The Cisco PIX 501 Firewall delivers enterprise-class security for small offices and teleworkers in a reliable, plug-and-play security appliance. Ideal for securing high-speed "always on" broadband environments, the Cisco PIX 501 Firewall, which is part of the market-leading Cisco PIX Firewall Series, provides robust security capabilities, small office networking features and powerful remote management capabilities in a compact, all-in-one solution.

The Cisco PIX 501 Firewall is a purpose-built security appliance that provides rich security services including stateful inspection firewalling, virtual private networking (VPN) and intrusion protection in a single device. Using the Cisco state-of-the-art Adaptive Security Algorithm (ASA) and PIX operating system, the PIX 501 ensures that all the users behind it are safe and secure from threats lurking on the Internet. Its powerful stateful inspection firewall technology keeps track of the state of authorized users' network requests and prevents unauthorized network access. By leveraging the flexible access control capabilities of the PIX 501, administrators can also enforce customized policies on network traffic traversing through the firewall.

The Cisco PIX 501 Firewall can also secure all network communications from remote offices to corporate networks across the Internet using its standards-based Internet Key Exchange (IKE)/IP security (IPsec) VPN capabilities. By encrypting data with 56-bit Data Encryption Standard (DES) or optional advanced 168-bit Triple DES (3DES) encryption, prying eyes cannot see your sensitive corporate data as it safely travels across the Internet.

The integrated intrusion protection capabilities of the PIX 501 can protect your network from many popular forms of attacks. Looking for over 55 different attack "signatures," PIX keeps a vigilant watch for attacks and optionally blocks them or notifies you of them in real time.

The Cisco PIX 501 Firewall 50-user license supports up to 50 concurrent source IP addresses from your internal network to traverse through the PIX 501. The integrated DHCP server supports up to 128 DHCP leases. As your needs grow, a 10-to-50 user upgrade license is also available, which allows you to extend your investment in PIX 501 equipment.