For a near-capacity MPX 5550 deployment, which upgrade path is recommended to accommodate growth?

• A. Upgrade the license to MPX 5650
• B. Upgrade hardware to SDX 14100
• C. Upgrade hardware to MPX 8005
• D. Add another MPX 5550 appliance

Answer: (A)

When a deployment is nearing its current capacity, increasing what you can do within the same hardware is often the most efficient path. Upgrading the license to MPX 5650 unlocks a higher throughput and more session capacity on the existing MPX 5550 appliance, giving you immediate headroom without changing hardware or rearchitecting the setup. This keeps your current policies, SSL offload, and configuration intact while providing the needed growth room, and typically with lower cost and shorter downtime than a hardware swap or a switch to a different platform.

Options that involve moving to a different platform (SDX) or purchasing higher-end hardware (MPX 8005) introduce more complexity, cost, and migration effort. Adding another MPX 5550 spreads the load across multiple devices and requires additional HA coordination and management, which adds operational overhead. The license upgrade is the simplest, fastest way to scale for growth on the same appliance.