Setup Cisco ASA: Wiping Old Configurations

To setup Cisco ASA involves a crucial step: wiping old configurations. When embarking on the journey to setup Cisco ASA. It’s imperative to ensure a clean slate by removing previous settings and configurations. This guide will walk you through the process to “Setup Cisco ASA: Wiping Old Configurations”. Please see How to Shrink and Compact Virtual Hard Disks in Hyper-V, and How to deploy Azure Virtual Desktop in Azure Portal.

This emphasizes the importance of wiping old configurations for enhanced security and optimal performance. So, let’s delve into the steps to efficiently setup Cisco ASA and execute a comprehensive configuration wipe.

If the device (ASA) is not purchased as a new device, the best practice is to wipe the old configurations.

Part A: Wiping Old Configurations

Step 1: Erase the configuration of the ASA

CiscoASA#write erase

or simply

CiscoASA# wr er

Step 2: Reload the ASA without confirmation

CiscoASA# reload noconfirmation

Step 3: Now apply Cisco default configuration
– Note: this is necessary to have a configuration in the flash memory since we have cleared it previously

CiscoASA# config factory-default
Never do this in a production environment

Step 4: Save the configuration

CiscoASA# wr

Part B: Configure Cisco ASA

To configure the Cisco ASA using Cisco ASDM

Step 1: On your favourite web browser, run the management IP Address

Step 2: click on run Startup Wizard.
Now you can configure the hostname, password, DHCP (if you wish to use it as a DHCP Server) etc.

Step 3: Enable Network Address Translation (NAT)/ Port Address Translation (PAT) in order for the internal network to use you configured public address.

Note: Private IP Address are not routable over the internet.

Step 4: Enable the ASDM logging. This is option but very handy as it allows for troubleshooting when the need arises.

Step 5: I think for me its vital to enable the preview mode in order
to be able to view the configuration before deploying it.

– Click on Tools
– Click on preferences
– under communication and select “preview commands before sending it to the device”.

I hope you found this article on “Setup Cisco ASA: Wiping Old Configurations” very useful. Please feel free to leave a comment below.