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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.
