ASA5555-IPS-K8

ASA5555-IPS-K8 Exact IPS Edition

ASA5555-IPS-K8 is a physical Cisco ASA 5555-X IPS Edition appliance in the DES-license edition. Cisco's ordering table identifies the IPS Edition separately from the Firewall Edition; the PID alone does not prove a current IPS subscription term.

Hardware identity

Cisco documents 8 copper Gigabit Ethernet data ports, one copper Gigabit Ethernet management port and one AC power supply for this platform. The family data sheet lists up to 5000 IPsec peers, which is a historical scale value rather than a current performance or support guarantee.

Encryption suffix boundary

K8 identifies the DES-limited export edition. It is not the K9 3DES/AES edition and should not be accepted as evidence of modern encrypted-tunnel capability.

Lifecycle decision

Cisco's compatibility record shows September 30, 2025 as the end-of-support date for ASA 5555-X. Procurement evidence must identify a supported successor and policy-conversion owner.

DES-bounded IPS containment

ASA5555-IPS-K8 has the high-capacity chassis but the DES-limited K8 edition. IPS inspection does not upgrade that encryption boundary or make the appliance suitable as a modern VPN headend.

Separate clear-text segmentation flows from encrypted dependencies. Preserve only IPS controls tied to an approved temporary exception and move tunnel termination to a supported cryptographic platform.

Clear-text dependency register

List every inspected application path, why it remains clear text, the compensating control and the date that exception expires. Link each IPS signature group to a named service owner and central log query. Any route, NAT object or partner connection that depends on DES must receive a replacement endpoint and cutover wave instead of being copied unchanged.

DES exception closure package

Use this SKU's receiving record to prove what cannot remain: enumerate DES transforms, peer endpoints, protected networks and business contacts, then classify each dependency as retire, re-platform or redesign. For clear-text inspection workloads, document why transport protection is provided elsewhere and how that claim was tested. The closure package should include packet captures at the encryption handoff, a dated architecture diagram, secret-disposal evidence and a signed expiration for every temporary exception. Capacity published for the chassis is irrelevant to closure; success is measured by eliminating DES and preserving necessary inspection on a supported control point.

Related ASA IPS Edition records

• ASA5555-IPS-K9 - compare chassis scale, IPS Edition identity and encryption suffix.
• ASA5545-IPS-K8 - compare chassis scale, IPS Edition identity and encryption suffix.
• ASA5515-IPS-K8 - compare chassis scale, IPS Edition identity and encryption suffix.

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