Asa Clustering Overview - Cisco ASA Series Cli Configuration Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Cisco ASA

ASA Clustering Overview

In multiple context mode, the ASA includes a configuration for each context that identifies the security
policy, interfaces, and almost all the options you can configure on a standalone device. The system
administrator adds and manages contexts by configuring them in the system configuration, which, like
a single mode configuration, is the startup configuration. The system configuration identifies basic
settings for the ASA. The system configuration does not include any network interfaces or network
settings for itself; rather, when the system needs to access network resources (such as downloading the
contexts from the server), it uses one of the contexts that is designated as the admin context.
The admin context is just like any other context, except that when a user logs into the admin context,
then that user has system administrator rights and can access the system and all other contexts.
ASA Clustering Overview
ASA Clustering lets you group multiple ASAs together as a single logical device. A cluster provides all
the convenience of a single device (management, integration into a network) while achieving the
increased throughput and redundancy of multiple devices.
You perform all configuration (aside from the bootstrap configuration) on the master unit only; the
configuration is then replicated to the member units.
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