Cisco Network Consulting

Overview of Meraki MS Switches
Cisco's Meraki MS line of switches provides access and distribution/aggregation switching solutions for environments ranging from small branch offices to large campuses. Standout features common to all Meraki switches include zero-touch cloud provisioning and management plus integrated Layer 7 fingerprinting, which allows administrators to identify and analyze traffic from applications and individual users as well as PCs, iMacs, iPads, Androids, and other connected devices. All Meraki switches also include advanced Quality-of-Service (QoS) features for converged IP data, voice, and video by supporting eight class-of-service queues on every port for end-to-end traffic prioritization.

Meraki's cloud architecture provides a single web-accessible dashboard for managing multiple sites and thousands of switches, allowing remote configuration of security and QoS parameters and enabling unified policies, event logs, and monitoring. This avoids the need for complex command-line configuration and staging procedures, allows virtually instantaneous provisioning and deployment, and simplifies performance optimization and troubleshooting. Meraki switches can easily be added or replaced at remote branches by non-technical workers without requiring you to dispatch onsite experts. Because Meraki switches and Wi-Fi access points run identical operating systems, administrators have the benefit of a consistent management experience across the entire Meraki ecosystem.

Progent's Cisco-certified consultants can provide cost-effective remote consulting expertise to help you design and deploy an efficient network architecture based on Meraki switches, streamline network monitoring and management with Meraki's cloud-based tools, define and enforce policies to maintain security and compliance, develop and validate a disaster recovery plan, and troubleshoot issues associated with any aspect of your Meraki solution. Progent can also help you integrate Meraki switches with Cisco's Nexus or Catalyst core and data center switches and Meraki's wireless access points to create a cohesive, enterprise-class network architecture. (See Cisco Catalyst switch integration consulting, Cisco Nexus switch planning and support, and Meraki wireless access point consulting services.)

Cisco Meraki Non-stackable Access Switches
The Meraki MS220-8 and Meraki MS220-8P compact access switches are designed for small branch offices, include eight 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ45) ports and two non-shared SFP GbE uplink ports, operate quietly without fans, and can be mounted virtually anywhere. Neither switch supports physical stacking and both switches provide 20 Gbps non-blocking switching capacity with 2.5 microsecond latency. The MS220-8P model supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) concurrently on all ports. The Meraki MS320-48 line of access switches are 1RU units that include 48 gigabit Ethernet ports and four SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplink ports. The MS320-48LP supports provides moderate power for PoE and the MS320-48FP supports PoE with a higher power budget. All Meraki MS320-48 models deliver 176 Gbps non-blocking switching capacity with 2.5 microsecond latency, support static and dynamic routing (OSPFv2), and do not have physical stacking ports.

Like all Meraki's switches, Meraki's access switches without physical stacking ports support virtual stacking, which allows you to use Meraki's cloud management tools to push configuration parameters simultaneously to hundreds of switch ports at multiple locations.

Cisco Meraki Stackable Access Switches
Meraki stackable access switches are fixed-port devices with 1RU form factors and include two interface ports for physical stacking, supporting up to 8 switches with 80 to 160 Gbps stack bandwidth and providing enhanced availability through redundancy. The Meraki MS225 series of switches are intended for branch office and basic access deployments and are configured in versions with 24 GbE ports and 48 GbE ports. Low-power and high-power PoE versions are available, capable of delivering Power over Ethernet on every port simultaneously, and all models support Cisco's redundant power system. Switching capacity is 128Gbps on 24-port models and 176Gbps on 48-port models, and stacking bandwidth is 80G. All models offer static routing only and support 16 routed interfaces and 1024 routed hosts.

The Cisco Meraki MS250 line of access switches, designed for general-purpose deployments, are offered with 24 or 48 GbE ports, field replaceable power, and switching capacity of 128Gbps on 24-port models and 176Gbps on 48-port models. Stacking bandwidth is 80G. Versions which support PoE are available with different maximum power budgets. All models offer both static and dynamic routing and support 1024 routed interfaces and 4096 routed hosts.

Meraki 350 access switches are designed to support networks with high-density wireless traffic and media-rich applications. Models are available with 24 and 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the MS350-24X model includes 16 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 8 ports that support 1000/2.5G/5G/10G Multigigabit Ethernet. Switching performance is 128Gbps for the Meraki MS350-24, 272Gbps for the Meraki MS350-24X, and 176Gbps for the Meraki MS350-48. Stacking bandwidth is 160G. PoE models are available with two different power budgets. All models offer both static and dynamic routing and support at least 8K routed interfaces and 96K routed hosts. The MS350-24X switch supports 16K routed interfaces and 512K routed hosts.

