, 2021, End-of-Support August 31, 2026 obsolete legacy hardware, superseded by Firepower 1000 series rack-mount NGFWs, targeted at medium enterprise headquarters, multi-site regional branch VPN aggregation hubs and small MSP multi-tenant colocation perimeter security deploymentsCisco.
2. Complete Detailed Product Overview
Product Line Positioning
The Cisco ASA5516-FPWR-K9 is the official full PID variant of ASA5516-X-K9; the suffixFPWRexplicitly denotes the unit ships with integrated FirePOWER threat defense hardware pre-enabled at factory, distinguishing it from non-FirePOWER base ASA SKUs without native NGIPS support. It is a fixed-port rack-mount mid-tier NGFW in the ASA 5500-X branch portfolio, positioned between entry ASA5508-X fixed-port models and modular ASA5515-X variants. Its core differentiation is a fixed 8-port Gigabit copper design without field-upgradable fiber I/O slots, but with higher raw throughput and larger VPN session capacity than ASA5508-X, sharing the same base hardware platform as low-end 5506-X variants while boosting processor performance. It targets medium enterprise multi-segment internal networks, regional DMVPN central aggregation hubs and small managed security service providers requiring multi-context virtual segmentation for isolated customer traffic.
The K9 designation stands for factory pre-activated full Security Plus unrestricted license bundle, removing all DES-only weak crypto limitations of ASA5516-FPWR-K8 base SKUs, unlocking expanded VLAN count, unlimited TLS proxy capacity, multi-context virtual firewalls and dual-mode stateful failover. The ASA 5500-X FirePOWER platform reached End-of-Sale August 2, 2021 and End-of-Support August 31, 2026; Cisco no longer releases new feature firmware updates, but critical security patches remain available until the EoS dateCisco.
Physical Hardware & Fixed-Port Rack-Mount Architecture
Form Factor & Mechanical Specifications
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Standard 1RU 19-inch rack-mount metal chassis, rack mounting brackets included, dimensions 4.37 × 43.69 × 28.67 cm, total weight 3 kg with internal AC power supply.
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Single internal fan active cooling, typical acoustic noise 41.6 dBA, max 67.2 dBA, suitable for wiring closet and server rack deployment.
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Single universal internal AC power supply (100–240V 50/60Hz), no redundant PSU support, steady-state power draw 36W, heat dissipation 123 BTU/hr.
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Front panel multi-color diagnostic LED array: Power, System Health, FirePOWER Services operational status, failover state, Port Link/Activity indicators.
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Integrated physical security lock slot for anti-tampering protection.
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Hardware core: Single multi-core security processor, fixed 8 GB DDR4 system memory, 8 GB onboard system flash, 100 GB field-replaceable mSATA solid-state drive for ASA OS, FirePOWER rule databases, logs and configuration storageCisco.
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No modular I/O expansion slots, fully fixed 8-port copper layout without upgradeable fiber line cards.
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Single rear USB 2.0 Type-A port for external flash backup, firmware image upload and log offloading.
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Environmental compliance: 0°C to +40°C operating temperature, 10%–90% non-condensing relative humidity, altitude up to 3048m; FCC Class A, CE, UL 60950-1, FIPS 140-2 Level 1 certified.
ASA5516-FPWR-K9 Front/Rack View
Rear Panel Fixed Port Layout
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8 × Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Auto-MDI/MDIX RJ45 Copper Data Ports (GE0/0 – GE0/7)
Auto-crossover Gigabit ports configurable for internal corporate LAN, broadband WAN uplink, guest DMZ and segmented department subnets.
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1 × Dedicated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Out-of-Band Management Port (Management0/0)
Fully isolated management interface separated from production data plane traffic for secure device administration, shared for FirePOWER management communication.
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Dual Console Interfaces: RJ45 RS-232 Serial Console + Mini USB Console Port
Dual console access for initial bootstrap, password recovery and offline bulk configuration editing.
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Single USB 2.0 storage port, recessed hardware factory reset pushbutton.
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AC power input socket for integrated internal power supply.
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DB-15 dedicated inter-chassis stateful failover serial port for redundant firewall pair real-time session synchronization.
No Optional Expansion Hardware
Unlike modular ASA5512-X/5515-X variants, ASA5516-FPWR-K9 has zero I/O expansion slots; all FirePOWER threat defense functions are embedded onboard the base security processor chipset with no upgradeable external NGIPS blades.
