Cisco ASA 5512-X (ASA5512-K9) to Firepower 1100 Migration

If you still have a Cisco ASA 5512-X (PID ASA5512-K9) inspecting traffic at a branch, data center edge, or remote site, it is now running well past every milestone Cisco set for it. This was the entry-level model of the ASA 5500-X family, and it has been formally retired. The current Cisco-recommended path is the Secure Firewall portfolio, with the Firepower 1100 Series as the direct successor for a box this size. This guide walks through what the dates mean, why the 5512-X specifically is risky to keep, exactly what the Firepower 1120 improves over it, and a step-by-step migration plan built for regulated buyers.

Where the ASA 5512-X stands today

The ASA 5512-X reached End-of-Sale on August 25, 2017, and its Last Day of Support (LDoS) was August 31, 2022. Both dates are in the past. In practical terms, that means there is no remaining lifecycle runway: the platform is not buyable new from Cisco, it is not patchable, and it is not serviceable under contract. The shared bulletin that covered this unit also retired its sibling, the 5515-X, so if you have a mixed pair of entry ASA 5500-X firewalls, they are on the same expired clock.

What each milestone actually means

• End-of-Sale (Aug 25, 2017): the last day Cisco accepted new orders. Everything sold after this is secondary-market or remaining channel stock, not a path to fresh support.
• End of Software Maintenance: not separately published for this unit; in practice, maintenance and security fixes ceased on the LDoS track rather than at a distinct interim date.
• Last Day of Support (Aug 31, 2022): the hard stop. No more TAC, no more software fixes, no contractual hardware replacement. This is the date that turns the box from 'aging' into 'liability.'

The replacement: Cisco Secure Firewall 1100 Series

Cisco's named successor for an entry ASA 5500-X is the Firepower 1100 Series, and the Firepower 1120 (FPR1120-NGFW-K9) is the closest model-for-model match to the 5512-X. The headline change is architectural: the 5512-X ran ASA software with an optional, bolt-on FirePOWER Services module for next-gen inspection. The 1100 runs a single unified image. You boot either Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) for full NGFW behavior or a classic ASA image on the very same appliance, and there is no separate inspection module to license, provision, or babysit.

What the 1120 concretely improves

• Inspected throughput: the 5512-X delivered ~1 Gbps as a stateful firewall but collapsed to roughly 150 Mbps once you turned on the FirePOWER module for AVC and NGIPS. The 1120 sustains about 2.3 Gbps with firewall, application control, and IPS all running together, more than an order of magnitude more real, inspected throughput.
• VPN: IPsec VPN throughput jumps from ~200 Mbps to ~1.2 Gbps, and concurrent sessions double from 100,000 to 200,000. Note the one trade-off: the legacy 5512-X advertised up to 250 VPN peers versus 150 on the 1120; if you ran a dense site-to-site or RA-VPN topology, re-scope peer counts or step up the model.
• Connection rate: new connections per second rise from ~10,000 to ~15,000.
• Interfaces: you move from six 10/100/1000 copper ports to eight copper ports plus four SFP slots, so you gain real fiber uplink options the 5512-X never had on-board.
• Management and features: FTD adds Snort-based NGIPS, AMP/Secure Endpoint for malware, URL filtering, and unified policy under FMC, cloud-delivered FMC (cdFMC), or local Firepower Device Manager, replacing the awkward split between ASDM for the ASA and a separate console for the FirePOWER module.

A practical migration plan

1. Assess and inventory

Pull the running-config from every 5512-X in scope. Document interface roles, security levels, NAT rules, ACL hit counts, VPN topologies (site-to-site and remote access), any FirePOWER module policies, AAA/identity sources, and routing. Capture throughput and session baselines so you can size correctly: a 1120 fits most branches, but heavier sites may warrant a 1140 or 1150.

2. Transition licensing

Stand up or confirm your Cisco Smart Account and Virtual Account. Map old perpetual entitlements to the new subscription SKUs (Threat, Malware, URL). Decide your management plane (on-prem FMC, cloud-delivered FMC, or device-local FDM) and license it accordingly.

3. Build config and feature parity

If you keep ASA software on the 1100, your config ports over with light interface-name edits. If you move to FTD (recommended to escape the legacy module model), run Cisco's Firepower Migration Tool against the ASA running-config; it converts interfaces, objects, NAT, ACLs, and site-to-site VPN, then flags items for manual review. Hand-tune identity, advanced VPN, and any FirePOWER rules that did not translate cleanly, and re-validate against your current rule set rather than blindly importing decade-old ACLs.

4. Physical and cabling

Both platforms are 1RU, so rack and power planning is straightforward. Confirm power and PDU outlets, then plan uplinks: the 1120's four SFP slots let you move copper uplinks to fiber if your aggregation switch supports it, so order the matching optics up front. Pre-stage and burn-in each appliance on the bench before it ever touches the production rack.

5. Phased cutover

Avoid a flag-day swap. Build the 1100 policy in parallel, run a maintenance-window pilot at one low-risk site, validate VPN re-establishment, NAT, and inspection logging, then roll site by site. Keep the old 5512-X cabled but cold for a short rollback window before you decommission.

6. Secure decommission

Once a site is cut over and stable, wipe the 5512-X: erase the configuration and any stored keys/certs, then follow NIST 800-88 media sanitization for the flash. For government and healthcare disposal, document the wipe and chain of custody. Do not resell or redeploy a unit that is past LDoS into another production role.

Procurement notes for government and enterprise

Order TAA-compliant Firepower 1100 SKUs explicitly and confirm country of origin on the quote; this matters for federal, DoD, and SLED buyers. Plan lead times into your maintenance windows, since current Secure Firewall hardware can carry multi-week delivery depending on configuration and subscription bundling. Buying through an authorized Cisco partner keeps the purchase GPC-payable, warranty-eligible, and entitled for Smart Licensing and TAC from day one.

Review the full lifecycle detail on the ASA 5512-X EoL page, check other affected models on the Cisco EoL hub, or browse the Firepower 1100 Series to spec a replacement. When you are ready, get a TAA-compliant, GPC-payable refresh quote and we will size the right 1100 model and licensing for your branch footprint.