Meraki Dashboard Reviews

I use Meraki Dashboard for configuration, troubleshooting, and monitoring as the primary use cases.

The features I have found most valuable are that Meraki Dashboard itself is fairly easy to navigate. There is a health or insurance tool that allows me to check quickly if there is any misconfiguration or anything unusual in the system, which is quite convenient for quick troubleshooting.

My impression of the end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco is that they are improving this, but it is quite interesting if I have the same brand like Meraki switches, firewalls, and so on, because everything is on the same console. However, if I use heterogeneous devices like Catalyst plus Meraki plus other devices, I also have API, Nexus, and so on, so it is a bit harder. I know there are some initiatives for that, but there is no consolidated tool or console that allows me to manage globally all the devices I have. Even if there are some efforts, such as Catalyst Center or Nexus Dashboard, I still have to jump from one console to another if I want to have the global picture.

What I would like to improve in Meraki Dashboard is the template part, which is really helping me to manage at large scale. Integration with AI or native AI functionality would be interesting depending on the price, how far it goes, and how far it shares the information I have. For the rest, it is quite straightforward. The next tool maybe to be integrated, which I do not know if it exists today within Meraki, is IPAM management for IP address management. I do not know if it is part of the roadmap, but it is something I have to use on a dedicated platform, so integrating this would be interesting as well.

Finally, I would rate Meraki Dashboard overall as a 9 out of 10. There are still some missing features, but there are also some considerations. I am familiar with the Chinese situation where there is a dedicated portal for China, so if I need to deploy access points in China, I have to connect to a dedicated portal due to the regulations in that country. However, this is not due to Cisco or company policy.

I have been familiar with Meraki Dashboard for approximately one and a half years.

I would assess the stability and reliability of Meraki Dashboard as having no major issues so far, which I would rate as a 9.

I would rate the technical support by Cisco from 1 to 10 as really good, between 8 and 9, so I would put it at 9.

Prior to Meraki Dashboard, I was using, and I am still using, the regular Cisco wireless controller, so I can really see the difference between both. I have offices spread across countries; I am based in Europe with data centers in Europe, but I have some offices in India, China, and other countries. It was quite painful when I had connectivity issues between the data center and the remote side because all the access points lost their connectivity and there was no Wi-Fi anymore. The fact that Meraki Dashboard is cloud-based makes it easier for me. I have less traffic going through the data center, it is more stable, and Adecco has access because the main account or main management is done by Adecco. I am just a user of the solution, and it makes my life easier.

I did not deploy Meraki Dashboard myself; I am just a user, so I just connect to the dashboard and do the configuration there.

Regarding their pricing, the company I work for, Akkodis, was acquired by Adecco in 2022, so I am using the same technologies and I am somehow on the contract regarding Meraki purchase and so on. Prices are good compared to the equivalent from competitors. Features are quite good. The hardware is maybe a bit more expensive than the other ones, but it is reliable, so I pay for the brand more or less. I know that I can use the hardware for years and years without much issues; at least the hardware part is really stable.

I am definitely working with Cisco products, or more accurately, working with Cisco products. I am working not only with Cisco ISE but other products as well, such as wireless, switches, and servers. I am mostly working with Cisco products such as Catalyst, and mostly Catalyst and Meraki. For Meraki switches and firewalls, I mostly work with switches and access points, focusing mostly on access points and some of the switches. Regarding MS switches, I only have a bunch of them, and I am starting to use them, so mostly I use Meraki access points and Cisco Catalyst switches. I am not working with Cisco Meraki MX. I am just starting to work with Meraki MS switches, and I have not installed them yet. I am dealing with Meraki Dashboard. Overall, I rate this product a 9 out of 10.

Access points, firewalls, and load balancing is my main use case for Meraki Dashboard in my usage.

