Which Cisco ASA Models Support IPS Module?

The Cisco ASA 5500 appliance supports an Intrusion Detection/Intrusion Prevention plug-in module (AIP-SSM). However not all models support this. Specifically only the middle-range models support it. The lowest-end model (5505) and the highest-end models (asa 5550, ASA 5580) does not support the AIP-SSM IPS module.

ASA Models that support IPS Module:

• Cisco ASA 5510
• Cisco ASA 5520
• Cisco ASA 5540

Basically the ASA 5505 cannot support the AIP-SSM because of its small size. Also, the 5550 cannot support the module because its hardware is occupied with much more integrated network ports compared with other models (it has 8-10/100/1000 and 4 gigabit SFP ports). The highest-end asa 5580 does not support the module because an IPS inline module in the ASA 5580 series would decrease its packet forwarding performance (remember that the Cisco ASA 5580 is usually used in high traffic environments).

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