Meraki MS390 switches are enterprise-class appliances designed to handle high-bandwidth environments that can include dense deployments of 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 access points. A variety of 24-port and 48-port models are available. The MS390-24UX-HW is a 24-port mGbE UPoE/802.3bt switch with 24 x 100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G RJ45 connections. The MS390-48UX2-HW is a 48-port 5GbE UPoE/802.3bt switch with 48 x 100M/1G/2.5G/5G ports. All Meraki MS390 models offer 40G or 10G modular uplink options and support physical stacks of up to 8 switches with 480 Gbps of stacking bandwidth. Maximum switching performance is 640 Gbps.

Meraki MS390 switches are enterprise-class appliances designed to provide the performance needed to handle high-bandwidth environments that can include rich media applications and dense deployments of 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 access points. A variety of 24-port and 48-port models are available. The MS390-24UX-HW is a 24-port mGbE UPoE/802.3bt switch with 24 x 100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G RJ45 ports. The MS390-48UX2-HW is a 48-port 5GbE UPoE/802.3bt switch with 48 x 100M/1G/2.5G/5G ports. All Meraki MS390 models offer 40G or 10G modular uplink options and support physical stacks of up to 8 switches with 480 Gbps of stacking bandwidth. The high-end 24-port and 48-port models deliver a maximum switching capacity of 640 Gbps and a top forwarding rate of 476.19 Mpps.

Cisco Meraki Aggregation Switches
Meraki 400 series aggregation switches are fixed-port 1RU appliances that provide fast switching capacity, physical stacking, plus static and dynamic routing for campus deployments. The Meraki MS410-16 includes 16 GbE SFP ports, two 10GbE SFP+ uplink ports and two 10GbE SFP+ ports. Switching capacity is 72 Gbps. The Meraki MS410-32 has 16 GbE SFP ports, two 10GbE SFP+ uplink ports and two 10GbE SFP+, delivering 144 Gbps switching capacity. The Meraki MS425-16 has 16 10GbE SFP+ switch ports and two 40GbE QSFP+ ports for either uplinks or stacking and delivers 480 Gbps switching capacity. The Meraki MS425-32 includes 32 10GbE SFP+ ports, two 40GbE QSFP+ uplink/stacking ports, and supports 800 Gbps switching capacity. The Meraki MS450 aggregation switch incorporates 12 40G QSFP+ ports and two 100G QSFP28 fiber uplink ports. Two dedicated stack ports deliver 80G of stacking bandwidth. Maximuim switching capacity for the MS450 is 1.36 Tbps.

Progent's Consulting and Troubleshooting Support for Cisco Meraki Switches
Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified network infrastructure consultants offer advanced online support for Cisco entire family Meraki access and aggregation/distribution switches. Progent can provide as-needed guidance for designing, integrating, troubleshooting and managing Meraki switches or can provide comprehensive project management and co-management services to help you create an efficient Meraki solution. Progent can help you take full advantage of Meraki's powerful cloud management resources for provisioning and monitoring Meraki switches as well as Meraki Wi-Fi access points, and Progent can help you integrate Meraki technology with core switches and firewalls to produce a cohesive network infrastructure that spans multiple sites.

Progent can help you determine which Meraki switches are appropriate for your environment and help you replace legacy Meraki switches or other outdated appliances without disrupting vital operations. Progent can also review and revamp your current switching topology with a modern architecture to improve performance and availability, strengthen security and compliance, and cut operating costs. Progent's Meraki Access Point consultants help you configure and deploy Meraki wireless APs and can provide online or on-premises Wi-Fi site surveys to optimize your converged wired/wireless infrastructure. Progent also offers disaster recovery and business continuity planning, enterprise-wide security assessment and remediation, and IT management training to help you streamline network administration.

Typical online services provided by Progent's Meraki experts include:

• Review and update network topology
• Integrate Cisco Meraki switches into existing network infrastructure
• Resolve DHCP and IP issue such as duplicate IP addresses for Meraki switches and APs
• Integrate Meraki switches to firewalls from Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWall, and other vendors
• Add static routes and network objects
• Resolve VMware connectivity issues
• Configure physical Meraki stacking
• Identity and remove redundant connections and uplinks
• Review and update routing tables
• Work with ISPs to resolve firewall issues
• Work with Meraki tech support to resolve configuration issues
• Integrate Meraki switches with VoIP equipment
• Set up site-to-site connections
• Integrate iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and Windows phones
• Review Meraki switch configurations and logs

To learn additional information concerning Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco products, select a subject:

• Introduction to Cisco Expertise
• Fast Remote Assistance from a Cisco CCIE Consultant
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower: Consulting and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Engineering Expertise
• Cisco PIX 500 Series Firewall Consulting Support
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points Consulting Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi Access Points System Design Services
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Planning, Configuration and Debugging Support
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Integration Consulting
• Meraki Access Points Deployment Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Consulting and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting and Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber and Management Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Deployment Services
• Nexus Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco VPN Consulting Help
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Teleworkers
• Design Expertise for Cisco-powered Data Centers
• Infrastructure Design Expertise for Internet Service Providers
• Centralized Cloud-based and Hybrid Management Strategies for Cisco-powered Infrastructure