Max Sessions: 90 Million concurrent firewall connections (ASA table; older datasheet revision lists 80 Million)
New Sessions/sec: 1.7 Million (ASA stateful firewall)
Interfaces: 2 x NetMod bays for expansion modules; reseller listing shows 8 x SFP+ on-chassis
Form Factor: 1RU rack-mount, dual power supply, 80 Plus Platinum
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Strong 80 Gbps threat prevention and IPsec VPN throughput in a 1RU chassis; Two NetMod bays allow interface expansion without replacing the appliance; Available as ASA or Threat Defense (NGFW) software images, so the same hardware can serve different deployment needs; Supports high concurrent session counts (up to 90 million) and 1.7 million new connections per second for busy data center or campus edge use; Cisco Firepower Management Center and Cisco Defense Orchestrator give centralized management and policy control
✘ Cons:High upfront cost, with reseller prices typically from about $145K to over $200K before subscriptions; Threat Defense features require ongoing subscription licensing, which adds recurring cost; Published throughput and session figures differ across Cisco datasheet versions and resellers, so specs must be verified against the current datasheet before purchase; Overkill for small and mid-sized businesses that need far less throughput; Requires NetMod modules and separate optics, which add to total cost of ownership