I don't have specific handy names. Meraki Dashboard uses multiple functions where we can configure SSIDs, firewall policies, DHCP, multiple VLANs and DHCP configurations, VLAN configurations, access control policies, MAC binding, client access based on MAC authentication and certificate-based authentication. We have configured SSO for Windows Active Directory by configuring the RADIUS services. We have implemented many customer requirements in Meraki Dashboard.

With the detailed visibility feature of Meraki Dashboard, I get connected clients information, including how much data each client downloaded and what applications they accessed. I can obtain detailed data including ISP links level monitoring and speed. I can perform speed tests, generate analytics reports, convert to Excel based on each user for each department, create dashboards, monitor and limit bandwidths, and restrict specific URLs.

The advanced security configuration in Meraki Dashboard is useful for network security. Substantial security can be achieved within Meraki Dashboard itself, eliminating the need for additional firewalls to protect your network. You can configure WAN monitoring, users' ACLs, URL filtering, web filtering, and department-wise access configuration for specific client applications. It's completely cloud-managed, and in a simplified way, you don't need to visit any physical infrastructure to monitor activities. Apart from access points, everything is in the cloud. We have monitored IoT solutions, CCTV monitoring, and can detect and control intrusions. When people connect IoT devices to your network, Meraki Dashboard can detect what device it is and control those access controls, even with different operating systems.

Improving the AI capabilities would be beneficial as the machine should learn more extensively.

The future is AI-driven. Network availability is crucial based on machine understanding, so the machine should learn to that extent. Improving AI could be a significant role-changer for many aspects.

Scalability has some limitations as they are not enterprise-ready, and large hyper-scale networks may not be possible on Meraki Dashboard. It needs to be a physical network.

I have been using it for seven years, starting in 2019.

They are instantly available for technical support from Meraki Dashboard, which deserves a rating of 10.

Positive

For people who understand technology, the initial setup for Meraki Dashboard isn't really complicated. For beginners and intermediate users, there may be some misunderstanding because there's no sequence guide from Meraki Dashboard. You have to configure a firewall, create a network, and then a controller before configuring access points. The access points should be available on a DHCP network, so you have to check whether they have allowed the specific VLAN DHCP and open internet to be available. This level of education may not be available for beginners and intermediate technical teams.

I have used analytic functions in Meraki Dashboard.

This dashboard is sufficient for obtaining maximum data output. If anybody needs ready-made analysis generation, we usually generate the logs from Meraki Dashboard and provide them for SIEM tools and SOAR. Currently, it's not only for security monitoring and analysis but also for generating business ideas from this analysis. For that level of business analysis, Meraki Dashboard might not be sufficient. However, for company security purposes, the available dashboard is adequate for understanding the company's security perspective.

Their scheduled times are usually late at night. Their built-in AI monitors the network, and in a recent use case, when the actual scheduled firmware upgrade was at 3:00 a.m. but there was backup activity ongoing, the AI tool rescheduled to a different time automatically.

Port level monitoring, configuration, and ACLs can be configured through Meraki Dashboard as a centralized interface to manage all network components.

I rate the stability of Meraki Dashboard a 10.

I don't have direct comparisons, but Meraki Dashboard is treated as an enterprise-grade wireless cloud-based controller solution, while HP Aruba Instant On is not enterprise grade and has limitations. They are the leaders in cloud-based networks today.

My final rating for Meraki Dashboard is 10 out of 10, and I recommend it to other users.

We have deployed the Meraki Dashboard for centralized management and monitoring of all devices, appliances, and sensors across two shopping malls. The shopping malls are connected across different locations throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with all their Meraki devices centrally managed and monitored through the Meraki Dashboard from a single location. They also have a centralized Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) solution for managing their on-premises Cisco Catalyst infrastructure. The Meraki Dashboard is being used as the cloud-based management solution, while Cisco Catalyst Center is being used for the on-premises network management solution.

Most of my customers prefer to use the Meraki Dashboard, especially in the shopping mall and retail sectors. They do not want to invest heavily in on-premises management platforms or maintain additional infrastructure and data centers for network management. What they want is a simplified management solution that can be managed from a single dashboard. Device health, performance information, events, and alerts can be centrally monitored and managed through the Meraki Dashboard.

