Cisco Meraki MS

I really do like the switches and have only had one switch go bad in six years. We have had a fairly trouble-free engagement with Cisco Meraki MS since we purchased them. We also use them with the MX firewalls and the MR access points. You get full visibility with an easy-to-use dashboard. There is no need for a VPN to connect to them, and they have a great service agreement.

We have had no trouble linking multiple switches together with a daisy chain cable. We have done this throughout our building and have added them as switch stacks so that they appear as one large switch. It's even better when combined with port aggregation on our fiber feed lines for 20GB throughput back to the core network.

This is the perfect option [for] always internet connected and cloud manageable switches. Instances where you want isolated, no internet access networks for security reasons these are not the best solution.

I give Cisco Meraki gear a near 100% rating for any business in the small to medium-sized business scenario. Only large organizations have certain business needs that Meraki gear may or may not provide the 99.9% uptime IT professionals and management would demand. Cisco Meraki gear is very scalable as an organization grows and makes it easy to scale up and scale out as needed.

I think that [...] Cisco Meraki [MS] can operate in any environment or scenario, such as retail, hospitality, education, and finance. If [there] exists a scenario when Cisco Meraki MS doesn't operate correctly [it] is in the industrial sector because this situation requires more specific skills. However, in general, [it] functions in all scenarios.

Because I [...] like [...] [Cisco] Meraki [MS] solutions for all benefits offered in a network. The dashboard Meraki is very important for comparison with others cloud solutions. I recommend [...] this hardware and the other Meraki solution, for example, Meraki Insight or Meraki MX, for SD-WAN and security.

Some of the scenarios where Meraki MS Switches are best suited are:
Retail: Great flexibility and integration with APIs
Education: Centralized administration
Hospitality: Allows Integrations with APIs and visibility

Scenarios where I do not recommend it are:
Industrial: When handling IoT or Industry 4.0
Critical Environments: Extreme weather conditions

Due to the deployment capacity that they have with the creation of templates, zero-touch implementations can be practically carried out. One of the main benefits is all the assurance that it gives you at the network level without the need to buy an extra license, as is the case with Cisco Enterprise, where you require a DNA Center.

If you're not looking to do anything fancy on your network, then the Cisco Meraki MS switches will handle most all of your needs. You get VLANs, port aggregation (LACP), IP interfaces, and basic L3 routing. If you're the programmer type, there are APIs galore for you to explore.

If you want to get CLI access, it's not going to happen. If your switches are offline, you can't control it through the cloud (though you can log into the web interface locally). If your company is stingy on license renewals, stay far away.

Part of the Cisco Meraki MS schtick is its virtual stacking, which means you don't need to physically stack them together to get easy management. If you're the kind of admin who likes a physical connection, a good number of models can be physically stacked together, so that's nice.

The Cisco Meraki switches are well suited for any environment. They are great for a novice or a pro. There is pretty good information out there to help with setting this up and they also have the support that you can call. I can't really think of any scenario where it wouldn't be appropriate.

The overall scalability would be a 9 because you can easily add more switches to your environment with minimal configuration. Even deploying new switches at other locations. All you have to do is go into the dashboard and add them to your inventory. You can configure them before you hook them up. Once hooked up they will talk to your dashboard and get all the correct settings.

This product will go to the top of the list of what I will use again. It makes support significantly easier and that is important to the operations here. I feel this is a strong candidate to be used in just about any configuration. It is very adaptable.

Meraki is really benefiting from the Cisco relationship when it comes to scalability. Meraki has grown its level of scalability. I am fond of the options this gives us when necessary. We can add to this system when we need to. We have not reached that point yet but it is nice to know it's there.

I think Meraki is a hefty switch for small businesses. However, for medium business and large enterprise networks, Meraki is a great product. I gave Meraki a 10 out of 10 because I've had no issues with the switching products. I absolutely love every aspect of them, from configuration to management. I come from a Cisco switching background and Meraki is everything Cisco is with all of the analytics and visual dashboards added.

Meraki scales up very easily and quickly with data center switches connected via backbone and satellite site switches added and configured upon connection to the internet.

It's well suited to small and medium sized organisations that require high performance high quality networking but do not have a requirement for more advanced features. It is less appropriate in larger organisations or those with complex requirements as this is better suited to the traditional Cisco networking portfolio where more advanced features are supported

The scalability is one of the key features and is very ease to use and understand quickly. Additional modules can be added with ease without having to build configs and apply them manually as in a traditional cisco networking infrastructure. This makes it ideal for fast paced environment where requirements are often changing.

