Cisco Meraki MS Review
Modules Used
- MS120-8FP
- MS120-24
- MS120-8
- MS120-8LP
- MS120-24P
- MS120-48
- MS120-48LP
- M120-48LP
- MS120-48FP
- MS125-24
- MS125-24P
- MS125-48
- MS125-48LP
- MS125-48FP
- MS425-32
Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki MS
We use it at a lot of small and medium businesses. It is very easy for our NOC to manage multiple sites and customers from the dashboard.
Pros
- Management from the cloud dashboard.
- Troubleshooting connection issues with clients.
- Zero touch deployment.
Cons
- A lot of the more advanced troubleshooting is locked behind the customer service, when I would prefer to do it myself if possible.
- A large return on investment because it reduces the time it takes to troubleshoot issues.
The zero touch deployment in particular has made things really fast and easy to set up.
Being able to manage everything from a single dashboard makes things a lot easier to troubleshoot and manage. The automatic updates also help a lot.
A lot of the times we choose Meraki just because it is so easy to manage, and we feel a great synergy when we switch to everything meraki-based. For example when we are able to have both access points and switches from Meraki it becomes a lot easier to manage compared to if we mixed vendors.
Do you think Cisco Meraki MS delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Cisco Meraki MS's feature set?
Yes
Did Cisco Meraki MS live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Cisco Meraki MS go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Cisco Meraki MS again?
Yes
Using Cisco Meraki MS
10 - Several of my colleagues and I have chosen to use Meraki equipment, including their switches, as the foundation for our "Network as a Service" offering. The team primarily consists of network consultants who design, deploy, and manage infrastructure for our customers.
We work with businesses across various industries, helping them simplify network management while ensuring reliability and scalability.
Meraki's cloud-based approach aligns well with our goal of providing streamlined, centrally managed solutions.
We work with businesses across various industries, helping them simplify network management while ensuring reliability and scalability.
Meraki's cloud-based approach aligns well with our goal of providing streamlined, centrally managed solutions.
7 - Our team consists of network consultants with experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining enterprise networks.
Supporting Meraki MS switches primarily requires knowledge of network fundamentals such as VLANs, spanning tree, and Layer 3 functionality, as well as familiarity with Meraki's cloud-based management interface.
Since Meraki simplifies many traditional networking tasks, the focus is often more on policy-based configurations, troubleshooting via the dashboard, and integrating with other Meraki or third-party solutions.
Supporting Meraki MS switches primarily requires knowledge of network fundamentals such as VLANs, spanning tree, and Layer 3 functionality, as well as familiarity with Meraki's cloud-based management interface.
Since Meraki simplifies many traditional networking tasks, the focus is often more on policy-based configurations, troubleshooting via the dashboard, and integrating with other Meraki or third-party solutions.
- "Network as a Service" Deployments: We use Meraki switches as a core component of our managed networking offering, allowing us to provide customers with a scalable, cloud-managed infrastructure that we can monitor and support remotely.
- Simplified Multi-Site Management: Many of our clients have multiple locations, and Meraki’s cloud-based dashboard makes it easy to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot networks across different sites without needing on-premises controllers or extensive local IT expertise.
- Seamless Integration with other Meraki products: We often deploy Meraki switches alongside Meraki access points, security appliances, and SD-WAN solutions, benefiting from the unified dashboard, automated updates, and built-in security features.
- Zero-Touch Provisioning: The ability to configure and deploy switches remotely before they even arrive on-site simplifies installations, making rollouts faster and reducing the need for extensive on-site technical work.
- Automated Network Troubleshooting: By leveraging Meraki's alerting and monitoring features, we've set up proactive notifications for link failures, high latency, or misconfigurations. This allows us to detect and resolve issues before clients even notice them, improving uptime and reducing support calls.
- Temporary and Pop-Up Networks: For clients who need temporary networking solutions (such as events or short-term office spaces), Meraki MS switches allow for quick deployments with cloud-based management, ensuring everything is up and running without requiring on-site expertise.
- Remote Hands-Free Troubleshooting: Since Meraki provides real-time visibility into switch port status and client traffic, we've been able to assist customers remotely without needing local IT staff to perform diagnostics. This is especially valuable for organizations with limited on-site IT resources.
- Expanding Network Automation. By further leveraging Meraki's API, we could automate more aspects of network management, such as dynamic traffic optimization, anomaly detection, and auto-remediation of common issues.
- Enhanced Network-as-a-Service Offerings: We could refine our managed networking services by introducing more advanced monitoring, analytics, and proactive maintenance features, helping clients maximize uptime while minimizing operational complexity.
Evaluating Cisco Meraki MS and Competitors
- Cloud Solutions
- Ease of Use
The most important factors in our decision to purchase Cisco Meraki MS switches were cloud-based management and ease of use.
Meraki's cloud-first approach allows us to centrally manage networks across multiple sites without the need for on-premises controllers or complex configurations. This is particularly valuable for our Network as a Service model, as it enables remote deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting, reducing the need for on-site support.
Ease of use was another key factor. The Meraki dashboard provides an intuitive interface that simplifies common networking tasks, from VLAN management to port configurations and troubleshooting. Features like zero-touch provisioning, real-time monitoring, and automated firmware updates significantly cut down on operational overhead compared to traditional switch management.
Together, these factors make Meraki MS an ideal choice for organizations that want a scalable, efficient, and low-maintenance networking solution.
Meraki's cloud-first approach allows us to centrally manage networks across multiple sites without the need for on-premises controllers or complex configurations. This is particularly valuable for our Network as a Service model, as it enables remote deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting, reducing the need for on-site support.
Ease of use was another key factor. The Meraki dashboard provides an intuitive interface that simplifies common networking tasks, from VLAN management to port configurations and troubleshooting. Features like zero-touch provisioning, real-time monitoring, and automated firmware updates significantly cut down on operational overhead compared to traditional switch management.
Together, these factors make Meraki MS an ideal choice for organizations that want a scalable, efficient, and low-maintenance networking solution.
While Meraki's ease of use and cloud management are strong selling points, we would take a closer look at how its licensing costs stack up against alternatives that offer similar functionality but with more flexibility in pricing models.
While Meraki was very early with this type of cloud-management, other vendors have since caught up and might now offer a similar or better experience and prices.
While Meraki was very early with this type of cloud-management, other vendors have since caught up and might now offer a similar or better experience and prices.
Cisco Meraki MS Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
We did not because we felt like we don't need it. The basic support covers our use case well enough.
We had a case where a switch stopped working, and Meraki's support was very quick to send replacement hardware that worked.
Using Cisco Meraki MS
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Zero-Touch Provisioning: Once a switch is claimed in the Meraki dashboard, it can be configured remotely before it even arrives on-site. As soon as it’s powered on and connected to the internet, it downloads its configuration automatically, making deployments incredibly fast.
- Network Topology Visualization: The built-in topology map dynamically displays how switches and other Meraki devices are connected, making it easy to identify uplinks, bottlenecks, and potential misconfigurations at a glance.
- Remote Troubleshooting: Features like real-time packet capture, cable testing, and historical client connection logs allow for fast and effective troubleshooting without needing on-site tools or direct switch access.
- Some tasks in Cisco Meraki MS can be frustrating, such as troubleshooting non-working SFP modules. The dashboard lacks detailed transceiver diagnostics like Tx/Rx power levels, making it harder to pinpoint issues without physically swapping hardware.
- Local management options are minimal, so if the internet goes down, there’s little you can do beyond basic status checks
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