Question

How to configure redundant Internet connections on an ASA5505 if one connection is a private line?

Asked by: rzimbler

My company currently has a single location with one ASA5505 connected to a 10MB MetroEthernet connection.  We are shortly moving to a new location where the primary Internet connection will be a 100MB private-line terminating in an off-site data center. (The data center will have redundant Internet connections with two carriers.)  The new office will also have a T1 connection for backup.  

I read that the ASA5500 series offers an active/passive backup ISP connection feature whereby the primary route is replaced by a backup route in the routing table, if a specified target on the primary route can't be pinged.

My question is -- will this backup route scenario work if the managed route is a Layer 2 private line?  And if yes, is the fact that the monitored target will have a LAN address (the gateway in the data center, for example) affect the configuration?  Also, am I right in guessing that the private-line ethernet handoff should be connected to one of the ASA switch ports - or is this not necessary?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-09-16 at 16:15:44ID24738292
Tags

Cisco ASA5505

Topics

Cisco PIX Firewall

,

Network Design & Methodology

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
4

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. ASA5505 & QoS
    Hi, How do I setup Quality of Service on my ASA5505 - basically I want to give SIP traffic priority. Thanks David
  2. Cisco ASA5505 questions
    I've got several questions about the Cisco ASA5505 firewall: Is it worth upgrading a Pix501 with a ASA5505 for faster vpn performance? Can the ASA5505 site to site vpn be programed with the gui? Does the ASA5505 have website filter...restrict certain websites? Does the AS...
  3. ASA5505 Blocks FTP
    I have an ASA5505 and am trying to set up a second FTP port. Unfortunately I am unable to accomplish this task. I have an active FTP server/connection on the default port 21. The alternate port I am trying to use is 2121. Internally I can connect to the ftp server with no pro...
  4. ASA5505 Allowing VPN Traffic
    I have an ASA5505 hosting our internet connection. I'm trying to setup it up to allow VPN traffic through to our domain controller. Here is the ASA5505 configuration so far: object-group service VPN service-object gre service-object tcp eq pptp access-list outside_acce...
  5. ASA5505 and DNSBL
    Is there a way to configure an ASA5505 to use a DNSBL such as Spamhaus to deny inbound access? I'm familiar with the DROP list at Spamhaus, I'm more interested in the lists like zen.spamhaus.org.
  6. Westell 327w to ASA5505
    Need help setting up a Westell 327w in bridge mode to an asa5505 on the outside vlan of the asa what is my ip? gateway from service provider?

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: billwhartonPosted on 2009-09-17 at 06:40:36ID: 25355976

You would need to use the configuration example listed here
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/vpndevc/ps2030/products_configuration_example09186a00806e880b.shtml

Your scenario would work with this kind of deployment. You would need to use two physical or sub-interfaces on the ASA to connect each of the connections. I recommend physical.

Call the interfaces outside1 and outside2 and determine a single IP address to monitor on that segment. You cannot monitor more than one IP address for tracking hence make sure it's a very reliable one and never goes down (preferably 2-3 hops away and not the direct gateway)

Let me know if you have any additional questions

 

by: rzimblerPosted on 2009-09-17 at 08:09:45ID: 25357075

Hi Bill.  I had read that Cisco document before posting my question, but was wondering if there would be any config differences because the "Outside 1" interface isn't really connected to an outside address -- but to the other side of a private line with a local LAN address.  

As I understand it, as a Layer 2 point-to-point connection, it would be as if I connected the ASA's outside inface to a port on another local switch.  Does the Cisco "Dual ISP" scenario work in this case?

BTW, thanks for the quick response to my question!

 

by: billwhartonPosted on 2009-09-17 at 08:13:43ID: 25357106

asa ==== switch ==== some other device (get a reliable IP address a few hops away as i stated)

even though you have a L2 point to point connection, you are still running L3 on top of that. Hence, you would need to use a L3 address a few hops down the line

 

by: rzimblerPosted on 2009-09-17 at 16:12:38ID: 31629769

solution was offered very quickly

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...