System Requirements

This document includes the system requirements for Version 6.7.

Device Platforms

Cisco Firepower devices monitor network traffic and decide whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set of security rules. Some Firepower devices run Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) software; some run NGIPS/ASA FirePOWER software. Some can run either—but not both at the same time.


Note


These release notes list the supported devices for this release. Even if an older device has reached EOL and you can no longer upgrade, you can still manage that device with a newer FMC, up to a few versions ahead. Similarly, newer versions of ASDM can manage older ASA FirePOWER modules. For supported management methods, including backwards compatibility, see Manager-Device Compatibility. For general compatibility information, see the Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense Compatibility Guide or the Cisco Firepower Classic Device Compatibility Guide.


Table 1. Firepower Threat Defense in Version 6.7.0/6.7.x

FTD Platform

OS/Hypervisor

Additional Details

Firepower 1010, 1120, 1140, 1150

Firepower 2110, 2120, 2130, 2140

Firepower 4110, 4120, 4140, 4150

Firepower 4112, 4115, 4125, 4145

Firepower 9300: SM-24, SM-36, SM-44 modules

Firepower 9300: SM-40, SM-48, SM-56 modules

FXOS 2.9.1.131 or later build

Upgrade FXOS first.

To resolve issues, you may need to upgrade FXOS to the latest build. To help you decide, see the Cisco FXOS Release Notes, 2.9(1).

ASA 5508-X, 5516-X

ISA 3000

Although you do not separately upgrade the operating system on these devices in FTD deployments, you should make sure you have the latest ROMMON image. See the instructions in the Cisco ASA and Firepower Threat Defense Reimage Guide.

Firepower Threat Defense Virtual (FTDv)

Any of:

  • AWS: Amazon Web Services

  • Azure: Microsoft Azure

  • GCP: Google Cloud Platform

  • OCI: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

  • KVM: Kernel-based Virtual Machine

  • VMware vSphere/VMware ESXi 6.0, 6.5, or 6.7

For supported instances, see the appropriate FTDv Getting Started guide.

Table 2. NGIPS/ASA FirePOWER in Version 6.7.0/6.7.x

NGIPS/ASA FirePOWER Platform

OS/Hypervisor

Additional Details

ASA 5508-X, 5516-X

ISA 3000

ASA 9.5(2) to 9.16(x)

There is wide compatibility between ASA and ASA FirePOWER versions. However, upgrading allows you to take advantage of new features and resolved issues. See the Cisco ASA Upgrade Guide for order of operations.

You should also make sure you have the latest ROMMON image. See the instructions in the Cisco ASA and Firepower Threat Defense Reimage Guide.

NGIPSv

VMware vSphere/VMware ESXi 6.0, 6.5, or 6.7

For supported instances, see the Cisco Firepower NGIPSv Quick Start Guide for VMware.

FMC Platforms

The FMC provides a centralized firewall management console. For device compatibility with the FMC, see Device Management. For general compatibility information, see the Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Compatibility Guide.

FMC Hardware

Version 6.7 supports the following FMC hardware:

  • Firepower Management Center 1600, 2600, 4600

  • Firepower Management Center 1000, 2500, 4500

You should also keep the BIOS and RAID controller firmware up to date; see the Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense/Firepower Hotfix Release Notes.

FMCv

Version 6.7 supports FMCv deployments in both public and private clouds.

With the FMCv, you can purchase a license to manage 2, 10, or 25 devices. Some platforms support 300 devices. Note that two-device licenses do not support FMC high availability. For full details on supported instances, see the Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Virtual Getting Started Guide.

Table 3. Version 6.7 FMCv Platforms

Platform

Devices Managed

High Availability

2, 10, 25

300

Public Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

YES

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

YES

Microsoft Azure

YES

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

YES

Private Cloud

Kernel-based virtual machine (KVM)

YES

VMware vSphere/VMware ESXi 6.0, 6.5, or 6.7

YES

YES

YES

Cloud-delivered Firewall Management Center

The Cisco cloud-delivered Firewall Management Center is delivered via the Cisco Defense Orchestrator (CDO) platform, which unites management across multiple Cisco security solutions. We take care of feature updates. Note that a customer-deployed management center is often referred to as on-prem, even for virtual platforms.

At the time this document was published, the cloud-delivered Firewall Management Center could manage devices running threat defense . For up-to-date compatibility information, see the Cisco Cloud-Delivered Firewall Management Center Release Notes.

Manager-Device Compatibility

Firepower Management Center

All devices support remote management with the Firepower Management Center, which can manage multiple devices. The FMC must run the same or newer version as its managed devices. You cannot upgrade a device past the FMC. Even for maintenance (third-digit) releases, you must upgrade the FMC first.

A newer FMC can manage older devices up to a few major versions back, as listed in the following table. However, we recommend you always update your entire deployment. New features and resolved issues often require the latest release on both the FMC and its managed devices.

