Race starts deliveries on v. 6.3 for Cisco PIX Firewall.

21 October 2003

Race Communications starts delivering a new version of the 6.3 software for Cisco PIX Firewall firewalls. Cisco PIX Firewall firewalls have high performance and reliability. The stateful connection algorithm, the intrusion detection system support, the ability to create virtual private VPN networks allow you to organize the protection of corporate networks at the highest level.

In version 6.3, there are more than 30 new features, including:Support for virtual local area networks VLAN 802.1Q simplifies the selection of security policies and the integration of firewalls into switched local networks.

Cisco PIX Firewall 515 and 515E models support up to 8 virtual local area networks (VLANs), and Cisco PIX Firewall 520 and 525 already support up to 10 virtual local area networks. On the most productive model - Cisco PIX Firewall 535 - up to 22 virtual local area networks are supported.

Dynamic routing protocol OSPF is supported. When using the OSPF protocol, it takes less than one second to restore the network topology. Using the MD-5 authentication algorithm in OSPF makes the network even more secure.

Local lists for user authentication.

HTTPS proxy service.

The new international AES encryption standard is more advanced and secure. AES replaced the DES and 3DES standards. The new version of PIX OS software supports all standard AES keys of 128, 192 and 256 bits in length. To increase the encryption speed, it is recommended to use the new VAC+ hardware acceleration module.

Support for the VAC+ encryption hardware acceleration module. When using it, the encryption speed of DES, 3DES and AES is significantly increased - up to 440 Mbit/s when encrypting data using 3DES (168-bit key) or AES (256-bit key).

VPN NAT transparency facilitates the use of VPN networks in situations where translation of NAT addresses or PAT ports is used.

The functionality of the integrated DHCP server has been expanded - settings of DHCP parameters and address pools for different firewall interfaces are supported independently of each other.

DHCP relay allows you to redirect DHCP requests from devices to a DHCP server defined by the administrator.

The number of supported VPN sessions on the younger Cisco PIX 501 firewall model has been doubled (previously up to 5 VPN sessions were supported simultaneously).

Added support for H.323 v.3/4, TAPI/JTAPI and MGCP protocols.

The performance of the younger models of Cisco PIX 501 and PIX 506E firewalls has been increased five times.

To manage Cisco PIX firewalls, PIX Device Manager (PDM) 3.0 is supplied. PDM 3.0 supports all new features included in PIX OS software version 6.3. Also, PDM 3.0 includes the ability to monitor in real time such parameters of PIX firewalls as CPU load, RAM status, interface loading and their the state, the state of VPN tunnels. All these parameters can be conveniently presented simultaneously in a single form.

The new software version is bundled with Cisco PIX firewall firewalls. Customers who have a service contract for support will receive PIX OS v. 6.3 software for free, and the transition to the new version does not require an increase in RAM or Flash memory. Customers who do not have a service contract need to purchase a license. The cost of the PIX-SW-UPGRADE license according to the GPL price list for October 2003 is $1000, delivered from the Race Communications warehouse in Moscow or within 6-8 weeks.

Description of Cisco PIX firewall 506E and 515E