Meraki SD-WAN Reviews

For Meraki SD-WAN, I always go with retail companies.

The most valuable features I find in Meraki SD-WAN are that it's easier to manage cloud, cloud-managed, with a simpler deployment from Cisco Viptela or Cisco enterprise SD-WAN solution, and it combines the access point, so it is a much simpler deployment, usually fit for retail.

Meraki SD-WAN is deployed on cloud. The product is easy to use, and I think its interface and centralized management are good.

The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN depends compared to which vendors, because it's a bit pricey, so not all retail would go for it unless it's a big retail company, but it depends on your comparison.

I usually recommend multiple vendors in mind because it depends on the customer's requirements; you have Fortinet, you have Aruba, you have Huawei, and you have multiple options that may be cheaper than Cisco.

Regarding Meraki SD-WAN functionality, it depends on the situation, but I would recommend this product if they have the money. It all comes down to the requirements first because I try to fit the best solution for them. It doesn't depend only if I'm carrying only Cisco, it depends on what their exact requirements are. Cisco is one of the top vendors with the most stable performance in many solutions, but it all comes down to the customer requirements.

Mainly the pricing is a concern, and it doesn't fit enterprise customers. For enterprise-grade customers, it's not going to fit; it's not possible to use Meraki SD-WAN.

It's not just because of the price; it's for enterprise because of the limitation in features and capabilities. Meraki SD-WAN is not fit for enterprise-grade customers or big deployments.

I have been dealing with Meraki SD-WAN for three to four years.

I don't think they have any problems with the actual solution.

It's scalable with extensive features for Meraki SD-WAN. This is where the other SD-WAN solution can help, the Cisco Catalyst Manager, previously called Viptela.

Their technical support is responsive.

Positive

My company helps customers with the implementation of Meraki SD-WAN.

I usually recommend multiple vendors in mind because it depends on the customer's requirements; you have Fortinet, you have Aruba, you have Huawei, and you have multiple options that may be cheaper than Cisco.

I am working with Meraki SD-WAN along with other products including Alluvio Aternity, Splunk, and AppDynamics.

Cisco's Meraki SD-WAN has their own cloud, and there's no Meraki on-prem.

I rate Meraki SD-WAN a six out of ten.

The main use case for Meraki SD-WAN involves working on the basic setup, which consists of Layer 2 switches. It is a very stable solution without the errors or bugs that occur with the Catalyst ones.

Additionally, it has a GUI interface that simplifies troubleshooting and switch issues, making it easier for someone who doesn't have a strong command of CLI to troubleshoot. The GUI facilitates most operations, except for those issues that require vendor support for troubleshooting.

The SD-WAN features of Meraki SD-WAN include the overlay setup that can connect between the switch and the Viptela device or between the VCE of another vendor without needing to be vendor-specific. Users can connect the switch to a VCE from another edge, whether it's Viptela, VMware, or Versa; it will work normally and build the overlay as expected.

The real-time visibility and analytics capabilities of Meraki SD-WAN are very good for troubleshooting ports, especially when viewing traffic running on these ports in real time. The Meraki dashboard is quite effective.

I am using Meraki Dashboard for centralized management with Meraki solutions. The Meraki Dashboard is helpful with Meraki SD-WAN and provides good functionality.

The main point for improvement for Meraki SD-WAN is that they could provide more troubleshooting tabs on the GUI. For instance, when performing a TCP dump or packet capture on some ports on uplinks, this should be available on the GUI.

It would simplify troubleshooting and allow for deeper investigations when accessibility is granted for these two types of troubleshooting tools, which are already permitted on other vendors such as VeloCloud, which was part of VMware and now belongs to Broadcom.

VeloCloud provides much more detail and many more tabs for troubleshooting everything, such as ARP, IPv4, IPv6, TCP dumps, routing, and switching. Users do not need to access the device CLI to dive deep into troubleshooting, as everything is accessible through the GUI in VMware. Cisco should enhance the GUI interface to provide more details for users to troubleshoot.

I have been working with Meraki SD-WAN for around five years.

I would rate the stability of Meraki SD-WAN as a nine.

The scalability for Meraki SD-WAN depends on the number of switches with low port numbers, which do not offer the same scalability as the 48-port models. The switches that have 20 gigs and 10 gigs are different than those with one gig. Scalability depends on the model number of each switch, but generally, it is scalable according to need.

I would rate technical support from Cisco as a nine.

Positive

I am not still using Infoblox as we stopped working with it.

The initial setup for Meraki SD-WAN is very easy; it's just plug and play.

