Cisco Meraki MS vs NETGEAR Ethernet Switches

• Meraki MS switches are wonderful at allowing a network admin to configure a VPN mesh network without having to have highly specialized knowledge. Unlike Cisco switches, there is no CLI, there is only a GUI, and Meraki support helps you set it up as you add nodes to your network.
• Meraki MS switches are easy to deploy. Full stop.
• They can work with any firewall or ASA but I would strongly recommend using the Meraki MX security appliance if you are going to use Meraki MS switches because they were made to work together.
• They easily stack. It's all done for you in the Meraki cloud control panel.
• They will get an address from your admin VLAN's DHCP scope and keep it. Even if you unplug it and move it, you will not have to worry about addressing it.
• The GUI is online and you can reach it from anywhere, so as long as you have the credentials, you can manage the network from any device that has a browser.

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• Gigabit speed is consistent and reliable
• Cost is low
• Easy to install

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• Firmware management could be a little [more] customer change management centric.
• Some of the online portal could be more pop-out driven instead of navigating back and forth between pages and reloading the page to do simple things.
• Instances where Meraki switches won't have cloud access for long periods of time make it difficult to be able to maintain switch code configuration.

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• Fan Noise
• mixed mode gbic and ethernet ports
• option for dual power supply on low end models

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• One critical business objective was a worry-free network. This is it!
• Another business objective was to be able to manage my entire network from a single interface. Meraki delivers again! Not having to be in the building to monitor, manage and configure networking equipment is worth the weight of these devices in gold.
• I wanted to be able to see everything that was happening on my network. Meraki enables that. I can see every device, what each is doing, set alerts for when individual ports go down or the device that is attached stops sending packets, etc. The visibility into my network's performance and security is unprecedented. I never knew what I was missing and I do not want to go back!

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• Rarely need to reboot or troubleshoot the SOHO switches.
• Low cost for the functionality. For example, 8 port GB switches for $20 is a no brainer for a home environment that doesn't need vlans or more enterprise type features.
• No negative impact on any environment I am aware of, however have not tested in a larger environment with multiple switches.

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