Network Warrior, 2nd Edition

Names

One of the more user-friendly features of the ASA and PIX OS is the ability to display IP addresses as names. To enable this feature, enter the names command in configuration mode:

ASA-5540/GAD(config)# names

With the names feature enabled, you can configure any IP address to be associated with a name. This is similar in principle to a basic form of DNS, but the names are local to the ASA or PIX being configured. Say that 10.10.10.10 is the IP address of a server called FileServer. Using the name command, you can assign the name FileServer to the IP address within the ASA:

ASA-5540/GAD(config)# name 10.10.10.10 FileServer

You can then configure an access list like the following:

ASA-5540/GAD(config)# access-list Dingle permit tcp any host 10.10.10.10 eq www

Note

Access lists, including features specific to the ASA, are covered in detail in Chapter 25. The effects of using names like Dingle to identify your access lists have not been studied in depth. Use them at your own risk.

In the configuration, the IP address will be translated to the configured name:

ASA-5540/GAD# sho run | include Dingle
access-list Dingle extended permit tcp any host FileServer eq www

If you prefer to see the IP addresses, you can disable the names feature by negating the names command. The configuration will once again show the IP addresses:

ASA-5540/GAD(config)# no names
ASA-5540/GAD(config)# sho run | include Dingle
access-list Dingle extended permit tcp any host 10.10.10.10 eq www

Note

Even with names enabled, ...