Cisco® ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances are purpose-built solutions that combine best-in-class security and VPN services with an innovative, extensible services architecture. Designed as a core component of the Cisco Self-Defending Network, the Cisco ASA 5500 Series provides proactive threat defense that stops attacks before they spread through the network, controls network activity and application traffic, and delivers flexible VPN connectivity. The result is a powerful multifunction network security appliance family that provides the security breadth and depth for protecting home office, branch office, small and medium-sized business, enterprise, and data center networks while reducing the overall deployment and operations costs and complexities associated with providing this new level of security.