Core Performance & K9 Security Plus Full License Capabilities
Throughput & Connection Benchmarks (Official Cisco Datasheet Specs)
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Maximum cleartext stateful firewall throughput: 1.8 Gbps
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Multiprotocol real-world HTTP throughput: 900 Mbps
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Maximum concurrent TCP/UDP connection table entries: 250,000 (20,000 hard cap on K8 base license)
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Maximum new connections per second: 20,000
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64-byte small packet forwarding rate: 750,000 packets per second
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Hardware-accelerated 3DES/AES IPsec VPN throughput: 250 Mbps
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AVC application control throughput: 850 Mbps
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Combined AVC + NGIPS threat inspection throughput: 450 Mbps
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Maximum simultaneous IPsec IKE security associations: 300 site-to-site tunnels + 300 AnyConnect remote access VPN peers
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Maximum logical routed VLAN interfaces: 100 independent security zones (50 VLAN hard limit on K8 base license)
Exclusive K9 License Advantages vs ASA5516-FPWR-K8 DES Base License
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Encryption suite: Full native DES, 3DES-168, AES-128/AES-192/AES-256 enterprise-grade strong encryption (K8 locked to weak DES crypto only).
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Logical routed VLANs: 100 independent security zones vs 5 VLAN hard limit on K8.
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TLS proxy sessions for encrypted SIP/SCCP unified communications inspection: Unlimited chassis-wide capacity (1000 hard cap on K8).
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High Availability: Supports both stateless Active/Standby and load-balanced Active/Active inter-chassis failover (HA fully disabled on K8 base license).
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Multi-context virtual firewalls: Up to 5 independent isolated virtual security contexts (virtual contexts disabled entirely on K8 DES license).
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Native multi-device VPN clustering and load balancing fully enabled for centralized branch remote access aggregation.
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AnyConnect Premium SSL/DTLS remote access peers: 300 permanent base seats, expandable via separate AnyConnect Plus/Apex subscription licenses.
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Internal LAN host endpoints: Unlimited, no hard-coded user count throttling.
Full Integrated Security & Networking Feature Suite (ASA OS 8.x / 9.16 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 risks.
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Object-group based inbound/outbound ACLs for granular multi-segment traffic permission/denial rule management.
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Multi-layer enterprise-grade DoS/DDoS mitigation: SYN flood suppression, port scan detection, full TCP normalization, malformed packet filtering, IP source spoof suppression.
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Layer 7 protocol fixup inspection engines for FTP, H.323, SIP, SCCP Skinny, RTSP, NetBIOS to maintain NAT traversal for VoIP and multimedia business workloads.
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Native Transparent Layer 2 firewall mode for inline branch security deployment without LAN IP re-addressing.
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Embedded FirePOWER Next-Generation IPS (NGIPS) with application visibility & control (AVC), URL category filtering, malware detection and threat correlation, no separate expansion blades required.
2. Standards-Based Multi-Protocol VPN Suite
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Site-to-site LAN-to-LAN IPsec tunnels for secure inter-branch private backbone connectivity over public broadband internet.
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Legacy IPsec remote access VPN compatibility for older Cisco VPN Client deployments.
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Clientless SSL VPN + AnyConnect Premium SSL/DTLS remote access for browser and full-client global mobile workforce connectivity.
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Dual IKEv1/IKEv2 key exchange protocol support, full X.509 digital certificate enrollment via SCEP for scalable multi-branch enterprise deployments.
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GRE tunnel encapsulation for routed non-IPsec traffic across distributed VPN fabrics.
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Dedicated on-board hardware crypto acceleration to eliminate CPU bottlenecks for 300 concurrent IPsec tunnels.
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Native multi-chassis VPN clustering and load balancing for distributed regional remote access hub aggregation.
3. Branch Routing & NAT Services
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Static one-to-one NAT, dynamic NAT pools, PAT port address translation for multi-user shared public IP addressing.
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Native PPPoE client support for medium branch broadband ISP aggregation.
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Local DHCP server supporting up to 1024 internal IP address leases for wired LAN endpoints.
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Static routing, policy-based routing (PBR), BGP, OSPF, EIGRP dynamic interior routing protocol support.
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Dual-stack IPv4 primary architecture with limited partial IPv6 functionality available on ASA OS 9.x releases.
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Persistent local DNS caching to reduce external DNS lookup latency and WAN bandwidth consumption.
4. Unified Threat Defense Security Stack
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Base built-in signature-based IDS engine with thousands of predefined exploit, worm and brute-force scan signatures; advanced inline NGIPS functionality integrated without extra hardware.
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Automatic dynamic host blacklisting to quarantine malicious source IP addresses after detected security breaches on internal or internet-facing endpoints.
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Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (URPF) strict/loose anti-spoof filtering to block forged source IP traffic in multi-department enterprise environments.
