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I was about to ask for a recommendation for a replacement for my Cisco ASA, mostly because I am a programmer that due to the necessity of work has to dive headfirst into some Network Administration tasks - "Oh, he's the tech guy, he knows all about that stuff!"

However, before I wrote the question, it occurred to me that these are likely off topic for ServerFault. However, the problem I have is very specific:

  • I have Cisco ASA ###1
  • I want to buy a Cisco ASA ABCD ###2 that does the exactly the same things as my current box except one more feature that my current box doesn't support (hardware).

I tried doing some googling, but I didn't understand so much of what I read that I thought it would be best to ask experts. We have a very expensive consultant who will do the box configuration for us, but I thought I could save a little money and shipping time by buying the box and having it shipped straight to us. At the very least, an answer telling me where to look would be reusable by other users.

Would such a question on topic?

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    What model are you coming from and which model are you going to? This is probably best for the Server Fault chat room... but I'm not sure this would be closed.
    – ewwhite
    Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 22:33
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    "Does product X have Y feature?" is a class of question that is generally not well received here. But it might do better if it's obvious that you've read the product description and have a point that you're confused about. I agree that your best bet is to drop into chat.
    – Michael Hampton Mod
    Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 23:09
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    Usually you'll want to talk to your reseller or Cisco rep, if you have one. Otherwise try cisco.com/cisco/web/siteassets/contacts/index.html or cisco.com/assets/sol/sb/product_chooser/index.html et al. Impossible to recommend without your budget, precise needs, existing infrastructure, etc.. And not a good fit for SE, I don't think.
    – belacqua
    Commented Aug 1, 2014 at 21:17

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Unlikely to be on topic. Your very expensive consultant should be able to answer immediately whether or not the device you want has the feature you're after, and is compatible. After all, if they're expensive they should know their shit. (The last sentence was only slightly sarcastic). And even if he can't, a Cisco sales rep should be more than happy to help. Getting help directly from Cisco for pre-sales is basically impossible for single purchases, but anyone who resells their stuff should have a pre-sales expert on-hand.

As an aside, pretty much any higher level ASA has a 1:1 feature set of the lower ASAs (the higher models often include the top level license features of the lower models, eg 5525-X contains standard features that are options on the 5515-X).

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  • They are expensive but they consult for us on the side, we aren't their bread and butter customer. So he's high quality but slow.
    – durron597
    Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 21:53
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    Thanks for your answer... mostly you made me realize the obvious solution: This is exactly the sort of question that sales people would love to help me with, because it will likely result in buying something. Which is also the reason it's not a good question for Stack Exchange.
    – durron597
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 13:39
  • Well if you're buying a Cisco something no matter what then your cisco vendor will love answering this question. Nice and easy and will turn itself into an order with very little work on their part.
    – Rob Moir
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 20:32

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