Proceed and Succeed
Open Source your blackbox Cisco firewall
Cisco is a great network solution for most, but I don’t think it is a ‘‘one-size-fits-all’’ solution as most would believe.
Pay-Walls, Closed Source, and Black Box technologies will be the death of Privacy and Security. While Cisco has done a lot and is considered the “gold standard,” it isn’t ideal for those who care for privacy due to its relation with IBM.
During my search for this deemed ‘impossible’ task, I have found a lot of unusual hate surrounding this topic. I don’t understand why, but I hope to save others from the hive-minded’s trouble towards questioning and wasting any more precious time.
Some of you reading this may think I am an absurd lunatic, and to a degree, that is totally valid; however, that is beside the point! This article’s “point” is to help the curious and interested in tinkering, learning, or even furthering the community and the technologies available. In my opinion, this could be the beginning of what could revolutionize the way admins think of “dated” devices. This is a matter of unlocking doorways and reintroducing the mindset of “what can one make this device do” rather than just using it as is.
This “impossible” task may seem complicated, but I assure you it is a cakewalk! Once opened up, it’s as easy as 1-2-3! Well easier than modding phones ;)
As of writing this, I have OPNSense running on my CISCO ASA-5555X! These modifications have turned this once scrapped device into a fantastic multi-purpose machine for my home network, free of the subscriptions and closed source limitations. The best part is I have control over the device the way I want to have it.
I hope this helps; feel free to email me or message me on Linkedin; I love to collaborate and conversate! Let me know your experiences, I have seen EXSXi running on these mini powerhouses, which is brilliant!
All the best, Dominic