Principal at WATERTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT 14-4
Real User
A scalable and trouble-free solution with multiple SSDs and good record-keeping
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the record that is being kept and multiple SSDs."
  • "Its price could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it in our school. We are using an old version. It is five years when my contract expires.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved the way our school functions.

What is most valuable?

I like the record that is being kept and multiple SSDs.

What needs improvement?

Its price could be improved.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. I didn't have any issues with its stability.

We have probably 30 to 40 users.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. I need to add a couple more and upgrade to four.

How are customer service and support?

I did not use their technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I didn't use any other solution.

How was the initial setup?

It was pretty straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is expensive, but it is a good product.

What other advice do I have?

If you have some money, it is a good thing to buy. It is a trouble-free product.

I would rate Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager, IT Infrastructure at a consumer goods company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
A good interface makes it easy to manage, and it provides good connectivity
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface makes it easy to manage."
  • "When we are using SSID roaming, it is not flexible in terms of which AP it connects to."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution to provide wireless connectivity.

What is most valuable?

The interface makes it easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

The price of Meraki Wireless should be reduced to make it more affordable.

When we are using SSID roaming, it is not flexible in terms of which AP it connects to. It will not switch to the closet one, but rather, it will maintain a connection with the first one that it had connected to. This has a negative effect on signal quality because as we move around the building and the signal from the original access point gets weaker, it remains connected to it.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN for more than one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scaling has not been an issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have been in contact with technical support and they have made suggestions to deal with problems that we have had.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is based on a subscription and is a bit high at the moment.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I am currently searching for solutions that perform similarly to Cisco Meraki, but are most cost-effective. If in the future, the price of Meraki remains as high, then we will be choosing another product.

What other advice do I have?

In summary, I find that this is a really good product and I recommend it. However, improvements with the cost and signal roaming would make it better.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Senior Network Engineer/Mobility Specialist at CCSI - Contemporary Computer Services, Inc.
Real User
The Dashboard, with its centralized "cloud" interface is the most valuable feature of Meraki.

What is most valuable?

The Dashboard, with its centralized "cloud" interface is the most valuable feature of Meraki. If you are a smaller organization, have a small IT staff, and/or basic wireless needs Meraki provides the perfect solution. That is not to say that larger more educated organizations might not also find Meraki to be a great fit.

How has it helped my organization?

We use Meraki as a managed service provider for several clients that found the product and price a fit for their organization.

What needs improvement?

One of the virtues of the product could possibly be viewed as an achilles heel. The product is straightforward and does not have lots of features and fine tuning available vendors such as Cisco and Aruba. Some may be available when unlocked by Meraki TAC, but the product is not as feature rich as non-cloud offerings. This may be viewed as a positive by many users that do not want the complexity that comes with the extra features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been certified and used this product for 3 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Very few issues. TAC works well with standard requests. If one needs something very advanced and rarely needed the TAC has difficulty escalating quickly.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is completely stable in our implementations.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The Meraki products scale quite well by allowing multiple organization with subdivisions of "networks" APs can be added to networks and tagged with other information as well. I would say that it works best for organizations with many diverse locations with smaller numbers of APs.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I would say that customer service is an 8/10

Technical Support:

For basic technical support I give a 9/10. Once in the BETA program Irate Meraki a 10/10. The area in between basic support and "white glove" BETA program support is a little rough as I think most Meraki users keep things simple.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My company implements Cisco and Meraki and are certified for both. As I am also Aruba certified we occasionally service Aruba implementations.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is very straightforward. The GUI is very intuitive.

What about the implementation team?

We are the vendor doing the implementation and often maintenance/monitoring.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing is directly tied to licensing. Longer terms are a better value than shorter ones, but the customer needs to determine which options is best.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

yes we evaluated all the competition.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I am Meraki certified and my company is a Cisco-Meraki partner
PeerSpot user

would like to have WIPS comparison between the brands

Infrastructure/Telcom Coordinator at Schnellecke Group AG & Co. KG
Real User
Friendly to manage and good in office environments
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage."
  • "An area for improvement would be that Meraki doesn't work well in a warehouse environment. The device is too sensitive to other wireless devices, which provokes noise and can require a reboot to erase this."

What is our primary use case?

My primary use of this solution is to provide WiFi to users and guests.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is that the solution is friendly to manage.

What needs improvement?

An area for improvement would be that Meraki doesn't work well in a warehouse environment. The device is too sensitive to other wireless devices, which provokes noise and can require a reboot to erase this. In addition, the cost of the product could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of this product is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution has good scalability.

How are customer service and support?

Cisco's technical support is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, I used TP-Link, but it's designed for use in the home, so I switched to Cisco, which is a better product for the office.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy.

What about the implementation team?

I used a partner team to implement, which took around thirty minutes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

My yearly license costs $200.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good solution for the office but not for warehouses. I would give this solution a rating of eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Easy to deploy, includes a cloud controller, and updates continuously
Pros and Cons
  • "Meraki WLAN is easy to deploy, includes a cloud controller, and updates continuously. It also offers high visibility."
  • "The licensing isn't very customer-centric. They may have improved it, but previously, if you forgot to pay on a certain day, your service would be shut off."