Their main concern is that using a cloud-based management platform means exposing their network data to the cloud. I explained to them that Meraki Dashboard is primarily a cloud-based management and monitoring platform; it does not act as a transit path for the customer's normal network/data traffic. The customer’s production traffic continues to flow through the network infrastructure according to the configured network design, while management information and telemetry required for cloud-based monitoring and management are communicated with the Meraki cloud.

After understanding this architecture and the security considerations, my customers were comfortable adopting the Meraki Dashboard. They have been using the solution for the past 2.5 years, and they are very satisfied with its centralized management, simplified operations, monitoring capabilities, and overall ease of use.

One of the biggest advantages of Meraki Dashboard is the flexibility Cisco now provides with supported Catalyst hardware. The same Catalyst switch can, depending on the model and supported mode, be managed through Meraki Dashboard for cloud-based management or deployed as a traditional Cisco Catalyst switch with on-premises management.

Meraki uses a subscription-based licensing model, so customers pay annually for cloud management. While this can be more expensive initially, customers benefit from reduced requirements for on-premises management infrastructure, including data center space, power, cooling, and maintenance. This is particularly valuable for shopping malls and retail customers, where space and operational simplicity are very important.

The main aspect I would like to see improved in Meraki Dashboard is the dependency on cloud connectivity for centralized management. If the primary Internet or ISP connection goes down, access to the Dashboard and cloud-based management functions can be affected.

Occasionally, when internet lines are broken or when there is ISP service connectivity down, you should have a backup line so that you can manage Meraki Dashboard and all related functions from the central location.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard for almost 2.5 years.

I did not have any incidents related to crashing or lagging. The network has been working for the past 2.5 years and is performing very well.

Meraki Dashboard is highly scalable. If the network is properly designed with distribution switches, expansion is simple: you can add new access switches, connect them to the distribution layer, and provision them through the Meraki Dashboard. This makes network expansion quick and easy as the business grows.

We have opened some cases for technical deployment-related queries, and they responded very well with documentation. We figured out the issues very quickly.

Initially, they were using Aruba Instant. Aruba Instant provides cloud-based management, but we found it more limited compared to Meraki Dashboard in terms of centralized management, visibility, monitoring, and overall features. We conducted a comparison between the two solutions, and the customer selected Meraki Dashboard because of its simplicity and broader management capabilities.

The initial setup was very straightforward. Meraki Dashboard provides a simple, guided interface for onboarding and configuring devices. Once the devices have Internet connectivity and are claimed into the Dashboard, they can be provisioned and managed centrally through the cloud. Even for users with limited technical expertise, the deployment process is relatively simple and easy to follow.

I would rate this product a 10.

My main uses for Meraki Dashboard include managing our network. We have two different networks, and then underneath that, there are twenty six locations or so at this point.

The features I appreciate the most in Meraki Dashboard include the AI capabilities. I appreciate that they are building in groups so I can manage all the networks at once, which will be a great feature once they get that enabled. Meraki Dashboard scales well with my growing needs for my organization. We have expanded, and it has made acquisitions pretty easy. It is really simple to put in place. My impression from the end to end visibility offered by Cisco is that it is really good. It is easy to use. We have a small team, and even the junior associates are comfortable with the dashboard. It makes it a lot easier for them.

Meraki Dashboard can be improved with bulk changes across all the networks to manage group networks. Functionality is a little limited, and that is probably the only thing that I would say is a negative.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard for close to ten years.

I would assess the stability and reliability of Meraki Dashboard as excellent.

I would evaluate customer support and technical support as a ten on a scale of one to ten.

Prior to adopting Meraki Dashboard, I was using legacy Cisco.

What stood out to me the most during the evaluation process of Meraki Dashboard, both positive and negative, is that ease of use is the best thing. Anyone can pick it up and run with it and make easy changes. Deploying it was easy. Everything about it is super easy.

