ASA Routed/Transparent Mode - Advice
Hi guys,
I'm looking for some advice regarding the deployment of an ASA. I have two networks separated by a routed link (layer 3 switch to layer 3 switch). I would like to deploy an ASA between the two networks for increased security. I'm leaning toward transparent mode so I don't have to have an additional IP subnetwork configured, and because deployment seems a little 'easier'.
I would welcome any feedback.
Thanks.
Hi,
So there is 2 networks which are separated by a routed link between the L3 switches? Have you considered simply moving the LAN and Link networks IP address to a Routed Mode ASAs interfaces when inserting it between these networks or is there something on the L3 switch that prevents this?
Naturally you can use the ASA in Transparent Mode also. I have not deployed Transparent ASAs as usually the Routed Mode has been required. Even firewalls installed to internal networks (like between factory automation and office networks) have always been in Routed mode.
Looking at the ASA Configuration Guide the limitations set by the Transparent Mode are not something that would prevent us from using them instead of the current setups. I would imagine that the most important limitation in many setups has usually been the fact that the VPN is not supported in Transparent mode though I guess in your case that would not be a problem.
The ASA Configuration Guide section on Transparent mode (guidelines/limitations) can be found here:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/asa/asa92/configuration/general/asa-general-cli/intro-fw.html#pgfId-1501525
- Jouni
Similar Messages
-
ASA in transparent mode and IP addresses
Hello,
I need to put an ASA in transparent mode.
Our router (managed by the carrier) routes more than one public IP class in a single VLAN.
On the "Cisco Security Appliance Command Line Configuration guide", in "Trasnaprent Firewall Guidelines" it's written: "Each directly connected network must be on the same network".
This means also that I can have ONLY ONE subnet that flows fron the outside and the inside, or can I have more than one class?
If I can have only one class, the only solution is to use multiple context (and separate each classes in different interfaces)?
Thanks a lotThe ASA in trasparent mode works at layer 2. So it really does not care if the traffic that flows through it is from different subnet as long as the L3 devices it connects to knows how to reach these subnet. TheASA in transparent is basically a bump in the wire (a bridge) and for that reason you can only use 2 interfaces on the ASA in transparent implementation.
P.S. When people see attitude in your threads, they will refrain from answering your question. That's for future reference. -
Cisco ASA 5512 Transparent mode
Hi all - hope this is the right place to ask this question-
I'm having trouble understanding how to configure an ASA 5512X in what should be a really easy way -
I simply want the ASA to be a transparent Layer 2 "bump" in a routed link between two networks, and then I'll use the Management interface to actually see the firewall ASDM,Syslog, configure, etc.
I have the interfaces set up thusly:
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
nameif UnTrustedNetwork
security-level 0
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
nameif TrustedNetwork
security-level 100
interface Management0/0
nameif ManagementAccess
security-level 100
ip address 192.168.X.Y 255.255.255.0
management-only
I cannot figure out how to install a default route so that interface Management0/0 with it's IP of 192.168.X.Y can be reached from
other networks, like 10.6.X.Y, etc.
I thought the point of a Management interface was that you could set things up in such a way that the Management interface
was the only way you could access the firewall, and you did not have to have IP addresses on the Gig interfaces,
(at least not in transparent mode, for NAT you obviously would have to)
I tried to add a static route entry to 10.6.X.Y , but
when I typed "route.." my only available destination interfaces were either TrustedNetwork or UnTrustedNetwork ??
How do I configure the Management interface for non-local subnets to be reachable on the firewall in transparent mode?transparent firewall is configured differently from routed mode.
here's a basic config required:
firewall transparent (erases the current config; does not require a reboot)
interface BVI1
ip address 192.168.10.10 255.255.255.0
interface GigabitEthernet0
nameif outside
bridge-group 1
security-level 0
interface GigabitEthernet1
nameif inside
bridge-group 1
security-level 100
route outside 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.10.254
route inside 10.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 192.168.10.100
I think that you need a BVI interface with an IP address before the ASA starts forwarding traffic
The old syntax (pre 8.3 or 8.2 not sure) forces only 2 interfaces and no BVI was configured... the IP was assigned in global config.
Hope that helps,
Patrick -
Using Clustered ASAs in Transparent mode to support VRF based Network ?