The main competitor in the market for Meraki SD-WAN is VeloCloud, which is one of the leading SD-WAN solutions along with Ciena, which uses Flexware. It's a good solution, but Cisco, Versa, and VeloCloud, in particular Cisco Viptela, are the best options on the market.

I am currently working with Cisco and Ciena products, specifically Cisco switches and routers and wireless LAN controllers. Working for Cisco, we are working with Catalyst 90, 9300s and 9800s, 95, 9500s. For Ciena, I am working with Ciena switches and also with Broadcom SD-WAN, VeloCloud SD-WAN.

I am using Meraki SD-WAN, but I am not dealing with ACI or FabricPath; however, I do use Meraki and Viptela.

I have used policy-based routing features on other devices from different vendors, but I have not used it on Meraki SD-WAN.

Cisco provides their SASE solutions for security and Umbrella, along with other services, usually associated with their products or available for additional purchase. It integrates very well with Meraki SD-WAN or even with Catalyst switches. The SD-WAN solutions on Catalyst switches that use IOS XE or SD-WAN software can integrate with security features effectively, as Cisco has a complete structure for service and security.

I do not remember the prices for Cisco products as I have not reviewed a bill of material for the last two years.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Meraki SD-WAN an 8.

The main USP is visibility and manageability of the solution. With the lean IT team, we can manage the entire show.

I can discuss several features such as app orchestration for the access points and switch management. The architecture allows us to see whether the physical cable is connected or disconnected. This kind of granular view is available on Meraki SD-WAN.

On the security features, when compared to Fortinet, they have more patterns and AI-generated ones. Meraki SD-WAN is slowly implementing AI, but it is not yet full-fledged. If AI comes into the picture, it will be helpful. I work with Fortinet where with a single command you can deploy the entire SD-WAN along with FortiGuard within minutes. For AI, it can discover and connect, but currently, we are doing it manually.

In Meraki SD-WAN, some features require additional licenses and subscriptions. If these were bundled together, such as 10 or 20 licenses, it would be very helpful for a mini branch or small campus area coverage.

I have been working with the solutions for the last three years.

On the cloud end, it needs more development. Sometimes it is not working in Azure or GCP as it has interoperability only with some clouds, so that part needs work.

Scalability issues exist.

We have had some issues with the MAC binding. We raised it in TAC, and they were very approachable and supportive. I would rate them nine out of ten.

Positive

My role involves addressing the customer, understanding their requirements, providing a solution and network architecture, then closing the deal. I hand over to my project team for deployment and step in only if they are stuck with my solution.

Return on investment has been achieved.

When compared for the long run, it is reasonable, but for the short term, such as one year, it is costlier, especially compared to other OEMs such as FortiGate. If the license expires in FortiGate, the basic functionality will work, but in Meraki SD-WAN, the entire system will shut down.

It is totally about the customer use cases. We cannot suggest blindly to choose Meraki SD-WAN, Cisco or HP. If the customer use case satisfies a feature, we can implement it; otherwise, we need to customize or work with a different OEM. The overall rating for Meraki SD-WAN is 8 out of 10.

My role involves tailoring networking solutions, such as Meraki SD-WAN, according to customer requirements. The primary use case is managing enterprise network traffic, focusing on providing managed services to enterprise and mid-market customers by integrating solutions from various vendors.

I have used Meraki SD-WAN primarily for managing enterprise WLAN network traffic. The integration of security features is important, although there is room for improvement. The user interface that Meraki has, especially its integration into cloud management of traffic, is simplified. It allows you to manage your entire network from a single pane of glass, which adds significant value.

The security integration in Meraki SD-WAN is not as good as the competition, such as Fortinet. Customers are moving away due to this reason, as Meraki lacks in offering advanced security features, which is crucial for many enterprise clients. Cisco's AI capabilities and Meraki are about seventy percent caught up with competitors like Juniper Mist in terms of AI integration.

I have been working with Meraki SD-WAN for the last five years.

Meraki SD-WAN is stable, and the solutions are more robust now than they were two years ago.

Meraki SD-WAN is scalable, and there have been improvements in handling enterprise traffic and network management.

I have not had to interact with customer service directly due to account managers supporting us. From a support perspective, Cisco support is rated nine out of ten.

Positive

I worked with various vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, and Aruba, focusing on different networking components before integrating Meraki SD-WAN.

The initial setup with Meraki SD-WAN has become straightforward over time, with the ability to deploy in a few hours under normal circumstances.

Implementation is done through support from account managers as we are enterprise customers going through Telco channels.

In terms of cost, it is confidential. However, from an end customer's perspective, Fortinet SD-WAN can be considered cheaper compared to Meraki SD-WAN due to security features.

