ASA 5540 Default Contexts

[conceptzone]

Dear All,

I have two questions:

Q1. I would like to confirm like how many total of contexts do I have by default when I purchase the ASA 5540 ? are they two contexts aside from the admin context or two contexts including the admin context?

Q2. can I configure the default box with High Availability using the default contexts?

Thanks ineed for answering my questions in advance,

Ismail

[Jennifer Halim · Accepted solution]

Q1. There are 2 contexts that comes with ASA 5540 by default, and that includes the admin context.

Here is the model feature for your reference:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6120/prod_models_comparison.html#~mid-range

Q2. Yes you can configure high availability using the default contexts. However, you can only configure 1 extra user context as the other context will be used as admin context.

Here is more information on Active/Active failover for your reference:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa82/configuration/guide/ha_active_active.html

Hope that helps.

[conceptzone]

Thanks Jennifer!!!

Can I use the admin context as a normal contxt to forward data traffic ? is there any limitation ?

Thanks again!

Ismail

[Jennifer Halim · Accepted solution]

Yes, absolutely. Admin context can be used as normal user context too, however, pls be advised that admin context will have access to all the other contexts as well so if you want to separate the admin duty specifically for that particular context, you won't be able to.

Here is the URL for your reference:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa82/configuration/guide/contexts.html#wp1146795