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Persistent local SSD event logging + remote Syslog export to centralized enterprise 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 segregated branch administrative privilege control.
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Local user credential database for standalone emergency device 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, VPN tunnel status and FirePOWER threat statistics 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 streaming media, SaaS applications and P2P file-sharing traffic.
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Per-port bandwidth shaping and policing applied to all Gigabit copper WAN/LAN/DMZ interfaces to eliminate enterprise network congestion.
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DSCP marking preservation across IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels for consistent end-to-end enterprise branch 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 branch troubleshooting.
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Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM): Embedded HTTPS graphical web GUI for single-chassis visual configuration, real-time traffic dashboards, VPN tunnel monitoring and unified security event reporting.
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Cisco Security Manager (CSM): Centralized enterprise policy management platform for bulk multi-branch ASA deployment orchestration, mass firmware upgrades and cross-device compliance audit reporting.
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Firepower Management Center (FMC): Dedicated centralized management for FirePOWER NGIPS rule sets, AMP malware policies, URL filtering and threat intelligence updates.
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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 5500-X Platforms
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vs ASA5516-FPWR-K8 Base DES License:
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Full unrestricted 3DES/AES strong encryption suite (K8 limited to DES weak crypto).
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250,000 concurrent sessions vs K8’s 20,000 hard cap, 100 VLANs vs 5 VLAN limit.
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Enables multi-context virtual firewalls and dual-mode Active/Standby + Active/Active stateful failover (K8 lacks both enterprise HA features).
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vs Standard ASA5516-X-K9 Non-FPWR Label SKU: Identical hardware and performance; FPWR suffix explicitly highlights factory pre-enabled FirePOWER threat defense licensing, standard ASA5516-X-K9 is the shorthand marketing name while ASA5516-FPWR-K9 is the full official Cisco PID part number.
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vs ASA5508-X-K9 Fixed-Port Entry Model: 1RU rack-mount design, active cooling, higher 1.8 Gbps firewall throughput (1 Gbps on 5508-X), double 250,000 concurrent sessions (100,000 on 5508-X), expanded 300 VPN peer capacity, identical fixed 8-port copper design without expansion slots.
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vs ASA5506-X Fanless Desktop Model: Rack-mount active cooling, higher 1.8 Gbps throughput (750 Mbps on 5506-X), larger session and VPN peer scale, no built-in wireless or industrial rugged hardware variants.
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vs ASA5515-X-K9 Modular Mid-Tier Model: Fixed non-modular port design (5515-X supports swappable SFP fiber I/O expansion), slightly higher 1.8 Gbps throughput vs 1.2 Gbps on 5515-X, no upgradeable fiber uplink hardware, lower multi-context deployment flexibility.
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vs Legacy ASA5505 Fixed-Port Firewall: Modern 64-bit ASA 5500-X architecture with integrated FirePOWER NGIPS, native full Gigabit copper ports, higher throughput, AnyConnect SSL VPN support and multi-context virtualization unavailable on older ASA5505 hardware.
Typical Enterprise Deployment Scenarios
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Medium enterprise headquarters internet edge security firewall isolating corporate production LAN, guest DMZ and broadband WAN, supporting up to 300 concurrent site-to-site branch IPsec tunnels.
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Regional multi-branch central DMVPN VPN aggregation hub connecting dozens of remote retail and office locations via DMVPN IPsec backhaul.
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Small MSP multi-tenant colocation boundary security appliance with independent multi-context virtual firewall segmentation for separated customer network traffic.
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Redundant Active/Active chassis pair for medium enterprise load-balanced perimeter security and zero-traffic-loss disaster recovery continuity.
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Mid-tier network lab training platform for ASA stateful firewall, FirePOWER NGIPS application control, multi-context virtualization and medium-scale branch VPN configuration learning.
3. E-commerce Short Marketing Description
Cisco ASA5516-FPWR-K9 Security Plus Unrestricted Mid-Tier 1RU Rack-Mount Gigabit Next-Generation Firewall, legacy ASA 5500-X series official full PID with factory pre-enabled FirePOWER integrated threat defense, eight built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit copper ports, dedicated out-of-band Gigabit management port, single internal AC power supply, running ASA OS up to final supported 9.16 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, inline hardware NGIPS intrusion prevention, AVC application visibility & control, NAT/PAT, PPPoE broadband client, VoIP unified communications unlimited TLS proxy inspection, multi-context virtual firewalls and dual Active/Standby/Active/Active stateful failover with native multi-device VPN clustering. Up to 1.8 Gbps cleartext firewall throughput, 250,000 concurrent TCP/UDP sessions and 300 simultaneous IPsec VPN tunnels, managed via serial console, embedded ASDM web GUI, Cisco Security Manager and Firepower Management Center. Obsolete end-of-support fixed-port rack NGFW for medium enterprise headquarters, regional multi-branch retail VPN aggregation hubs and small MSP multi-tenant colocation perimeter security deployments.