Apart from Cisco, Meraki, Juniper, and Aruba, there is also interest in Fortinet SD-WAN due to its advanced security features.

I rate Meraki SD-WAN seven out of ten. Two years ago, I would have rated it five out of ten. Cisco is attempting to catch up with competitors by enhancing AI capabilities.

We use the product in a business environment with multiple locations that require high availability, dual circuits, and significant bandwidth. Our needs also include high-end data inspection and firewall capabilities.

The product's most valuable features include templating, central administration, single-pane remote administration, and integration with other Cisco products.

Some advanced networking features are not currently available in the Meraki product but are on their roadmap. These features are available in Cisco's higher-end solutions. Additionally, I would like to see a blade switch in the product.

I've had experience working with Meraki SD-WAN for over a year and a half.

I rate the platform's stability a nine out of ten. 

I am impressed with the scalability of the product. I would rate it an eight out of ten.

We've also used Versa SD WAN. 

Versa required hard-line configurations and knowledge of Unix-based commands, which made it more difficult to manage remotely.

The setup is straightforward if you understand networking and all the necessary components beforehand.

There is some initial ramp-up time required for the development of the network, but once everything is set, bringing new sites online is quite quick.

The deployment team included roles in networking, security, and project management.

The platform's cloud configuration has reduced our technical hands-on requirements at various locations. Previously, we had to send someone with high technical expertise to stage the equipment. Now, we only need someone to physically rack it and plug in a few cables, after which we can manage everything remotely.

The solution's pricing is in line with what we expected. 

I recommend Meraki SD-WAN and rate it an eight. 

The solution was used in the city. We built a network for city areas to link some of the companies. There are networks in some cities or nearby cities.

We design and build the campus and WAN network for our customer. With Meraki's centralized dashboard, we've streamlined configuration and monitoring across all sites in day 0 and day 1, reducing administrative overhead and minimizing potential human errors. With its centralized dashboard, we can oversee multiple sites and make rapid adjustments during the early deployment window. Meraki reduced our customer's maintenance costs, allowing their IT team to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Most of the valuable features are at layer two and layer three. Included in this is the benefit of the local team, which we can call on for remote assistance. They can remotely visit our site and help with network configuration. This makes things easier compared to requiring on-site assistance for day one configuration and deployment. The remote help is a significant benefit.

They have to ask us many questions about configurations. It could be improved with some automation to trigger, for example, telemetry data, so we can determine the state of the deployment as of day zero and day one.

We have used the solution for only one year.

I was satisfied with the support. If rated from one to ten, I would give them an eight.

Positive

I was using Huawei products and ZTE products. I have never used a device from HPE, Juniper, Nokia, or other overseas companies. I primarily used local vendors.

The initial setup will not be too complicated. We are going to create small network areas.

Normally, we have three or four people on the team. It depends on the location. For example, if there are several locations, like two or three, two or three of us will deploy them, configure them, and bring them online.

Some customers have a maintenance team familiar with Cisco devices and configurations. This is why they allow us to create a solution or build a network based on Cisco requirements, products, and solutions.

The price is a little bit higher than local vendors, for example, Huawei ZTE or H3C. However, some customers require the best quality and performance, thus needing solutions and products from Cisco.

I would recommend them. However, in China, government regulations often require government-related companies or administration to use local vendors for building network and security-related infrastructures. In these cases, we do not use Meraki, Juniper, Nokia, or other similar devices. Cisco Meraki, that I have used, is a good product.

I would give the product an overall rating of eight or eight point five out of ten. The performance is good, and they have continuous innovations. We are one of the resellers, and we provide network solutions. If customers require us to use Meraki, they opt for Meraki devices or have their maintenance team.

Meraki SD-WAN is software-defined and handles key elements like bandwidth, layer seven applications, and VPN connections via automation. For instance, you can set up and configure auto-mesh connections between sites with minimal effort. The same goes for VLAN configuration; you define it, and the system automates the necessary access lists and rules behind the scenes.

In traditional setups, you'd manually create access control lists and prioritize traffic. With Meraki, it's automated. For example, you can set a rule giving voice packets priority, and Meraki's SD-WAN takes care of it instantly. Voice traffic can be prioritized by directly setting it as a feature or associating it with a specific VLAN. The result is that voice packets have priority while other data traffic utilizes the remaining bandwidth. This dynamic traffic handling is built-in, so you don’t need to write manual rules like you would with other systems.

Dynamic bandwidth allocation ensures that voice traffic always gets priority, while the Auto VPN feature simplifies network setup. The VPN configuration happens automatically, and the system fails to ensure continuous connectivity if you have a redundant connection. Everything is managed, meaning bandwidth and connections are adjusted.