What is our primary use case?

We use Meraki Wireless LAN to provide wireless services at a school.

What is most valuable?

Meraki WLAN is easy to deploy, includes a cloud controller, and updates continuously. It also offers high visibility. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We had one location for over a year, so I was familiar with the console for three years and the wireless solution for over a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Meraki WLAN is solid. I can't recall the last time I had to replace an AP or anything like that.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would say that Meraki WLAN is scalable, but the licensing makes it a little difficult. You can't just add on more APs within your scope. You have to purchase more licenses to scale.

How are customer service and support?

I really only used my sales engineer for support. He was able to answer most of my questions, but he was previously an engineer before, so I didn't have to call them. 

How was the initial setup?

Deployment is straightforward. It requires very little configuration.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing isn't very customer-centric. They may have improved it, but previously, if you forgot to pay on a certain day, your service would be shut off. 

What other advice do I have?

From a purely technical point of view, I would rate Meraki WLAN eight out of 10. If you are considering implementing Meraki, I would suggest considering the size of your team. If you are strapped for resources, I would say go with something else over Cisco. But as far as functionality goes, I would rate it over some of the others, like Juniper and Mist.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Network Engineer at Saffron networks pvt ltd
Real User
Stable with good performance and excellent features
Pros and Cons
  • "You can scale the solution easily."
  • "If they could work on the Meraki firewall hardware, and add SSL decryption as well as more application control and deep packet inspection, that would be ideal."

What is most valuable?

With Cisco Meraki, I've tried motherboard, switches, and wireless, and everything is good. If you want to complete visibility, then you are required just a firewall and switches, and wireless. 

The solution offers good features and good performance. It's quite stable. We have never faced challenges just from our ID access point.

You can scale the solution easily.

What needs improvement?

The problem with the solution is that if you go for firewall, then there is no SSL encryption available. If you are talking about deep packet inspection, that is not available. If you want SSL encryption, then you have to integrate with Cisco Umbrella

If they could work on the Meraki firewall hardware, and add SSL decryption as well as more application control and deep packet inspection, that would be ideal. 

Also in Cisco Meraki access points, MAC filtering is not available. If they could add that feature, that would be great.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for two or three years at this point. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good. There are no bugs. There are no glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a cloud-based product and the best thing about a cloud-based product is if you have a cloud controller and access point, then you don't have to worry about that key for licenses. If you've got 70 access points, you can register there. If you have 1,000 and 2,0000, you can also register there. There is no need to change any controller hardware as that is a cloud-based product, which makes it fully scalable. You can add to it and still maintain a single point of management. 

What other advice do I have?

This is a pure cloud-based solution and everything is managed by the cloud.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
IT Manager at Horiba
Reseller
Well priced and it provides several security advantages
Pros and Cons
  • "From a security perspective, this product has several advantages."
  • "The user interface needs to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are a Cisco reseller and the Meraki Wireless LAN is one of the products that we provide to our clients.

What is most valuable?

From a security perspective, this product has several advantages.

What needs improvement?

The user interface needs to be improved.

We would like to see the DNS Proxy and some additional security enhancements in the future.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using Cisco Wireless and are now migrating to Cisco Meraki.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Having a good price is important when we are providing quotations for projects.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Consultant at Lifeline IT
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Very Good Simple Solution that is Great for management but It comes at a premium to do so.
Pros and Cons
  • "It's simple to manage when there's a problem."
  • "It could be slightly cheaper but it's fine."

What is our primary use case?

I'm an Associate Engineer and as part of my work is that I look after a number of companies where I recommend and install different network equipment. Anything from the SonicWall networks, Fortinet, you name it, depending on what the client requirements are. I would prefer high-end and that could mean Ubiquiti, Mojo, and Cisco. In terms of the version I would choose, it really depends on the client's requirements. We deal with small, medium and enterprise size companies. 

How has it helped my organization?

From an organizational perspective, Meraki has made a difference because it's simple to manage with High level of detail and troubleshooting access, when there's a problem. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature would have to be the cloud management with high level of detail and ability to be able to use all the information to troubleshoot issues remotely before having someone onsite.

What needs improvement?

The product is fine as it is. Having been in the IT industry for nearly 20 years, there's nothing that jumps out at me. The product is improving all the time. It could be slightly cheaper but it's fine. It's actually a very good product. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Cisco for 10 years. Meraki is more recent, maybe three or four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's not exactly the cheapest solution in terms of scalability, but it's very good. A lot of my clients have to look at other alternatives because of the cost and it's likely that in the end, they take Mojo even though I don't like that product as much. If I were going to choose an alternative to Cisco it would be Ubiquiti but it all comes down to cost.

How are customer service and technical support?

Cisco provide good support and there have been times when we've needed it. 

What other advice do I have?

We can deploy on-premises or on the cloud, but it's usually cloud. The amount of time it takes to deploy is really dependent on the client and the size of the company. 

I would suggest that sometimes it might be better to spend more money on better equipment that will perform a lot better, so if you have the funds go for it, but if not, then you have to work within your budget. 

I would rate this product a seven out of 10. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
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Wireless LAN
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.