I have seen ROI from Meraki Dashboard.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that licensing and setup costs are a little high, especially with the licensing part. However, pretty much all Cisco products are priced this way, so it is expected.

There are not really specific challenges I face for hybrid deployments. We have some legacy Cisco hanging around that I still manage. Meraki Dashboard has everything together that legacy Cisco did not. It has a simple interface and is easy to use. The deployment model of Meraki Dashboard I use is hybrid, mostly cloud. I would rate this product a ten out of ten.

I am mainly using Meraki Dashboard for managing the Wi-Fi devices and the switches, specifically Meraki switches.

I use Meraki Dashboard for monitoring purposes. The detailed visibility feature of Meraki Dashboard is useful for troubleshooting purposes, and it helps a lot. I am happily receiving the alerts as well as the customized alerts, and the automatic updates and scheduling updates also.

Regarding the functionality part, I would appreciate clarification on what core functionality means. I appreciate the security that has been provided by Meraki, but they specifically require port 80 which is highly vulnerable towards Meraki domain itself, so I would like to remove it. I cannot understand why it was needed, actually, and I am unsure if it is possible to remove.

I have been working with Meraki Dashboard for around 10 years.

I would rate the stability of the product as eight.

Scalability is high, I would rate it as ten.

For technical support, I would give it a ten.

Positive

The setup process for Meraki Dashboard is simple.

I would rate the pricing for Meraki Dashboard as one.

I would like to think of the possibility of integrating another model of Wi-Fi device like D-Link or Aruba or something else. Just like in Catalyst, apart from Meraki, if we use a Cisco Catalyst switch, there is an option to extend some API or something towards the Catalyst switch. If this is workable for the 500+ D-Link devices my branches are using, then we can continue with this device, Meraki. Recently, we checked with Aruba and HPE actually, and they are providing the support for my present Cisco and the D-Link also.

If we talk about Meraki Dashboard, recently a dashboard has been changed from an old model to a bit of an advanced model. As of now, we have not utilized the analytic tools from Meraki Dashboard, and after using analytics, we need to have a report download. I can recommend the product. I have given this review a rating of nine.

The main use case for Meraki Dashboard is to manage the Meraki Dashboard ecosystem, and the main reason is the ease of use.

The features I prefer most include the ease of deployment, the visibility, the analytics, and the ability to drop one anywhere and configure it remotely.

End-to-end visibility from Cisco makes troubleshooting much quicker for my organization.

I think Meraki Dashboard can be improved with a couple of additional features, such as the ability to download analytics into a spreadsheet, which is not currently available, the ability to configure multiple ports or devices at the same time, and a backup feature for devices in Meraki, including a way to back up and export backups of devices from the portal.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard for fourteen years.

In Meraki Dashboard, I have experienced some stability and reliability issues, including a few instances of downtime, crashes, or performance issues.

Meraki Dashboard scales with the growing needs of my organization, but sometimes the new features do not clearly indicate whether there is an additional cost associated with my licensing level; they are turned on by default, and then when I use those features, I end up with a true-up cost.

I would evaluate customer service and tech support as mid at best. We are at the point now where we are starting to not involve tech support because we are not finding any value in it. My team and I either find a solution before tech support responds, or we get so frustrated with tech support that we abandon the effort. The experience is poor, not just for Meraki, but also for Cisco TAC, with a rating of maybe two or three out of ten. When I open a case, it takes hours to get that case through the process. Then I get a low-level engineer who does not understand the problem. By the time a technical team reaches out to TAC, the problem is serious and beyond online research. We work on the solution or try to find one ourselves, and by the time TAC gets back to me, I have usually found a solution already.

Prior to adopting Meraki Dashboard, I was not using another solution to address similar needs.

I would describe my experience with deploying Meraki Dashboard as very easy.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that it is what it is. It is pricey and sometimes surprising. Of course, with Cisco, you pay for the premium because it is a premium product, but some of the pricing is not as straightforward as it should be.