Table 4. FMC-Device Compatibility

FMC Version

Oldest Device Version You Can Manage

6.7.x

6.3.0

6.6.x

6.2.3

6.5.0

6.2.3

6.4.0

6.1.0

6.3.0

6.1.0

6.2.3

6.1.0

Firepower Device Manager and Cisco Defense Orchestrator

As an alternative to the FMC, many FTD devices support Firepower Device Manager and Cisco Defense Orchestrator management:

  • Firepower Device Manager is built into FTD and can manage a single device.

    This lets you configure the basic features of the software that are most commonly used for small or mid-size networks.

  • Cisco Defense Orchestrator (CDO) is cloud-based and can manage multiple FTD devices.

    This allows you to establish and maintain consistent security policies across your deployment without using the FMC. Although some configurations still require FDM, CDO allows you to establish and maintain consistent security policies across multiple Firepower Threat Defense devices.

All FTD devices that support local management with the FDM also support CDO concurrently.

Table 5. FDM/CDO Compatibility with FTD

FTD Platform

FDM Compatibility

CDO Compatibility

Firepower 1000 series

6.4.0+

6.4.0+

Firepower 2100 series

6.2.1+

6.4.0+

Firepower 4100/9300

6.5.0+

6.5.0+

ASA 5500-X series

6.1.0 to 7.0.x

6.4.0 to 7.0.x

ISA 3000

6.2.3+

6.4.0+

FTDv for AWS

6.6.0+

6.6.0+

FTDv for Azure

6.5.0+

6.5.0+

FTDv for GCP

FTDv for KVM

6.2.3+

6.4.0+

FTDv for OCI

FTDv for VMware

6.2.2+

6.4.0+

Adaptive Security Device Manager

ASA with FirePOWER Services is an ASA firewall that runs Firepower NGIPS software as a separate application, also called the ASA FirePOWER module. You can use Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) to manage both applications.

In most cases, newer ASDM versions are backwards compatible with all previous ASA versions. However, there are some exceptions. For example, ASDM 7.13(1) can manage an ASA 5516-X on ASA 9.10(1). ASDM 7.13(1) and ASDM 7.14(1) did not support ASA 5512-X, 5515-X, 5585-X, and ASASM; you must upgrade to ASDM 7.13(1.101) or 7.14(1.48) to restore ASDM support. For details, see Cisco ASA Compatibility.

A newer ASA FirePOWER module requires a newer version of ASDM, as listed in the following table.

Table 6. ASDM-ASA FirePOWER Compatibility

ASA FirePOWER Version

Minimum ASDM Version

6.7.x

7.15.1

6.6.x

7.14.1

6.5.0

7.13.1

6.4.0

7.12.1

6.3.0

7.10.1

6.2.3

7.9.2

Browser Requirements

Browsers

We test with the latest versions of these popular browsers, running on currently supported versions of macOS and Microsoft Windows:

  • Google Chrome

  • Mozilla Firefox

  • Microsoft Edge (Windows only)

If you encounter issues with any other browser, or are running an operating system that has reached end of life, we ask that you switch or upgrade. If you continue to encounter issues, contact Cisco TAC.


Note


We do not perform extensive testing with Apple Safari, nor do we extensively test Microsoft Edge with FMC How-Tos. However, Cisco TAC welcomes feedback on issues you encounter.


Browser Settings and Extensions

Regardless of browser, you must make sure JavaScript, cookies, and TLS v1.2 remain enabled. If you are using Microsoft Edge, do not enable IE mode.

Note that some browser extensions can prevent you from saving values in fields like the certificate and key in PKI objects. These extensions include, but are not limited to, Grammarly and Whatfix Editor. This happens because these extensions insert characters (such as HTML) in the fields, which causes the system to see them invalid. We recommend you disable these extensions while you’re logged into our products.

Screen Resolution

Interface

Minimum Resolution

ASDM managing an ASA FirePOWER module

1024 x 768

Firepower Chassis Manager for the Firepower 4100/9300

1024 x 768

Securing Communications

When you first log in, the system uses a self-signed digital certificate to secure web communications. Your browser should display an untrusted authority warning, but also should allow you to add the certificate to the trust store. Although this will allow you to continue, we do recommend that you replace the self-signed certificate with a certificate signed by a globally known or internally trusted certificate authority (CA).

To begin replacing the self-signed certificate:

  • FMC: Choose System (system gear icon) > Configuration > HTTPS Certificate.

  • FDM: Click Device, then the System Settings > Management Access link, then the Management Web Server tab.

For detailed procedures, see the online help or the configuration guide for your product.


Note


If you do not replace the self-signed certificate:

  • Google Chrome does not cache static content, such as images, CSS, or JavaScript. Especially in low bandwidth environments, this can extend page load times.

  • Mozilla Firefox can stop trusting the self-signed certificate when the browser updates. If this happens, you can refresh Firefox, keeping in mind that you will lose some settings; see Mozilla's Refresh Firefox support page.


Browsing from a Monitored Network

Many browsers use Transport Layer Security (TLS) v1.3 by default. If you are using an SSL policy to handle encrypted traffic, and people in your monitored network use browsers with TLS v1.3 enabled, websites that support TLS v1.3 may fail to load. For more information, see the software advisory titled: Failures loading websites using TLS 1.3 with SSL inspection enabled.