Cisco FPR9K-SM24 Full Official Product Description

1. Part Number & Naming Definition

Official Full Name

Naming Breakdown

1. FPR9K: Firepower 9000 series modular security chassis platform identifier (compatible exclusively with Firepower 9300 3RU rack-mount chassis)Cisco
2. SM: Security Module – dedicated processing blade responsible for all firewall, threat defense, VPN and security inspection workloads
3. 24: 24 physical CPU cores integrated for high-volume security traffic processing
4. Suffix-NEBvariant (FPR9K-SM24-NEB): NEBS Level 3 certified version for carrier central office deployments

Core Positioning

2. Chassis & Software Compatibility

Supported Hardware Platforms

• Only compatible withCisco Firepower 9300 3RU modular security chassis
• Chassis hardware slots: 3 independent hot-swappable security module slots; the FPR9K-SM24 occupies one single-width slot
• Chassis I/O expansion: Works with all Firepower 9000 series network modules (8x10G SFP+, 4x40G QSFP+, 2x100G QSFP28, fixed copper/fiber FTW bypass modules) installed on the supervisor card’s dual network module slots

Mandatory Supported Firmware & OS Versions

1. FXOS Chassis Manager: All FXOS 2.x stable releases prior to FXOS 2.17
2. Firepower Threat Defense (FTD): Supported up to FTD 7.2;not supported on FTD 7.3 and later releases
3. Cisco ASA Classic Firewall OS: Supported up to ASA 9.18; unsupported on ASA 9.19 and newer firmware branchesCisco

Hardware Restrictions

• Hot-swap capable only when the Firepower 9300 chassis is powered and running FXOS; no full chassis power cycle required for module replacement
• RAID-1 storage is fixed onboard; no field-upgradable SSD drives
• Cannot be mixed with SM-36/SM-44 high-performance modules in certain FTD clustering firmware versions
• Not compatible with Firepower 4100, Firepower 9200, or standalone fixed-form-factor Firepower appliances

3. Onboard Hardware Specifications

CPU & Memory Complex

• Processor: 24 physical x86 multi-core enterprise-grade CPU complex optimized for parallel security inspection workloads
• System RAM: High-capacity error-correcting (ECC) memory dedicated to firewall session tables, threat signature databases, and encrypted traffic analytics processing

Local Storage Subsystem

• Dual enterprise-grade solid-state drives (SSD) configured in hardware RAID-1 mirroring
• RAID-1 redundancy eliminates single point of failure for local OS images, threat signature updates, logging databases, and session state storage

Environmental & Physical Parameters

• Form Factor: Single-width hot-swappable blade for Firepower 9300 chassis security slots
• Module Weight: Approximately 2 lbs (0.9 kg)
• Operating Temperature (NEBS compliance):
  • Continuous long-term operation: 0°C to 45°C at altitudes up to 6,000 ft (1829 m)
  • Continuous long-term operation: 0°C to 35°C at altitudes between 6,000 ft and 13,000 ft (3964 m)
  • Short-term transient operation: -5°C to 55°C at altitudes up to 6,000 ft
• Operating Humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
• Storage/Transport Temperature: -40°C to 65°C
• Maximum Supported Altitude: 13,000 ft (3962 m) above sea levelCisco

4. Key Performance Benchmarks (Single FPR9K-SM24 Module)

1. Stateful Firewall Throughput (maximum single-protocol): 75 Gbps
2. Multiprotocol Stateful Firewall Throughput: 50 Gbps
3. Maximum Concurrent Firewall Connections: 55 million
4. New Connection Establishment Rate: 600,000 connections per second
5. IPsec VPN Throughput: 15 Gbps
6. Maximum Supported VPN Tunnels (IPsec site-to-site + AnyConnect Remote Access): 15,000
7. Firewall Latency (64-byte UDP packets, cut-through mode): 3.5 microseconds
8. Maximum Supported Security Contexts (virtual firewalls): 250
9. Maximum Supported VLAN Interfaces: 1024