Hi Guys,
I'm investigating the ways that I can use 2 x ASA (5525x) to accommodate Multi-tenancy situation with overlapping addresses. Unfortunately in this particular scenario we have to stick with 5525x firewalls.
The ASAs are going to be placed in north-south traffic path between 2 routers and these routers need to be configured with multiple VRFs to segregate the traffic for each tenant with overlapping IP subnets ( We are not looking at NAT as a workaround for the time being).
As we know, this ASA model won't support VRFs so we can't use the ASA as a intermediary routing hop and therefore this is not an option.. and using security contexts per VRF seems not scale-able enough (correct me if I'm wrong). So my thinking is that, if we put the ASAs in to the transparent mode and just use the ASAs as a layer 2 interconnect (configured with different VLANs connecting VRFs served by top and bottom routers) I should be able to go up to maximum of 50 VRFs (since 5525x only supports 200 VLANs).
I'm also planning to use the 2 ASAs in a cluster mode to aggregate the bandwidth of both ASAs for better throughput.
So I need to clarify following with you guys..
1) Can I actually do this or am I missing something.
2) Are there any limitations that I might run in to with this setup
3) Is there anyone out there who's doing the same thing or can you think of a better way to tackle this scenario (with same hardware and requirements)
4) Instead of using clustering, can I use simple Active/Stanby pare and still configure transparent mode and use it that way ?
Appreciate your input.
Thanks
ShamalIs any expert out there who can answer my query ?. Much appreciated.
-
Cisco ASA 55XX Transparent mode VLAN traversing
Hello Cisco Forum Team!
In a scenario where the Cisco ASA is in Transparent mode, is it possible to transmit L2 traffic from other VLANs different than the native VLAN the management IP of the firewall resides?
The switches on the outside and inside interfaces of the ASA are in trunk mode and I am trying to pass L2 VLAN ttraffic from inside to outside and vice-versa using filters on the switches (switchport trunk allowed vlan).
Thanks in advanced for your support and comments!Yes it is possible but you will be limited to 8 VLANs, or more accurately, 8 BVI interfaces so this is not a scalable solution. The catch is that you will need to have different VLANs for the same subnet at either end of the ASA.
To clarify this, lets say you are using interface Gig0/1 and Gig0/2. On Gig0/1 you would have configured subinterfaces with VLANs 2, 3, and 4. Now if you try to configure these same VLANs on Gig0/2 you will get an error saying something like this VLAN is already configured on another interface...I don't remember the exact error.
So to get this working you would need to configure Gig0/2 with subinterfaces for VLANs...lets say...5, 6, and 7. you would then associate VLANs 2 and 5 with BVI 1, VLANs 3 and 6 with BVI 2, and VLANs 4 and 7 with BVI 3. Each BVI interface would have its own IP address for the subnet that is being bridged across the ASA.
Please remember to select a correct answer and rate helpful posts -
ASA Transparent Mode & Routing
Since ASA in transparent mode acts like a cable, do I need to have the routes on the firewall except for the management?
You need to put routes only for the traffic originating from the firewall.
-
ASA 5510 in Transparent Mode-Guidelines.
Dear all,
I need to convert routed mode to transparent mode on my ASA-5510 with inbuilt IPS.
let me know which of the following features configured on my firewall will have issue if converted to transparent mode:
1. static routes.
2. object-groups.
3. ACLS.
4. URL-filter (Websense).
5. IPS . ( i doubt this )
6. have 3 data and 1 Mgmt interfaces.
7. syslog.
8. SNMP
I'm sure point 5 and 6 will have issues, need to confirm.
need to confirm this by EOD,
( 5 hours more).
thanks in advance.
Shukla.Does not participate in routing protocols but can still pass routing protocol traffic through it. You can define static routes for the traffic originated by the ASA.
in transparante mode the devices dehind and infront of the firewall will be in the same ip subnet as the firewall will be a L2 device!!
ACLs can be configured normally
syslog as well
obgect groups as well
Address translation is inherent when a firewall is configured for routed mode. Beginning with
ASA 8.0, address translation can be used in transparent mode as well
Does not participate in multicast. However, it allows passing the multicast traffic through it using the ACLs.
Does not support QoS.