Cisco Meraki MS is very well suited for small or very small sites like shops where you want to deploy your local network very easily, and without technical competencies onsite. It is also possible to deploy it for bigger office environments as it is flexible and very easy to manage. I would prefer "classic" Cisco switches for difficult environments like factories and industrial buildings.

We have been able to deploy our sites and our network and grow little by little very easily. The maintenance and the upgrade are very well managed. Until now, we didn't have any defective devices.

[Cisco Meraki MS is] best suited for companies with multiple sites that want visibility and switch management in one platform. The Meraki series is most likely a better fit for small to mid-size companies that are comfortable with a cloud first approach. IT departments that have a string desire to use advanced features and "get under the hood" may be unhappy with Meraki. Your only way to mange the switches it really through there cloud, the switches have a very debug centered local webpage. Companies also looking for 40/100 GBPs would have a wider model range in another vendor, Meraki also dos not support Fibre Channel. If departments also want to control updates on a certain version, Meraki may not be ideal, they do not let you get too far behind in firmware. They have in the last 6 years really kept adding so many new features and have a good value stream and have been increasing the product portfolio a lot.

Very scalable and easy add more switches, we just buy a license and put into the portal and then plug the switch into our management network, it checks into the cloud and is able to get a pre-built configuration. The configuration is also very easy to update and change as needed, when changes that could impact the internet access to the switch, a friendly warning comes up and has saved us a few times from making a bad config.

Great for most scenarios where you want intelligent switches and either have little knowledge on switch configuration (e.g. the standard Cisco range and the dark art of learning their configuration language)or a detailed knowledge and enjoy the ease of the interface to get complex configurations done for you.

As and when we've expanded our solution, it's been simple. We added a satellite office and it was an easy task to push out the configuration to the new devices.

MS switches are well suited for an organization that needs basic switching with ease of management. The Meraki TAC support is outstanding providing any support just by owning the device and carrying the license. These switches are very easy to management, so you don't have to worry about what will be impacted when you make a change because the Meraki Dashboard will tell you!

To add and remove switches in Meraki, this is super easy. The reason why I didn't give this section a full 10 is because these switches are meant for smaller to mid-sized organizations. So, this being said, if an organization were to grow rapidly, at some point, you'd need to replace these switches with beefier switches that can handle more data-center technologies as well as higher loads of traffic.

These are my go-to switches. They are faster to deploy and make changes. I save so much time managing and updating these compared to any other switch I've worked with before.

It's easy to add switches to a stack if needed.

Remote branches where you do not have easy access or near enough you can deploy them with ease and configure, patch, and monitor them from anywhere. The advanced capabilities that Cisco Meraki brings to an environment are worth the premium price and licensing costs. They have virtually all of the normal features most Cisco switches have but with exceptional remote access.

We have been able to grow and expand with upgrades and even replaced a few defective devices with minimal fuss.

I’d typically install these devices as access layer switches. Now, depending on the use cases I’d potentially choose a model that is capable of taking a redundant power supply and has the capability of physical stacking. It is possible to create virtual stacks as well. I don’t typically deploy these switches as core devices as there is limited support for routing protocols.

Generally, the online support that you get through the Meraki portal is excellent. You can raise, update and close your calls from the Meraki portal. You can also purchase a product called Meraki Now! with response contracts similar to Cisco’s Smartnet, however, it’s really dependant on what jurisdiction you are in - something to check before ordering!

Meraki has all of the range of switches. We use them for data center critical load/access. They may be suitable for user-level access as well but a little overpriced with licenses and support cost.

We have few cases with support for Meraki switches. One of the issues was with ports and VLANs configuration - really unclear situation.
We had a faulty switch and tried to replace it with a new Meraki. Tech expertise from Meraki support was quick and professional.

Cisco Meraki MS Switches perfect suit in organizations who don’t have a formal IT team in each branch and want to optimize the operation. Users support, updated information of the network, connected Meraki AP (to get full visibility). Also, it is recommended in the hospitality complex and retail. There are tons of functionalities that help develop new features in the network to offer new services to clients.

Cisco Meraki MS Switches offer you a 7x24 support in various idioms. They have the best SLAs in the industry. In the case of RMA, Cisco Meraki MS Switches sends you a new switch instead of pieces replacement (and if your switch model is out of stock or EOS, they send you the latest model in the market).