4. Product Catalog Keyword Tags
Cisco, ASA5516-FPWR-K9, ASA 5500-X Series Mid-Tier Fixed-Port FirePOWER Integrated Next-Generation Firewall, Legacy Enterprise Stateful Inspection NGFW, 1RU 19-inch Rack-Mount Chassis, Single Internal AC Power Supply, Active Fan Cooling, 8 × 10/100/1000 Gigabit Copper Auto-MDI/MDIX RJ45 Ports, Dedicated Gigabit Out-of-Band Management 0/0 Port, Dual Console Ports (RJ45 Serial + Mini USB), Single USB 2.0 Storage Port, DB-15 Inter-Chassis Stateful Failover Serial Port, Single Multi-Core Security Processor, 8192 MB DDR4 SDRAM, 8 GB System Flash, 100 GB Field-Replaceable mSATA SSD, Cisco Adaptive Security Algorithm ASA, ASA OS 8.x / 9.16 Final Supported Firmware, Stateful Packet Inspection SPI, 1.8 Gbps Max Cleartext Firewall Throughput, 900 Mbps Multiprotocol HTTP Throughput, 250 Mbps Hardware-Accelerated 3DES/AES VPN Throughput, AVC Application Control Throughput 850 Mbps, Combined AVC+NGIPS Threat Throughput 450 Mbps, IPsec IKEv1/IKEv2 DMVPN Site-to-Site & AnyConnect SSL/DTLS Remote Access VPN, Full DES/3DES-AES Unrestricted Strong Encryption Suite, Integrated Built-In FirePOWER NGIPS Intrusion Prevention System, AVC Application Visibility & URL Malware Filtering, 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 5 Independent Contexts), Active/Standby & Active/Active Dual-Mode Stateful Failover Redundancy, Native Multi-Device VPN Clustering & Load Balancing, 100 Logical Routed VLAN Maximum (Security Plus K9 License), 300 Max Simultaneous IPsec VPN Peers, Unlimited TLS Proxy UC Sessions, 250,000 Concurrent TCP/UDP Connections, ASDM Adaptive Security Device Manager Embedded Web GUI, Cisco Security Manager CSM Centralized Multi-Branch Policy Orchestration, Firepower Management Center FMC Threat Rule Centralized Control, Syslog SNMPv3 Secure Monitoring, Dual-Stack IPv4 / Limited Partial IPv6 Native Support, Application-Aware Hierarchical QoS Scheduling, FIPS 140-2 Level 1 FCC Class A Office Certified, End-of-Sale Aug 2 2021 End-of-Support Aug 31 2026 Obsolete Legacy Hardware, Security Plus K9 Unrestricted Upgrade Over ASA5516-FPWR-K8 DES Base License, Predecessor to Firepower 1000 Series Rack-Mount Next-Generation Firewall Series, Medium Enterprise Headquarters Internet Edge Fixed-Port Security Gateway, Regional Multi-Retail Branch DMVPN IPsec VPN Backhaul Rack NGFW, Small MSP Multi-Tenant Colocation Boundary Integrated FirePOWER Threat Defense Firewall
Naming Rule Explanation
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ASA: Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco unified firewall product family integrating stateful firewall, VPN and embedded FirePOWER next-generation IPS threat defense services
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5516-X: Mid-tier fixed-port rack-mount model within the legacy ASA 5500-X branch next-generation firewall series; no modular I/O expansion slots
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FPWR: Abbreviation for FirePOWER, explicitly denotes the hardware ships with factory pre-licensed integrated FirePOWER NGIPS threat defense services (distinguishes full official PID from shorthand ASA5516-X-K9 marketing label)
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K9: Premium unrestricted Security Plus license identifier unlocking full 3DES/AES strong encryption, expanded concurrent session/VLAN capacity, unlimited TLS proxy sessions, multi-context virtual firewalls and dual-mode Active/Standby + Active/Active stateful failover; contrasted with K8 base DES-only restricted license
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Hardware Distinction Note: The ASA5516-FPWR-K9 and ASA5516-X-K9 share identical physical hardware and performance specifications; FPWR is the mandatory full PID suffix for formal Cisco ordering documentation, while ASA5516-X-K9 is the simplified commercial marketing name. All ASA5516-X series hardware is fully legacy end-of-sale hardware with no new Cisco firmware feature development available, only critical security patches maintained until the August 31, 2026 end-of-support date.
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