| Summary

| Having completed module 13, students should be familiar with methods of PIX Security Appliance failover, why it is necessary, and how to configure it. A user can configure a virtual MAC address for a PIX Security Appliance failover pair. This enables the PIX Security Appliance failover pair to maintain the correct MAC addresses after failover. If a virtual MAC address is not specified, the PIX Security Appliance failover pair uses the burned in NIC address as the MAC address. These options and their configurations were discussed. Also discussed in this module was the transfer of state information between failover peers. Serial and LAN-based failover were discussed, and precautions about the type of interconnection between the peers were introduced.

Remote access techniques for maintenance of PIX Security Appliances were introduced. This included the use of SSH and Telnet as access methods. The command authorization system was discussed, along with how to assign users to levels and levels to commands words.

Enhanced management tools simplify the maintenance of PIX Security Appliance installations, particularly in complex environments where up to thousands of PIX Security Appliances may be deployed. Advanced management options were introduced, beginning with simple GUIs, which offer management over the Web, and proceeding on to high-powered systems that can manage many systems at once.

The module also reviewed the important maintenance techniques of password recovery. Cautions were given to avoid initiating a security setup that isolates administrators from the PIX Security Appliance. This module also reviewed the process of upgrading the image software.