Cisco's Meraki MR Series is a wireless LAN solution.
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Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Score 8.3 out of 10
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Cisco Mobility Express was a controllerless wi-fi solution, used by businesses to quickly deploy a wireless network without requiring substantial IT resources. The product is discontinued.
I came from several years of the managed services space before transitioning to an internal IT role. We have found that the ease of use and deployment combined with the bulletproof reliability of the Cisco Meraki MR platform makes it an easy sell for many types of organizations. I still recommend Cisco Meraki MR to anyone looking for an enterprise networking solution.
As it provides virtual WLC functionality, it has incredibly amazing built-in features that perfectly suit small to medium companies. It has the capability to manage the entire organization network seamlessly. It might be possible that it won't work smoothly and elegantly for large firms where there is a bulk amount of data bandwidth used.
Provides real-time and historic data right in the dashboard, allowing my team to troubleshoot user issues and identify larger problems much easier.
Meraki APs are known as "loud talkers", and have really improved coverage on the edges of our spaces. Our users live and die by Zoom, and stability has been greatly enhanced. We did have an issue with significant packet drops, and their support team was able to quickly help us figure out the cause.
You have to have license to use them, otherwise they effectively they become trash! It would be good to see a one off standalone license where they don't have any support or access to Meraki dash, but could be reused as a simple standalone AP with limited features.
Cause its intuitive, very clear and easy of use (no brainer) interface. It's whole portfolio in one portal aproach. Also cause the new features cycle release and the cisco Meraki comprehension of WiFi market. Also cause the fastest deployment available on the market that also comes with a easy to scale platform adding features and services in the same interface thats unique and awesome.
To get basic functionality doesn't take long. Set up a new Meraki Dashboard activate the licenses and get internet connection for the APs and you are more or less done. The Dashboard will find your items and you're good to go.
After initial configuration and fixing minor issues with the firmware, the system worked really well, without any downtime. We were also satisfied with the throughput and range.
Meraki support is usually top notch. The are quick to respond and stick with an issue until it is resolved. One of the difficulties I've had with Meraki MRs is the limited ability the customer has in troubleshooting. Much of the more technical aspects of resolution can only be accessed by the Meraki support team, meaning dedicated IT teams are reliant on them when more complicated issues arise.
When considering a solution you need you really need to take into account the environments that you are deploying into. If you request something that is fully configurable, then you are more likely to deploy the Cisco Catalyst controller. With the Meraki solution, one of the major selling points is the dashboard and how easy it is to manage. In most cases, the features available in a Meraki solution are sufficient for 80% of customers.
Cisco Mobility Express is far better than other products. It is a renowned brand in network products, and they are reliable and efficient as compared to other products that I have used so far. It is highly recommended.
Cisco Meraki MR is made to be scalable and flexible. We can scale up or down as needed and deploy devices without configuring them. We can add the devices to the portal and then not have to touch them before they reach a location. We love that it can scale as we need it.
Since they are easy to setup, you save a lot on manpower hours.
First you configure an SSID in the Meraki Dashboard and associate it to a tag name(s). Then, when you add a new access point to the network, you just have to associate the tags to it and it will start working. Super easy and time saving when provisioning new access points in the network.
Since the access points report back to the Merak Dashboard, you can easily rule out any network connectivity issues when they are successfully reporting back, which also saves troubleshooting time.
You can also save time by looking at the Meraki mobile App, which also gives you availability and statistical information.
