Item: Cisco Meraki MX
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our company has 100+ branch locations. We use Cisco Meraki as our SD-WAN to connect the branch locations to our data center or our warm site in case of an emergency. Each location has two Internet circuits that the Meraki load balances. These internet circuits vary based on availability; broadband, T1, or cellular. We currently have some sites using cellular Internet as a failover as well as using the Meraki MG21 with only cellular Internet.

Pros and Cons

Ease of Setup - each device takes a few minutes to deploy from the Meraki web portal. Once a device connects to the Internet it automatically downloads the assigned configuration.
Ease of Management - One web interface that shows all of our devices that are categorized by the site. We use templates to make large changes quickly.
Ease of Contract - All the Meraki devices share a support contract. With the Meraki model, we only have one support contract to renew.
Reliability and Support - Meraki monitors the health of the device and ships replacement devices quickly.
User Management and Logging - With the Meraki dashboard, you can control user setup. A user is created and then assigned roles. All changes are logged in the Meraki dashboard. This eliminates the need for a Radius server.

Advanced Features - With the ease of use of Meraki it can lack some advanced features. There are some features that are not present, for the most part, it has the features needed.
Detailed Firewall Logs - Firewall logs can be a little hard to search.
Pricing - Meraki is starting to have more competition. These new competitors may offer better pricing.
Meraki Magic - At times it can be hard to troubleshoot some of what is going on in Meraki.

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

Meraki has increased availability by quickly replacing failing or failed devices.
Meraki has increased security at each site by including the AMP firewall.
Meraki has increased availability by load balancing internet circuits and using QoS. These are not unique features but Meraki has simplified the process.

Simplified Management

The ease of the Meraki dashboard has allowed us to have less technical staff work and troubleshoot networks. Our helpdesk uses read-only accounts to be able to view the status of a network and the connected devices. When Meraki has shipped a replacement product we have been able to swap the device with no setup or allowing us to take less downtime.

Integrations with other Cisco products

Cisco Umbrella

We have purchased Cisco Umbrella and have started to integrate this with Meraki to provide secure DNS to help protect our company. Meraki integrates using an API key with Cisco Umbrella.

Scalability

With our Cisco Meraki, we primarily use templates to manage devices. At times we have devices not bound to a template for unique circumstances. At times it feels like I would like to make a change to one device but since that device is connected to a template that change may affect all devices. This may be my own inability of understanding how to make fine-grain changes.

Alternatives Considered

VMware SD-WAN, by VeloCloud, Fortinet FortiGate and Sophos SG Firewall Appliances

We compared VeloCloud. The product seemed fine. Outside circumstances made us not use VeloCloud. We are currently evaluating FortiGate and FortiAP for specific and unique locations along with Sophos SG Firewall and AP. Although we plan to add a competitor we are not planning on removing Meraki's.

Other Software Used

Sophos Intercept X, VMware Carbon Black EDR, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software

Likelihood to Recommend

Meraki MX is great for multiple branch location sites. This is especially true if there is no technical staff present to troubleshoot or console into a rogue device. Previously we would make a change that may lock us out of a device which would require someone at a location to unplug a device with a configuration that was not saved in order to revert our changes. Meraki MX also works well for monitoring and Managed Service Providers. Meraki allows Managed Service Providers to have sub-estates to segregate customers. Currently, we pay a third party to monitor our Meraki networks.

Meraki - Simple SD-Wan

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki MX