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As a follow-up to a previous post, I am happy to report that Cisco has finally posted the bits to the ASA 8.2 code online for download.  I have been looking forward to this, as this release includes a new license model for the AnyConnect VPN client called “Cisco AnyConnect Essentials”.

While I still can’t find any written reference (on the Cisco price list or elsewhere) for how much the AnyConnect VPN client is going to cost, I have confirmed that the previous rumor of it being “next to free” is indeed true.  Cisco is only charging $150 for the AnyConnect VPN Essentials license on a 5510 which will give you up to 250 simultaneous users!  (that is about as close-too-free as Cisco gets)

This is the answer you are looking for to deal with 64 bit client support!  A coworker of mine even told me today that the AnyConnect client works in his Windows 7 Beta 2 machine (which surprised me, I suspect under-the-hood the Windows 7 networking stack is very similar to Windows Vista).

The part number you need for an ASA 5510 is ASA-AC-E-5510=.  If you need the part numbers for other models check out the release announcement.

There is some reference in the release notes to possibly needing more ram in the ASA 5510 platforms (I am not yet sure if this will impact me, I am not doing a ton of stuff on my ASA 5510 but yet I run near 80% RAM utilization on version 8.0.4).  It is worth noting that there is annoying footnote that says the 256 -> 512 meg of RAM upgrade won’t be available till June…

Also, I have been told that the Botnet detection feature will be $460 a year.  This is part number ASA5510-BOT-1YR= for the ASA 5510.

I will write up another post once I install the 8.2 code somewhere.

-Eric

UPDATE: 5/18/09

I am getting conflicting information from my VAR than I got directly from Cisco.  They say MSRP is $350 right now and it won’t be available till late this month or early June.  CDW has it posted for $232.99 without any special pricing discounts you may have with them.  Availability says to call…

UPDATE: 5/29/09

The CDW site now shows that the ASA-AC-E-5510 part is $101.99.  It still says availability is “call”…

And for those of you looking for the part numbers you need to purchase the AnyConnect Essentials for your model of ASA, here they are:

• AnyConnect Essentials VPN License – ASA 5505 (25 Prs) – ASA-AC-E-5505=
• AnyConnect Essentials VPN License – ASA 5510 (250 Prs) – ASA-AC-E-5510=
• AnyConnect Essentials VPN License – ASA 5520 (750 Prs) – ASA-AC-E-5520=
• AnyConnect Essentials VPN License – ASA 5540 (2500 Prs) – ASA-AC-E-5540=
• AnyConnect Essentials VPN License – ASA 5550 (5000 Prs) – ASA-AC-E-5550=
• AnyConnect Essentials VPN License – ASA 5580 (10K Prs) – ASA-AC-E-5580=