Exploring the Pull-Down Menus

Refresh ASDM with Running Configuration on the Device— This menu item enables you to ensure that the configuration you are displaying in ASDM is the current running configuration. The running configuration contains the commands that are currently active on the security appliance. This arrow turns to red when the ASDM configuration is out of sync with the ASA/PIX Security Appliance.

Reset Device to Factory Default Configuration— Choosing this menu item erases the current configuration on the ASA/PIX and sets all commands back to their factory default settings.

Save Running Configuration to Flash— This option saves the current running configuration to Flash. It overwrites the current startup configuration, and the next time the security appliance is booted, is the active configuration.

Save Running Configuration to TFTP Server— This option enables you to save the current running configuration of your ASA/PIX to a TFTP server. This can be a valuable tool if something happens to the memory of your ASA/PIX Security Appliance and you need to do a restore from a remote source. If you select this option, you are prompted for the IP address and directory of your TFTP server.

Save Running Configuration to Standby Unit— This option enables you to copy the current configuration to another ASA/PIX Security Appliance if you are using an active/standby configuration. Standby features are beyond the scope of this book; you can find further information regarding standby features on the Cisco website.

Save Internal Log Buffer to Flash— This enables you to save your system log to the Flash on the ASA/PIX Security Appliance. In most cases, administrators would want to save the buffer to a syslog server, but this feature is useful if you syslog server is inaccessible or you are logging a small amount of real-time data from analysis or troubleshooting.

Print— The Print option enables you to print information contained in only select pages of the ASDM GUI.

Clear ASDM Cache— Like most web applications, ASDM saves reusable information in a cache file. This option enables you to clear the cache, if you want. This cached data is saved in a compressed format on your PC. If you leave the files in cache, ASDM saves reusable information in a cache file to speed up future access. The cached files are not a significant resource on your PC; the average size of the encrypted cache files is between 5.0 and 6.0 MB.

Clear Internal Log Buffer— When troubleshooting an error message in a security appliance, it is often useful to clear out old messages so you can see only the sequence of messages applicable to your troubleshooting. The Clear Internal Log Buffer option accomplishes this task.

Preview Commands Before Sending to the Device— This preference causes ASDM to display the native ASA/PIX commands every time a change is made in ASDM. Many advanced users prefer this option so that they can see exactly which commands are being sent to the ASA/PIX Security Appliance. This option serves as an excellent way with which to become familiar with the new ASA/PIX version 7 command set.

Confirm Before Exiting ASDM— When this option is enabled, ASDM prompts you before you disconnect from the security appliance and exit the application. This is on by default to help keep users from exiting ASDM unintentionally.

Issue "Clear Xlate" Cmd When Access-Lists Are Deployed— The xlate table is a data structure that keeps track of connections through the security appliance. When an access list is closed, those connects are still active until the xlate table is cleared. This option clears the active connections table on the device for you, instead of you having to go to a command menu and enter the CLI command.