Meraki did the job for what I needed. The key principle to follow is to let the problem drive the solution. Don’t pick a solution and try to force your problem into it. In our case, our needs drove the solution, and Meraki fit those needs best.  If I were looking for more throughput, there would be better solutions. For example, Palo Alto and Fortinet can offer higher bandwidth capacities. I sized the solution based on the bandwidth available, which we likely won’t exceed.

The main feature we needed was maintaining the system with minimal staff and without outsourcing support. Defining our needs led us to AutoVPN, which fits our requirement for minimal support. Meraki was the right product to meet these needs. If your priority is backend traffic and bandwidth, and you don’t need to filter traffic and scan for malware, geofence, or mesh networks, there are better options with more capacity. But that wasn’t our need.

The real issue is that many people pick a solution and try to adapt their business model, which is the wrong approach. In the long run, that limits you.

I've had no issues with stability.

When planning, I considered whether I might expand from one site to ten or even a hundred sites. The solution allows the deployment of equipment for any number of sites—one, ten, or a hundred. Once the equipment is online, it becomes fully meshed within fifteen minutes.

The response time from contacting TAC is under five minutes. Email follow-ups are also quite timely if you choose that route. I’ve never had issues with their tech support, and everyone I've interacted with has been more than capable.

Positive

We handled everything in-house, and based on my 27 years of experience, I’ve looked at Cisco. For about 20 years, Cisco routers were the industry standard. Cisco remains a benchmark for routers. If you’re looking for firewall solutions or a security appliance, a router becomes a hybrid between firewalls, IDS, and routers.

Of all the solutions I’ve evaluated, Meraki is the simplest in terms of ease of use for setup and configuration. If it's the right product for your needs, I revamped an entire wide-area network over the course of a couple of months. In total, the time spent configuring everything was less than a week.

You should have a solid understanding of networking, including wider networking concepts and security, like content filtering, geofencing, and traffic limits. Knowledge of VLANs is also helpful, but you need to plan everything before implementing it. While you can always add features later, planning for them from the start is much easier.

Once you understand the capabilities, allowing them in the future is a good idea. Assume you’ll need them and activate the necessary features upfront. When the time comes, you only need to configure them; no major reconfiguration will be required. If you do need them later, it’s much easier if they’ve already been enabled.

If you plan to use VLANs, enable the feature even if you don't need it right away. If you end up needing it later, the capability will already be in place, which is important because it can impact various settings across the system.

Over the years, I’ve learned that you often need features you didn't initially anticipate as sites grow. It's better to enable these features in advance rather than turning them on later, which can affect other parts of the routing configuration. By planning for these features upfront, you avoid the complexity and potential disruptions of reconfiguring things later.

The return on investment is strong due to the reduced need for maintenance staff. Even without negotiating maintenance contracts and pricing, the fact that I require fewer support personnel helps the cost. The reduction in outside support costs helps offset the maintenance expenses. We also replaced our phone equipment with a VoIP integrated into the Meraki platform. The cost savings from both this and the reduced need for external support nearly cover the maintenance costs.

They’re competitive across the board. For larger deployments, they’re open to negotiating terms.

Maintaining firmware can be challenging for a one-person operation managing nine different security appliances across nine sites. It allows me to schedule firmware updates for off-hours. If I forget, Cisco Meraki will push and schedule updates for me if the firmware nears its support expiration date. I can schedule upgrades through the portal after hours or in the middle of the night, and Meraki will handle the process.

If I need to make changes, I can view all my devices using the centralized portal. I can define the configurations and then apply them to individual devices or replicate them across multiple devices. Once I push and save the configuration changes, they are distributed to all the devices within two to five minutes.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I use the tool for some purposes related to technical checks.

Meraki as SD-WAN has improved our organization's work since it is a resilient tool and serves as a cloud-based product.

The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of maintenance. The tool's cost-effectiveness and value-cost optimization have also been helpful. In case you need the software upgrade, you can centrally push the software upgrades. You can push the application process from the central point.

Meraki SD-WAN has to significantly improve the company's network performance. Though Meraki SD-WAN's network performance is better than that of the MPLS circuit and other technologies, it can still improve.

The tool needs to focus on network stability, better prices, good performance, and low-cost bandwidth to improve its solution. I want the tool's cost to be less and performance to be higher.

I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for two years. I am a customer and partner of the tool.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

There has been a medium to low impact on our devices in terms of stability whenever we had to experience a downtime.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Around 100 to 200 people use the tool.

I plan to increase the use of the tool in my company.