Inspects Layer 2 and higher packet headers
as long as u can use
policy-map global_policy
then u can integrate with IPS if u mean AIP-ssm modul
transparent also known as a Layer 2 firewall or a stealth firewall, because its
interfaces have no IP addresses and cannot be detected or manipulated. Only a single
management address can be configured on the firewall
In transparent mode, a firewall can support only two interfaces-the inside and the outside. If
your firewall supports more than two interfaces from a physical and licensing standpoint, you
can assign the inside and outside to two interfaces arbitrarily. As soon as those interfaces are
configured, the firewall does not permit a third interface to be configured.
Some platforms also support a dedicated management interface, which can be used for all
firewall management traffic. However, the management interface cannot be involved in
accepting or inspecting user traffic
Configure a management address:
Firewall(config)# ip address ip_address subnet_mask
The firewall can support only a single IP address for management purposes. The address is
not bound to an interface, as in routed mode. Rather, it is assigned to the firewall itself,
accessible from either of the bridged interfaces.
The management address is used for all types of firewall management traffic, such as Telnet,
SSH, HTTP, SNMP, Syslog, TFTP, FTP, and so on.
A transparent firewall can also support multiple security contexts. In that case, interface IP
addresses must be configured from the respective context. The system execution space uses
the admin context interfaces and IP addresses for its management traffic
You do not have to configure a static route for the subnet directly connected to the firewall
interfaces. However, you should define one static route as a default route toward the outside
public network
i wish i covered all ur questions
good luck
if helpful Rate -
ASA Transparent mode multicast traffic in 8.2 and 8.4
Hi,
When i configure 8.2 in trasparent mode and deploy the a network that was wrok on EIGRP after that i found the neighborship was stop when i allow the mutlicast address and prtocol on outside interface it was start the working But when i deploy an ASA with 8.4 IOS and then allow the multicast address and protocol both the interface (Inside and outside) after that it was start working.
So i want to know that what the reasion to allow multicast address and protocol on 8.4 IOS for both interface. I am not able to find any answer for this.Hi Mahesh,
By default ASA in transparent mode do not allow any packets not having a valid EtherType greater than or equal to 0x600. As per my knowledge this concept remain same for all versions of ASA. Most control plane protocols are denied.
ASA in transparent mode only allows ARP, broadcast traffic, TCP and UDP inspected unicast traffic.
For EIGRP to work through transparent firewall, we need to open ACLs in both direction for multicast and unicast both type of EIGRP traffic on all versions of ASA Firewall. -
VRF issue with Firewall in transparent Mode.
Hi Guys,
I have 7609 Router and 6513 L3 Switch connected Through ASA 5545.
I am running Multiple VRF between router and Switch and BGP routing Protocol. When they are connected directly to each other everything is normal, however, when I have connected them via ASA 5545 then everything fails. I am using ASA in transparent Mode.
My question is: Do ASA require different setting in case of VRF? If yes, then please give me sample config.I have taken following output from Firewall will this be any help?
sh interface ouTSIDE
Interface GigabitEthernet0/1 "OUTSIDE", is up, line protocol is up
Hardware is i82574L rev00, BW 1000 Mbps, DLY 10 usec
Auto-Duplex(Full-duplex), Auto-Speed(1000 Mbps)
Input flow control is unsupported, output flow control is off
MAC address 7c69.f68f.df78, MTU 1500
IP address 175.4.8.35, subnet mask 255.255.255.248
8435 packets input, 680680 bytes, 0 no buffer
Received 8135 broadcasts, 0 runts, 0 giants
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
0 pause input, 0 resume input
8138 L2 decode drops
0 packets output, 0 bytes, 0 underruns
0 pause output, 0 resume output
0 output errors, 0 collisions, 1 interface resets
0 late collisions, 0 deferred
0 input reset drops, 0 output reset drops
input queue (blocks free curr/low): hardware (476/461)
output queue (blocks free curr/low): hardware (511/511)
Traffic Statistics for "OUTSIDE":
297 packets input, 118503 bytes
0 packets output, 0 bytes
297 packets dropped
1 minute input rate 0 pkts/sec, 13 bytes/sec
1 minute output rate 0 pkts/sec, 0 bytes/sec
1 minute drop rate, 0 pkts/sec
5 minute input rate 0 pkts/sec, 6 bytes/sec
5 minute output rate 0 pkts/sec, 0 bytes/sec
5 minute drop rate, 0 pkts/sec
ciscoasa# show asp drop
Frame drop:
FP L2 rule drop (l2_acl) 297
ASA Version 9.0(1)
firewall transparent
ciscoasa# show module all
Mod Card Type Model Serial No.
