ASA5512-K7

ASA5512-K7 Exact Firewall Edition

ASA5512-K7 is a physical Cisco ASA 5512-X Firewall Edition in the no-payload-encryption (NPE) edition. Cisco documents 6 copper Gigabit Ethernet data ports, one copper Gigabit Ethernet management port and one AC power supply for this edition.

Encryption suffix boundary

K7 does not provide payload-encryption capability. Do not advertise or accept it as a substitute for a K9 VPN appliance, and do not infer AES, 3DES or encrypted-tunnel operation from the platform family's general VPN scale.

Platform scale is not current fitness

Cisco's data sheet lists up to 250 IPsec VPN peers for the ASA 5512-X family, but this historical maximum does not override the K7 encryption restriction, current software support, measured performance or lifecycle status.

Lifecycle decision

Cisco ended sale of ASA 5512-X in 2017 and lists August 31, 2022 as the last support date. The appliance is beyond normal support and needs a written exception plus a funded replacement path.

NPE branch firewall exception

ASA5512-K7 is a six-data-port branch firewall edition with no payload encryption. Its valid use is therefore limited to explicitly non-encrypted policy enforcement or controlled recovery work.

List every interface, zone, address translation and routing dependency, and identify any remote-access or site-to-site requirement that this NPE edition cannot satisfy. The exception must state which supported platform assumes those encrypted functions.

Six-port NPE acceptance

Match the ASA5512-X chassis, six data GE ports, one management GE port, AC supply and K7 identity. Confirm that no production design silently depends on payload encryption, export the policy and prove management and logging before authorizing temporary use.

Branch exception register

Record the branch, business sponsor, connected circuits, permitted non-encrypted functions and expiration date of the exception. List services that are explicitly prohibited on this NPE appliance, including site-to-site termination and remote-access payload encryption. Link every open dependency to a supported replacement milestone and escalation owner. A new application, circuit or partner connection must trigger review rather than automatically inheriting the legacy firewall path.

Related ASA Firewall Edition records

• ASA5515-K7 - compare chassis scale and the K7/K8/K9 encryption boundary.
• ASA5555-K7 - compare chassis scale and the K7/K8/K9 encryption boundary.
• ASA5545-K8 - compare chassis scale and the K7/K8/K9 encryption boundary.

Official Cisco evidence: Cisco ASA 5500-X data sheet, Cisco platform lifecycle notice, and Cisco Secure Firewall compatibility record.