I face specific challenges with hybrid and distributed enterprise networks, as the data coming from Cisco-branded Cisco switches into Meraki Dashboard does not always match, and the data is not always correct.

I rate Meraki Dashboard an eight out of ten, which is quite good, and any organization considering it should first consider the cost but, above that, the value in how it is going to simplify that part of the network for IT teams. If you have a highly technical and highly capable team, it might not be the right solution, but for a smaller team with many other responsibilities, it is a perfect solution. I give this review an overall rating of eight out of ten.

My main uses for Meraki Dashboard are monitoring, ensuring everything is up and running, and making sure there is nothing down.

When they use AI to pick up on everything they are saying, it enhances our overall experience.

What I like the most about it is that it has a good view of where they are located since you can put them on the map.

My impression of the end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco revolves around its comprehensive nature.

The end-to-end visibility from Cisco affects my organization's troubleshooting capabilities because they are so well known; everyone knows them.

I assess the operational efficiency of Cisco in my IT environment as great; it is what we use for everything.

I think Meraki Dashboard can be improved by trying easier menus because the menus get a little cluttered.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard for approximately 10 years.

I have experienced very little downtime, usually power-related and not due to them.

I would say that Meraki Dashboard is very reliable.

Meraki Dashboard scales well with the growing needs of my organization because I have not had issues.

I evaluate customer service and technical support as helpful when we need it; you call them, and they help you through everything.

I would rate customer service probably an eight on a scale of one to ten.

I would describe my experience with deploying Meraki Dashboard as smooth.

The deployment went smoothly, and we had a team helping to deploy it, though there were no problems.

During the evaluation process of Meraki Dashboard, what stood out to me was that it is a collaborative group effort with the team.

We do not really use it in that way to track ROI; it just works for us.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that it is not mine to deal with.

That goes above me, so it is not my problem.

Prior to adopting Meraki Dashboard, I was using another solution to address these similar needs, but I do not remember who it was, though it has been a while.

Cisco does optimize the experience in hybrid or distributed enterprise setups, as we are hybrid.

My company is a customer of this vendor, Cisco.

I would rate this product a ten out of ten overall.

My main use case for Meraki Dashboard is as a NOC engineer for the MSP, where we have three sites. We add all the sites to Meraki Dashboard for live monitoring. I am the one who uses LogicMonitor, and we get an alert if some device is down. When we receive an alert, I go to Meraki Dashboard and check everything in the logs to see what is going on there.

I can give you a specific example of how I used Meraki Dashboard in my NOC engineer role. One day while I was working on my shift, I received an alert that a remote site was down. I went to Meraki Dashboard, accessed the switches, and checked the logs. I then figured out there was a power outage or someone had unplugged the cable.

Sometimes we need to update the firmware of different APs as part of my main use case. As an engineer, I do not prefer to go one by one to get a session for every AP and then update its firmware individually. Meraki Dashboard is awesome because I can go to the dashboard and update all the firmware of the APs at one time.

The best features that Meraki Dashboard offers include centralized monitoring, a very friendly GUI-based dashboard, and live monitoring, which is awesome.

Meraki Dashboard positively impacts my organization by enabling live monitoring. If someone unplugs the power cable, if the switches are down, if there is an outage, or if there is any misconfiguration, we get an alert from Cisco in our mailbox. We can take action in just one minute, which is awesome. I have never seen such a great tool.

A specific outcome that improved after I started using Meraki Dashboard is our response time, which greatly improved, and our end customers are very happy. Our SLA is 15 minutes. We were using LogicMonitor previously, and sometimes we got false positive alerts. However, Meraki Dashboard alerts are very reliable. We can respond in just five minutes because of that alert system, and end users are very happy. Our SLA has never been breached after using Meraki Dashboard.

