Initial Device Setup
Firepower 8000 Series Getting Started Guide
11
Initial Device Setup
After you deploy and install a new Firepower device, you must complete a setup process. The setup process also
allows you to perform many initial administrative-level tasks, such as setting the time, registering and licensing
devices, and scheduling updates. The options you choose during setup and registration determine the default
interfaces, inline sets, zones, and policies that the system creates and applies.
Before you begin the setup, make sure that you can meet the following conditions:
Access
To set up a new appliance, you must connect using either keyboard and monitor/KVM or a direct Ethernet
connection to the appliance’s management interface. After initial setup, you can configure the appliance for
serial access. For more information, see “Rack-Mounting a Firepower Device” in the
Firepower 8000 Series
Hardware Installation Guide
.
Note:
Do
not
use a KVM console with USB mass storage to access the appliance for the initial setup because
the appliance may attempt to use the mass storage device as a boot device.
Network and Deployment Information
You have, at minimum, the information needed to allow the appliance to communicate on your management
network: an IPv4 or IPv6 management IP address, a netmask or prefix length, and a default gateway.
If you know how the appliance is deployed, the setup process is also a good time to perform many initial
administrative-level tasks, including registration and licensing.
Note:
If you are deploying multiple appliances, set up your devices first, then their managing Firepower
Management Center. The initial setup process for a device allows you to preregister it to a Firepower
Management Center; the setup process for a Firepower Management Center allows you to add and license
preregistered managed devices.
After you complete setup, you will use the Firepower Management Center‘s web interface to perform most
management and analysis tasks for your deployment. Firepower devices have a restricted web interface that
you can use only to perform basic administration. For more information, see
Note:
If you are setting up an appliance after restoring it to factory defaults (see
) and you did not delete the appliance’s license and network settings, you can use a
computer on your management network to browse directly to the appliance’s web interface to perform the
setup. Skip to
Initial Setup Using the Web Interface, page 12
The following diagram illustrates the choices you can make when setting up Firepower devices:
Your access to a Firepower device determines how you set it up. You have the following options:
If you are accessing the appliance via a direct Ethernet connection, you can browse to the appliance’s web
interface from a local computer; see