0 ASA 5545-X with SW, 8 GE Data, 1 GE Mgmt ASA5545
ips ASA 5545-X IPS Security Services Processor ASA5545-IPS
Mod MAC Address Range Hw Version Fw Version Sw Version
0 7c69.f68f.df77 to 7c69.f68f.df80 1.0 2.1(9)8 9.0(1)
ips 7c69.f68f.df75 to 7c69.f68f.df75 N/A N/A 7.1(4)E4
Mod SSM Application Name Status SSM Application Version
ips IPS Up 7.1(4)E4
Mod Status Data Plane Status Compatibility
0 Up Sys Not Applicable
ips Up Up
Mod License Name License Status Time Remaining
ips IPS Module Enabled perpetual
ciscoasa#
I have create Ehtertype ACL and permit any traffic.
cdp traffic has passed through but I am still not able to ping :( -
Transparent mode with AIP-SSM-20
I currently have an ASA5510 in routed mode with an AIP-SSM-20.
There is a requirement to use a fibre optic connection between this ASA and another ASA across campus, so the AIP-SSM will have to be removed and replaced with the SSM-4GE. This part should present no issue.
However, this will remove the IPS device, and I still want to use IPS.
So, what I am thinking is to get another ASA5510, install the AIP-SSM, configure ASA for transparent mode and put it in between the inside of the routed ASA and my LAN. The transparent ASA would be functioning strictly as an IPS appliance.
Setup would look something like this:
Internal LAN <> transparent ASA with IPS <> routed ASA <> WAN
Can the AIP-SSM still perform IPS with the ASA in transparent mode?
Is there a way to configure the ASA and AIP-SSM such that traffic to/from a particular server completely bypasses the AIP-SSM?
I have a couple of fileservers that generate heavy traffic and could overload the AIP-SSM.
Regards.AFAIR, There is no problem to setup AIP in a transparent firewall.
"An ASA in transparent mode can run an AIP. In the event the AIP fails,
the IPS will fail-open and the ASA will continue to pass traffic.
However, if an interface or cable fails, then traffic will stop. You
would need a failover pair to account for this failure event, which
means another ASA and matching AIP."
And no there is no problem to exclude certain hosts/ports/subnets from inspection by IPS via MPF.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa82/configuration/guide/ips.html#wp1050744
What I however consider however is if the ASAs 5510 as second tier firewall for 5520s will be enough.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_models_comparison.html
HTH,
Marcin -
Asa 5505 transparent firewall issue
hi i am having uc560 with voice and data vlan and i am having 3560 layer3 switch and my network is working fine the dhcp for voice and data both are running in uc560.
now i add asa 5505 between uc560 and switch in transparent mode means from uc560 to asa 5505 outside interface and from asa inside interface to switch,
i conigured vlan1 -- inside and vlan 2 as outside in asa 5505
in my uc 560 data is vlan 1 and my voice is vlan 100.
when i connect my network with transparent mode firewall no dhcp amd no phones are working . but if i remove asa and i connect with uc560 to switch everything is fine.
is there anyway to work multiple voice and data vlan in asa 5505 transparent mode.hi rojas,
here is my problem,
my internet and voice all connected in the uc 560 so wat i am doing i am connecting firewall outside to uc 560 trunk port and the from inside to my switch.
when i connec to my switch it is giving message inconsistant vlan and it is port is blocked. and my phones are not working.
my data vlan1 is 192.168.123.x
and my voice vlan100 is 10.1.1.x
and the firewall ip 192.168.123.3 -
Hi,
I need to know if the 5512X IPS will work if the ASA is in transparent mode and/or any limitations.
Thanks.Hello,
Yes, it can definetly run on transparent mode
An ASA in transparent mode can run an AIP. In the event the AIP fails,
the IPS will fail-open and the ASA will continue to pass traffic.
However, if an interface or cable fails, then traffic will stop. You
would need a failover pair to account for this failure event, which
means another ASA and matching AIP."
Regards,
Julio -
ASA transparent mode with secondary IP on the router
Hi
I have
Router --- ASA (Transparent)----Switch
and just wonder if it is possible to configure secondary IP on the router interface which is connected to ASA
so there is plenty of room in terms of LAN IP range.