5. Core Security & Functional Features

1. Full NGFW Feature Suite
   • Stateful packet inspection, application control visibility (AVC), user-based policy enforcement, NAT/PAT, policy-based routing, QoS traffic shaping
2. Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System (NGIPS)
   • Real-time threat signature matching, vulnerability protection, exploit blocking, custom signature creation, intrusion event logging
3. Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA)
   • Deep inspection of TLS 1.0/1.1/1.2/1.3 encrypted traffic without full packet decryption, malware and suspicious flow identification
4. Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)
   • Cloud-based file reputation analysis, malware sandboxing, retrospective threat detection for malicious file transfers
5. URL Filtering & Web Control
   • Global URL category database, customizable website allow/block policies, bandwidth restriction for high-risk web categories
6. Comprehensive VPN Capabilities
   • IPsec IKEv1/IKEv2 site-to-site tunnels, Cisco AnyConnect SSL remote access VPN, full tunnel split-tunnel routing support
7. Virtual Multi-Context Firewall
   • Up to 250 independent security virtual contexts to segregate multi-tenant enterprise, MSSP, and departmental network traffic
8. High Availability & Chassis Clustering
   • Active/standby failover for single-chassis dual-module deployments; inter-chassis clustering with multiple Firepower 9300 chassis for linear throughput scaling
9. NEBS Level 3 Carrier-Grade Compliance
   • Meets GR-63-Core environmental standards and GR-1089-Core EMC/safety specifications for telecom central office deploymentsCisco
10. Centralized Management Support
    • Fully managed via Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) for unified policy deployment, threat monitoring, reporting, and firmware updates

6. Typical Enterprise & Service Provider Deployment Use Cases

1. Mid-Tier Enterprise Data Center Perimeter Security
   Deployed as the primary security blade in a standalone Firepower 9300 chassis for internet edge NGFW, IPS, remote access VPN, and web filtering for medium-sized corporate networks
2. Multi-Tenant Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)
   Utilizes multi-context virtual firewall functionality to isolate independent customer network traffic on a single chassis blade, delivering dedicated security policy enforcement per tenant
3. Carrier Service Provider Central Office Security
   NEBS-certified variant (FPR9K-SM24-NEB) deployed in telecom central offices to secure ISP peering links, residential broadband aggregation points, and carrier VPN infrastructure
4. Cross-Datacenter Interconnect (DCI) Inline Threat Inspection
   Paired with Firepower 9000 series fiber network modules (10G/40G/100G SFP+/QSFP+/QSFP28) to provide inline security filtering for long-distance inter-data-center fiber links
5. Regulated Industry Secure Network Segmentation (Finance, Healthcare)
   Delivers full compliance support for PCI-DSS, HIPAA, NERC-CIP via deep traffic logging, threat audit trails, encrypted traffic monitoring, and granular access control policies

7. Regulatory & Certification Compliance

1. Electrical Safety Standards: UL 60950-1, CSA C22.2 No.60950-1, IEC/EN 60950-1
2. Telecom Carrier Standards: NEBS Level 3 (GR-63-Core environmental, GR-1089-Core EMC & safety)
3. Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC): CE Mark, FCC Part 15 Class A, ICES-003 Class A, VCCI Class A, CISPR 22 Class A, CISPR 24, full EN 61000 series ESD, surge, radiated and conducted immunity compliance
4. Cryptographic Validation: FIPS 140-2 Level 2 validated cryptographic processing module for government and regulated industry encrypted traffic workloads
5. Environmental Directives: EU RoHS hazardous substance restriction compliant, EU WEEE waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling directive compliant

8. Standard Factory Packaging Contents

1. FPR9K-SM24 hot-swappable security processing module main blade
2. Integrated front panel extraction handle and captive installation retention screw
3. ESD anti-static protective packaging and ESD wrist strap for safe module handling
4. Hardware installation quick start guide covering Firepower 9300 chassis blade insertion, hot-swap replacement procedures, and RAID-1 storage maintenance notes
5. Full regulatory compliance and certification documentation packet

Supplementary UNSPSC Classification Code

Standard Hardware Warranty Information