PIX 515e Upgrade/RAM Question

DanielO · ‎04-23-2007

Hello everyone,

I am setting up a PIX515 FO. It is currently on the 6.3(5) software. My UR PIX is running 7.1(1)

I want to upgrade my FO to the same version, but the upgrade sheet says it requires 128MB RAM to do so; it currently has 64MB. Can I upgrade PIX OS now and RAM later? Or will the upgrade fail without the required RAM? Also, is this some proprietary RAM or can I just pop in some standard RAM? Thanks a million.

Collin Clark · ‎04-23-2007

You must install the RAM first and use Cisco's to avoid any potential problems.

HTH and please rate.

gwong · ‎04-23-2007

Technically its possible to upgrade without upgrading the RAM, but its not advicable to do just that. This is because the new PIX IOS is a memory hog and will impact performance of the Firewall without the additional spare resources for it to function properly.

What is the use of the PIX if its only running at half capacity? It twill even hurt it more when you start turning on more of the firewalling functionality, such as VPN and IPS.

You probably can get some via ebay or from cisco, then upgrade the box.

If you like what you have seen, please rate my review.

DanielO · ‎04-23-2007

My UR PIX is used very heavily with many different features, so in a fail over I think it could be a little painful with just 64MB on my FO, after what you guys say. I plan to upgrade the RAM regardless, but I wanted to know if I could upgrade the OS before hand, but it would appear as if that would not be a very good idea. Thanks for your prompt replies guys. I appreciated it :)