As an L2 switch, Meraki switches are great in just about any environment. I use an 8-port switch at home or we have entire facilities that have multiple 48-port switches. While there have been some times that we elected to use a straight Cisco switch as opposed to a Meraki, I honestly can't think of the reason why. I can say that it was extremely minuscule.

While it's rare that you need to reach out to support when we did it's been a pleasant experience. They were able to quickly diagnose what is going on, and where the issue is with bad config.

For the company with a smaller IT staff, these switches are great. This allows us to do some of the analytics and customization ourselves without relying on an outside vendor all the time. We do not have to have a full-time CNA in-house in order to manage our switches.

Ease of use, great Cisco support, customization, and security all contribute to this. One of the other great factors is the ease of setup and customization right from the start. We are able to get our systems set and start running analytics right away to provide reports to upper management quickly.

For any business with small hub sites, Cisco Meraki is perfect as you can manage that infrastructure remotely from your headquarter campus. However, the larger enterprise will struggle within the Meraki space as it is missing critical features—IPAM, network monitoring, built-in 802.1x, reporting. There have been great strides so far within the space and I think there are more to come!

The support team at Meraki unbelievable once you get them on the phone or through email. For the past 15 months though it seems like there is a lot of change and minimal L3 support for escalated troubleshooting. A lot of assistance is needed from your neighborhood solutions/technical engineer.

We find that Cisco Meraki switches are very well suited to locations or businesses that need basic switching with little management or upkeep required for them. They are also well suited to companies that would like technicians of all levels to perform basic functions like assigning vlans to ports given that the interface is very simple to use.

We have never had any problems with the customer support, always quick to respond and always very helpful.

Cisco Meraki MS Switches are well suited to companies with small IT staff. The dashboard makes it easy to configure and manage. They are great switches but they do not have as much power as the regular Cisco switches. The Cisco Meraki MS Switches are not good for Network Backbone or SAN switches. I would use a regular Cisco switch in those cases. In my scenario, the Meraki switches were used for Users, Cameras, Phones, and Printers. The regular Cisco switches were used for the Backbone, servers, and SAN.

I've never had a problem with tech support. They were very helpful every time I called them. Meraki will proactively let you know when they release firmware and you can automatically schedule it to be installed. They will advance ship replacement switches so you don't have to lose productivity and plan your downtime.

Meraki MS switches are an excellent choice as distribution (campus) switches for a small to medium-sized enterprise like mine, although I can envision them being really useful in the same role in a large enterprise, as well. You probably won't want to use them as your core switch(es) because there are some important advanced L3 features that you won't find on them, but as I said, for a small business that is not looking for complex addressing options and HA / SRST options, they would be fine in the core. Just do a little bit of homework if Meraki MS is going to be your only network switches including core(s). As always, if you DO use them in your core, be sure to have full redundancy (have a warm spare nearby) and make sure you understand how to swap Meraki MS switches on the web control GUI so that you can do so quickly if needed.

Meraki support is excellent. They are also highly proactive. They literally replaced all of a particular model of our MS switches when it was discovered that they were not sure about the longevity of a particular chassis fan inside those switches. Without us having to do anything other than ask, they shipped us all new replacements (with a better fan in them) for the 10 or so of the switches that were in the affected model group, and we shipped the defective ones back to them int he same packaging, prepaid. None of the recalled switches had ever experienced a fan failure, but they were not willing to let them run in a production environment. I like that. Meraki MS support staff are also quick to get back to you and very knowledgeable about their product. I actually contact our Meraki rep to instigate a support case (although i could call support directly), and he gets the details from me first, then opens the ticket for us and explains it to support. This means that I only even need to talk to one person, and I like that, too. Meraki MS switches are designed to be essentially "plug and play", so support is generally not needed unless the end user is not following the deployment and operation guides.

Cisco Meraki MS Switches are the best in the market place. They are cloud supported, easy to configure and full featured. If you are doing any scale of networking that involves multiple-use scenarios and a variety of devices, Meraki MS Switches are the best choice. Cisco support is second to none and the switches have a great ROI.

Cisco support for the Meraki products is great. I have a dedicated representative who I can reach out to at any time. They offer numerous online resources and easy to follow tutorials to help the most novice user feel like a pro. When I need support they were ready and quickly helped me solve my problems.