Regarding Meraki Dashboard, I would suggest improvements to Cisco ISE integration. I have used Cisco ISE for port security and I never liked the GUI because it is difficult. If I need to check the policies, they should be in a centralized position or on the front of the dashboard. I should be able to check the policies like a firewall, but in Cisco ISE, I have to go through many options to find the policies and determine what the current policies are on a port. My suggestion would be to make the GUI easier for engineers.

I have used Meraki Dashboard for about two years.

Meraki Dashboard is great overall. I can tell you more about what makes the GUI so friendly and how the live monitoring feature stands out for me. In other products, for example, if you have used a UTM, it is not user-friendly. With Meraki Dashboard, if I need to restart a switch, I go to Meraki Dashboard, open the dashboard, go to the site and switches, and simply select the switch. I can restart the switch from Meraki Dashboard very easily. I would rate this product a 9 out of 10.

The main use case is to manage access points and security devices.

My favorite features about Meraki Dashboard are the insight it gives and the easy troubleshooting.

Having everything in Meraki Dashboard, I am able to see everything in one window pane. This helps us tremendously because everything is organized in one place, making it very collaborative and connected.

End-to-end visibility from Cisco affects my organization's troubleshooting capabilities by being very intuitive. It gives me insight, and everything is laid out right there. I do not have to dig in and search on my own in fifteen different places.

Meraki Dashboard has come a great long way and there is a ton of information, but with that ton of information, it becomes somewhat cumbersome and sometimes it is too much. When I am trying to find one or two specific things, I become inundated with twenty different things.

I have been in the industry for at least twenty-five years.

I have never experienced downtime, crashes, or performance issues with the stability and reliability of Meraki Dashboard.

I have never used hybrid and distributed enterprise networks, so I have not faced any specific challenges that Cisco addresses.

I rarely ever have to use tech support, which is good. When I do have to use them, they are excellent.

Prior to adopting Meraki Dashboard, we were using a different vendor. I forget the name, but it was horrible. When we went to Meraki Dashboard, we were so happy we were jumping up and down.

The process of setting up cost and licensing was not quick. It was pretty clunky and it was a challenge.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is very expensive, but I think since I do not have to pay for it, that is acceptable. It is a rock-solid system.

When picking Meraki Dashboard, we considered other vendors under the Cisco umbrella. I think Aironet was one option. I forget the other vendor and product, but we went with Meraki Dashboard.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard with my company for over eight years. My overall review rating for this product is eight.

We are using Meraki Dashboard for network infrastructure management. We have integrated it with Cisco devices such as Cisco HyperFlex systems and Cisco servers. Our entire Wi-Fi solution is using Cisco products.

Meraki Dashboard has provided us with a centralized solution for network management, allowing automatic updates of firmware or patches. It is very user-friendly, reducing technical challenges and making it easier to manage our infrastructure for better integration.

Meraki Dashboard offers an exceptional centralized management solution that allows easy updates and monitoring of various network features, including bandwidth usage and content filtering. It generates detailed reports on a daily or monthly basis and consolidates all network logs in one place that can be accessed easily.

There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high. 

Additionally, it would be beneficial if Meraki Dashboard could integrate more Cisco devices such as Cisco Firepower and routers.

I have been using the Meraki Dashboard for five or six years.

We have not encountered any downtime related to the Meraki cloud feature in the last five years. However, downtime may occur if there are DNS or internet connectivity issues.

Meraki technical support is reasonably good, yet not excellent. The support response time can be slow, sometimes taking up to fifteen hours. Support often comes in the form of knowledge bases or documentation rather than direct assistance.

Neutral

We previously used Sophos XGS. The performance decreased with an increase in concurrent users, hence we switched to Cisco Firepower for managing a larger number of users both on-premises and in the cloud.

The initial setup of Meraki Dashboard is user-friendly and not very complicated. There is support available for any needed changes or updates.

The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.

Mist and UniFi are considered competitors to Meraki Dashboard.

I rate Meraki Dashboard a seven out of ten overall. 

It is suited for medium to large enterprises, not small businesses, due to its cost.