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Ixia Hawkeye vs Meraki Dashboard comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Ixia Hawkeye
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
83rd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Communications Monitoring (6th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (63rd)
Meraki Dashboard
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
19th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Ixia Hawkeye is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 0.8%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Meraki Dashboard0.8%
Ixia Hawkeye0.5%
Other98.7%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

José Enrique Cano Rodriguez - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Consultant at Tata Consultancy
A valuable tool for optimizing network performance and security with comprehensive network monitoring capabilities, user-friendly interface, and flexibility for scripting
Distinguishing itself from network management systems like SolarWinds Orion and Dataminer, Hawkeye offers a distinctive feature. It empowers network administrators to access specialized and detailed views for specific tests, including video streaming and performance related to specific applications like video games. In contrast, SolarWinds and Dataminer typically offer a more general evaluation of network health. Hawkeye's unique capability enables a detailed analysis of network performance through specific tests, allowing administrators to identify areas in need of improvement and take precise actions to enhance network performance.
MURALI NIDAMANURI - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Dashboard provides comprehensive network security and management capabilities
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.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It empowers network administrators to access specialized and detailed views for specific tests, including video streaming and performance related to specific applications like video games."
"Our customer was happiest with the price of this product."
"The ease of setup is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It's easy to set up and run tests."
"The most valuable feature is the deployment because it's very easy to deploy real flow through the network."
"It can analyze the traffic that it is picking up from what may be a rogue access point, and it is able to identify those and send relevant notifications."
"The ease-of-use and the analytics are really effective tools."
"There is no need to swap the hardware at all the locations, and importing the APs into the Dashboard was a simple and quick process."
"Scalability is one of Meraki Dashboard's strongest features. We have thousands of users if we're counting the end-users on our clients' network, but we have hundreds of clients."
"I like that Meraki Dashboard is a user-friendly product."
"The most valuable feature is knowing the wireless and switch are healthy."
"I find it pretty straightforward and easy to use, especially compared to old, traditional methods."
"The solution scales well."
 

Cons

"The customization of tests and even the results can be improved."
"Improvements in network performance are essential."
"Ixia has one flaw, which is that they do not print the license code on the paper licenses that are shipped to the customers."
"You can't delete more than one thing at a time. It would be great to be able to highlight three out of five things and delete them, whether it's a test or an actual report."
"I would rate Meraki Dashboard as eight out of ten as a product and solution. I rate it an eight due to some missing features in the system, particularly challenges encountered during firmware upgrades, where sometimes devices shut down and do not come back up, leaving us uncertain about why that happens."
"Scalability has some limitations as they are not enterprise-ready, and large hyper-scale networks may not be possible on Meraki Dashboard."
"I would like to receive decent notification alerts regarding the license's expiry. Or any help on correcting or optimizing licenses, because in certain circumstances you can add a license but it's the wrong licensing. However, the Dashboard adds the license in some way, and you do not utilize it. You can simply extend the license's expiration date."
"When users are trying to roam from one location to another location, geographical tracking would be helpful."
"The pricing for this solution needs to be improved."
"In general, how I add firewall rules is not great."
"I am concerned about the fact that once your licensing expires the devices stop working and become a brick."
"There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It cost us approximately 25,000 for two years. This is cheaper than ThousandEyes."
"In larger networks, the costs for licenses tend to be more reasonable, but for smaller networks, it appears relatively costly."
"I’m not sure of the exact cost, however, it’s my understanding the Meraki WiFi is around $800. That’s for a three-year license. It’s about $150 a year."
"The licensing fees are $180 USD, per AP, for three years."
"Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"From a pricing perspective, they are still expensive."
"You don't have to pay for the dashboard."
"Meraki Dashboard is a utility and portal that's part of the Meraki solution."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"Licensing is around under 1000 pounds. The licensing is either one year, three years, five years or ten years and during the licensing, we can choose to renew it per year or per every three years. We've got a license for three years. It's about 160 or about 200 pounds each."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Meraki Dashboard?
We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it al...
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
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 8...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

EMA
Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Find out what your peers are saying about Ixia Hawkeye vs. Meraki Dashboard and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.