Marie Ashway
Director of Marketing
In an age of making management more streamlined for enterprise network infrastructures and in IT overall, Cisco Meraki is right in the wheelhouse for making network deployment and management easier! Purchased by Cisco in 2021, Meraki is a leader in cloud-managed Wi-Fi, routing, and security.
What is Meraki?
Meraki is a cloud-based management platform for networking, wireless, security and other IoT devices inside or outside of the data center. Meraki provides an easy way to deploy and manage your Meraki devices in a such way that it makes it easy on anyone trying to manage your infrastructure. Meraki’s point and click system allows you to drill down into each individual device and individual ports to manage the network with the click of your mouse. Network upgrades are also very easy to deploy from the portal. The portal will query out to Meraki to review any device upgrades that may be available for all devices in your product lines, and then schedule these upgrades at any time. Once the schedule is implemented, devices will be upgraded without any more interaction. Meraki also has an app that allows administration of devices while being mobile if any issues arise!
Wireless and Wireless Cloud Networking
Meraki has numerous devices and products available to customers that fit many needs. Their wireless platform is their most popular device line as many small businesses can deploy these in just a few clicks. In fact, the Meraki cloud wireless platform was the main driver for Cisco’s purchase of Meraki. Their product line contains devices for all types of environments, from basic coverage to high density, including ruggedized devices able to withstand the elements. External antennae devices are also available. This wireless product line can also be integrated with identity-based access for additional security. Meraki wireless is very popular in hospitality, colleges, and retail establishments.
Switching
Meraki is also fully involved in the switching market, where there are solutions for almost all sizes of business. The MS120-8 switch provides a compact desktop switch, that includes PoE for anybody needing something simple on a workbench or deployment zone. From there, Meraki provides Layer 2 and Layer 3 options across the MS200 and MS300 lines, with PoE, 10G capability and even 40G capability in the higher 300 series models. The MS400 series are aggregation fiber switches that provide 10G/40G and even 100G options for customers. Meraki switches also stack easily, utilizing the stacking manager on the web GUI to help configure when needed. Management and diagnostic tools are also available, drilling down to each individual port to troubleshoot issues that may arise within the environment. Meraki is becoming more prevalent in access, distribution, and core environments throughout industry and schools. The MS400 series is especially growing in prevalence as a distribution layer solution for many institutions.
Meraki Security
The MX series of Meraki is the security appliance line and does a great job of bringing a firewall to the options of devices, but also some newer technology as well. MX firewalls, like the switches and access points, have a wide range of models to fit in many different scenarios. From the MX64, which is the small branch firewall, all the way to the MX450, the high-end campus firewalls, the MX can handle high throughput while securing traffic. This also includes virtual firewalls that can be deployed. Remote access VPN and site to site VPN is very easy to deploy, especially when its Meraki devices connecting to Meraki devices. But SD-WAN is a game changer in the industry and the MX can deploy SD-WAN in three easy clicks.
Management
Meraki also includes smart cameras, cellular gateways, and sensors, all of which provide a lot of use for different types of industrial environments. The best part is all devices are under one portal for management – the Meraki dashboard. This streamlines management of network devices to one location, instead of jumping from portal to portal, and command line to command line. This saves time and helps your IT staff stay engaged on new business initiatives, as opposed to just trying to manage an infrastructure.
More Information
Mainline is a Cisco Premier Certified Partner and Cloud Partner. Together with Cisco Meraki we deliver business solutions with unprecedented value to our customers. For more information on how your business can benefit from Cisco Meraki products, reach out to your Mainline Account Executive directly or contact us here.
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