Should I buy a Cisco Pix 501 and a 605 E, or two 501s?  What are the differences?  Is Smartnet Service really needed?

Should I buy a Cisco Pix 501 and a 605 E, or two 501s? What are the differences? Is Smartnet Service really needed?

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Subject Author Date
Should I buy a Cisco Pix 501 and a 605 E, or two 501s? What are the differences? Is Smartnet Service really needed? Nate Goulet 05-04-2005
Posted by Nate Goulet on May 4, 2005, 7:01 pm
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Should I buy a Cisco Pix 501 and a 605 E, or two 501s? What are the
differences?

I need to connect a remote branch to our main system using DSL. I've
been recommended a Cisco Pix 605 E for the main office, and a Cisco
Pix 501 for the branch.

The main office consists of a single Windows 2000 Server with Appox.
30 -35 local clients with 15 - 20 networked printers. I'm told the
networked printers count for an IP address. Some of the printers are
connected to a network device that handles 3 printers (I think with a
single IP address).

I could probably get away with a 501 for the branch with the standard
10 user licenses, as there are 4 pcs & 5 printers. I could always
upgrade to the 50 user license in the future if needed. How
complicated is it to upgrade to 50 users by the way and what's
involved? Is it something I can do myself as a pc specialist, or does
it require a networking expert like my MSCE?

What would the advantage be to having a 605 E instead of a 501 with 50
licenses at the main office? We probably won't be having people
connect from their homes, so it's probably just those 4 pcs. Does the
605 E offer a lot more security protection, and is it necessary? The
501 should offer much better protection than what we currently have,
but we're not having computer connect via the Internet currently.

Currently the branch connects to the server via very expensive 56k
dedicated line, so I don't think speed is too much of an issue. I
heard the 605 E has a 200mhz processor instead of a 133mhz or
something like that. The DSL connection should be much cheaper &
faster as a bonus.

My sales rep mentioned he has never sold a Pix without the Smartnet
service. He described the service as not only technical support, but
as a service that sends regular updates to the routers automatically,
sometimes several times a day, similar to virus definition updates.
Is this being explained correctly? Are you all subscribing to this
service for that reason? Is the Pix kind of worthless without this
service?

I have a MCSE that will help me hook up everything, so hopefully we
won't need the Smartnet for the technical support.

         Thanks for any advice


Posted by Wayne on May 5, 2005, 12:23 pm
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First, don't let the MCSE touch anything, if you do you are begging for
trouble ;)

In this case you could probably get away with two 501's instead of a 501 and
a 506E. The 506E is faster and does not have a user restriction.

One my my clients has a similar setup, main off with branch office, 506e at
the main, 501 at the branch. I chose the 506e at the main office because
home users were also connecting via VPN.

Unless I'm getting screwed with my SmartNet contracts, I've never had Cisco
automatically update anything for me. With MartNet you get access to more
of Cisco's web site, including software upgrades for the device you have a
contract for. Upgrading a PIX isn't all that difficult to do, even an MCSE
should be able to handle it, despite my earlier comment.

> Should I buy a Cisco Pix 501 and a 605 E, or two 501s? What are the
> differences?
>
> I need to connect a remote branch to our main system using DSL. I've
> been recommended a Cisco Pix 605 E for the main office, and a Cisco
> Pix 501 for the branch.
>
> The main office consists of a single Windows 2000 Server with Appox.
> 30 -35 local clients with 15 - 20 networked printers. I'm told the
> networked printers count for an IP address. Some of the printers are
> connected to a network device that handles 3 printers (I think with a
> single IP address).
>
> I could probably get away with a 501 for the branch with the standard
> 10 user licenses, as there are 4 pcs & 5 printers. I could always
> upgrade to the 50 user license in the future if needed. How
> complicated is it to upgrade to 50 users by the way and what's
> involved? Is it something I can do myself as a pc specialist, or does
> it require a networking expert like my MSCE?
>
> What would the advantage be to having a 605 E instead of a 501 with 50
> licenses at the main office? We probably won't be having people
> connect from their homes, so it's probably just those 4 pcs. Does the
> 605 E offer a lot more security protection, and is it necessary? The
> 501 should offer much better protection than what we currently have,
> but we're not having computer connect via the Internet currently.
>
> Currently the branch connects to the server via very expensive 56k
> dedicated line, so I don't think speed is too much of an issue. I
> heard the 605 E has a 200mhz processor instead of a 133mhz or
> something like that. The DSL connection should be much cheaper &
> faster as a bonus.
>
> My sales rep mentioned he has never sold a Pix without the Smartnet
> service. He described the service as not only technical support, but
> as a service that sends regular updates to the routers automatically,
> sometimes several times a day, similar to virus definition updates.
> Is this being explained correctly? Are you all subscribing to this
> service for that reason? Is the Pix kind of worthless without this
> service?
>
> I have a MCSE that will help me hook up everything, so hopefully we
> won't need the Smartnet for the technical support.
>
> Thanks for any advice




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