Or to implement this, do I have change ASA to context mode and modify configuration on the ASA?
hope I do not have to change anything on the ASA.
ThanksASA in transparant mode work as L2 device
so what ever ips u use dosent matter
u dont need to change anything in the ASA while it is in transperant mod
but be careful of what is allowed to be passed through the firewall
u can control it by ACLs
the router and the switch u have will operat in L3 as thy connected directly or nothing between them from routing and layer three prespective
so they shoud be in the same subnet VLAN and so on
good lcuk
please, if helpful rate -
Hi Guys,
I had to re-post this here because I did not get any comments earlier.. hopefully I'll get something here.. :)
I'm investigating the ways that I can use 2 x ASA (5525x) to accommodate Multi-tenancy situation with overlapping addresses. Unfortunately in this particular scenario we have to stick with 5525x firewalls.
The ASAs are going to be placed in north-south traffic path between 2 routers and these routers need to be configured with multiple VRFs to segregate the traffic for each tenant with overlapping IP subnets ( We are not looking at NAT as a workaround for the time being).
As we know, this ASA model won't support VRFs so we can't use the ASA as a intermediary routing hop and therefore this is not an option.. and using security contexts per VRF seems not scale-able enough (correct me if I'm wrong). So my thinking is that, if we put the ASAs in to the transparent mode and just use the ASAs as a layer 2 interconnect (configured with different VLANs connecting VRFs served by top and bottom routers) I should be able to go up to maximum of 50 VRFs (since 5525x only supports 200 VLANs).
I'm also planning to use the 2 ASAs in a cluster mode to aggregate the bandwidth of both ASAs for better throughput.
So I need to clarify following with you guys..
1) Can I actually do this or am I missing something.
2) Are there any limitations that I might run in to with this setup
3) Is there anyone out there who's doing the same thing or can you think of a better way to tackle this scenario (with same hardware and requirements)
4) Instead of using clustering, can I use simple Active/Stanby pare and still configure transparent mode and use it that way ?
Appreciate your input.
Thanks
ShamalThere is a limitation on how many context you can have, which depends on the license you have. This is quite possible with ASA multi routed mode and even with multi transparent mode. You can have overlapping ip in each context without the need of using nat as long as you have unique mac address for each sub interface.
Thanks -
Transparent mode ASA and management
I have just installed a new ASA5512 in transparent mode. This is the first time I have done this type of installation and have been having some issues getting remote management to the device. I have configured a BVI interface for management with an IP of 10.252.255.25.
The network looks like this......
172.19.130.5 --- LAN --- Router --- MPLS --- Router 10.252.255.30 ---- ASA Gi0/1 ---- ASAGi0/0 ----- Switch to LAN ---- 10.252.0.0 clients
So, from my management workstation on 172.19.130.5 I can ping the router at 10.252.255.30, I can also ping and manage the client machines on the 10.252.0.0 network on the other side of the ASA but I cant manage the ASA on 10.252.255.25. It going to be something I haven't done so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Please see config attached.
MurraySo I have managed to get the very helpful guy on site to capture some packets. When I try to SSH to the device no packets are captured, however, if I try to SSH to an IP on the other side of the FW I get packets being captured as shown below.
I have gone over the config but still can't find a problem, I'm close to pulling my hair out on this one.
TEE-FDC-FW01# cap capin int inside match tcp any any eq 22
TEE-FDC-FW01# sh cap capin
6 packets captured
1: 15:41:50.028852 10.64.68.32.20472 > 10.252.200.13.22: S 4240694991:4240694991(0) win 8192
2: 15:41:50.030317 10.252.200.13.22 > 10.64.68.32.20472: R 0:0(0) ack 4240694992 win 0
3: 15:41:50.563447 10.64.68.32.20472 > 10.252.200.13.22: S 1154043407:1154043407(0) win 8192
4: 15:41:50.564820 10.252.200.13.22 > 10.64.68.32.20472: R 0:0(0) ack 1154043408 win 0
5: 15:41:51.094508 10.64.68.32.20472 > 10.252.200.13.22: S 386805799:386805799(0) win 8192
6: 15:41:51.095667 10.252.200.13.22 > 10.64.68.32.20472: R 0:0(0) ack 386805800 win 0
6 packets shown
Sent from Cisco Technical Support iPad App
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