I have contacted the solution's technical support via the web and some toll-free numbers. The tool's support team has been super helpful. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

Positive

Before Meraki SD-WAN, I used to use an independent router and switches from Cisco. My company started to use Meraki SD-WAN since we wanted to bypass the existing device since without it we were unable to go for upgrades.

The product's initial setup phase was fast. If one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the product's initial setup phase a ten out of ten.

Five to six people manage the product's deployment phase.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in six months.

Five to six people manage the product's maintenance phase.

The tool helps save some money.

The tool is costly. I rate the tool's price as a ten out of ten since it is very expensive.

I did not evaluate other tools.

I use Meraki SD-WAN in our multi-branch network operations. We use it in multiple branches.

The tool is used since it bypasses the existing devices, and then we can install Meraki's router.

The tool can enhance our network security and management since it serves as a software-defined network.

I use Meraki Auto VPN feature, and it has been useful for me in the area of network performance. When it comes to network security and management, the Meraki Auto VPN feature is good, but if we consider the network bandwidth, it depends on the network connectivity. The security and management depend on the connectivity of the whole network.

The tool's performance helped overcome the challenges in network management.

I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

We have ten Meraki devices. Our data center, main office, and other offices are all in North Carolina, and I am in Florida. 

Additionally, we have six Meraki devices in our data center. They are doing everything we need them to do. I would normally use it along with Meraki MX as well. 

I usually pass it to the senior guy since I am pretty much swamped all day from seven in the morning until midnight.

The valuable features include dual mobile and VPNs and aspects like that. Meraki Solutions setups make it one of the best products I have ever worked with.

I have probably used it for a year and a half to two years.

For the most part, the stability is good. I do not ever see issues since I manage Meraki. The only problem occurs when users are not paying attention and turn on the wrong switches, like power switches, in places they should not.

I think it is one of the best products I have ever worked with.

Whenever we need assistance, it is instant help. If something needs to be replaced or if Meraki crashes, it is instantly replaced. It is never a pain to get them to do anything support-wise.

Neutral

We switched due to the fact that the guy who installed all the Meraki devices basically convinced the company to switch to Meraki. I have worked with other solutions, yet not as much as Meraki. They all pretty much do the same thing, however, Meraki seems more reliable if set up properly.

I did not set it up, so I just manage it at this point. It was not hard to set up. The guy who set it up, whom I still work with, knows Meraki like the back of his hand.

We had someone doing it by himself. He has been in the company for eight years, setting everything up. He set up pretty much everything himself.

I would recommend the solution. It is not difficult to install or set up. In a previous company, I helped them set up since they never set it up properly for a couple of years. I figured things out faster, however, people do not realize that I read a lot too. I have read all the setups. I am supposed to be a senior network support engineer, but sixty percent of the time, I am training guys from MSPs on how to resolve simple tickets. I am sort of in between a senior network engineer and service desk manager. 

The overall product rating is ten out of ten.

I use Meraki SD-WAN in various corporate environments. It's implemented in both small offices, accommodating about twenty people, and larger offices with four hundred to five hundred people. Primarily, it's used to connect corporate networks to the Internet and occasionally between locations.

The most valuable features include understanding the throughput of bandwidth, traffic shaping, alerts and outages, and the integrated VPN. These elements are crucial for managing the network effectively. Additionally, the remote management is essential for our model, allowing us to handle multiple locations easily.

From a dashboard perspective, identifying issues can be challenging if one or two individuals experience trouble. Another area for improvement is in wireless management, where external tools might be needed to troubleshoot noise and environmental factors causing network issues.

I started using Meraki SD-WAN about ten years ago.

The solution is stable, and there are no major issues reported with its performance in our network environments.

The solution scales well, catering to both small and large office environments without requiring major changes to deployment.

Customer service and support are strong. Meraki provides good assistance which makes them reliable partners, thus earning a strong nine or eight rating from me.

Positive

In the past, I've used solutions like Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. However, I find Meraki more suited to our internal enterprise environment.

The initial setup is easy, as you just set it up with PoE and connect it, which takes about half an hour at most.

The setup does not require a large team; it's mostly a one-time job that requires minimal staffing since everything is managed remotely.

It's hard to provide a percentage, but the solution effectively reduces costs due to its capabilities, allowing network management from anywhere in the world.

Even though it is more expensive than other options, it's reasonable when factoring in the remote management capabilities which eliminate the need for additional staffing.

I have used Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks in the past, but found Meraki better for internal environments.

I'd rate Meraki SD-WAN between eight and nine for its performance within controlled environments. If you're working in a closed ecosphere, it's an excellent choice. For more open scenarios, Fortinet or Palo Alto might offer more flexibility.