ASA 5540 8.4 or 9.x code? What should I use?

[Joshua Engels]

I am in the process of rebuilding our ASA 5540 pair.  We are currently on 8.2 code with this set of firewalls and I was going to upgrade it to 8.4 being I have a couple of other firewalls running this code currently and am familiar with it.  That said, I saw that the 9.x code is out there now.  Are there any major advantages or caveats with the 9.0 code?  I plan to use this firewall with SSL VPN and RSA SecurID integration for the next 2-3 years at least.  Hoping someone could give me some quick pointers on these two code versions and maybe share some thoughts on upgrading to 9 or staying with 8.4 line.

Thanks!

[jocamare · Accepted solution]

Personal opinion.

I would stick to 8.4  since the code has been out for a longer period of time than the 9.X versions.

Not saying there's something wrong with them, it's just that we've had more time to play with 8.4.

9.X has some awesome features 8.4 doesn't, but if you get 8.4 to do all you need, I would keep it.

The "awesome features" link:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps5708/ps5709/ps12726/qa_c67-712934.html

[Joshua Engels]

Cool, thanks for the feedback.  That's kinda what I was thinking.  Just wanted to get some other opinions.

Thanks again