Item: Cisco Meraki MX
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Cisco Meraki MX firewall solution is easy to set up and manage. There is a host of online documentation to help you get this setup, from complex routing and access control to simple VPN configurations. This means a person with some technical knowledge could set this up to create a very secure, remotely accessible, multi-VLAN network, with many required needs of [today's] workforce environment.

Pros and Cons

Policy control over types of users
Content filtering with granular control
VPN access management

As soon as network equipment is seen by the MX, it labels it, making it confusing as to if a device is rogue
The reporting in the Client window is not real-time, [it's] not really accurate until some time has passed
Individual client bandwidth usage seems to be inaccurate in the clients window

Key Insights

Do you think Cisco Meraki MX delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Meraki MX's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Meraki MX live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Meraki MX go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Meraki MX again?

Yes

Return on Investment

Managing the remote workforce was easily configured and expandable, especially in the past year or so when WFH exploded into the new workplace.
The web console and mobile administration app have full capabilities and have proved incredibly useful.
Threat Protection and Intrusion Detection and Prevention are always working in our best interest.

Simplified Management

We have utilized the ease of deployment with the Z3 models for a few of our permanent WFH staff that we were able to have the device configured 100% then shipped to the end-user for literal plug and play WFH across live VPN with no more effort for the und user than plugging in power and ethernet. As well as the ease to set up the VPN Site to Site tunnel for two offices across the US.

Integrations with other Cisco products

Cisco Meraki Z3 Teleworker and Cisco Meraki MR

Z3 Teleworkers were deployed with ease to a few of our users in permanent WFH situations with flawless results. The Wireless AP MR devices are excellent units with multi-VLAN capabilities to comply with VLAN rules set up on Cisco Meraki MX devices. The reporting on wireless activity is really great. Firmware upgrades have been very simple as well to schedule and do remotely.

Scalability

I have not pushed the envelope with this much, we set up our environment with two Cisco Meraki MX, 4 MR wireless AP, and 4 Z3 Teleworkers. Then added a wireless AP and another Z3 Teleworker. Everything involved was easy and as expected. Licensing was easy to apply. It really seems easy to build and improve upon. Very few times have any os upgrades (Which seem to be regular) caused much of a change that I may not have even noticed.

Alternatives Considered

Cisco ASA

The Cisco Meraki MX device has a user interface or GUI that beats the pants off of the Cisco ASA. Needless to say, the ASA was clunky and just hard to navigate. It was ok had you had some experience doing so, but the Meraki GUI is different. It feels like it was designed for a much less technical person without reducing any of the capabilities needed to make a very secure environment.

Other Software Used

Mimecast Secure Email Gateway, Code42 (formerly CrashPlan), Spiceworks Help Desk

Likelihood to Recommend

Any of the examples I provided that the Cisco Meraki MX may not do well are far exceeded by how well it works as a whole. It is very robust with many security features you can choose to use or not. You can utilize MAC filtering, Add Admin users, web access is incredibly useful. The interface is [remarkably] intuitive in [almost] every way, especially compared to older ASA devices Cisco had to offer.

Cisco Meraki MX, User-friendly Network Protection

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki MX