Can Using an SMM Panel Affect Network Performance or Trigger Security?

[autosm]

Hi everyone,

I'm managing digital marketing operations for a few clients, and part of our workflow involves using an SMM panel to streamline social media engagements. Recently, I've noticed occasional slowdowns in our internal network and was wondering if anyone here has experienced issues with cloud-based panels (like SMM panels or automated tools) causing unexpected bandwidth usage or triggering security flags on Cisco routers or firewalls?

We’re running a Meraki setup in the office, and I want to make sure the panel traffic isn’t being mistakenly flagged as suspicious or interfering with our QoS configurations.

Any insights or suggestions for proper traffic classification and monitoring in this context would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[Enes Simnica]

hello @autosm and yes, cloud-based SMM panels and automation tools can sometimes trigger anomaly detection or be flagged by Cisco/Meraki firewall, especially if they generate high volumes of API calls or unusual traffic patterns. This can affect bandwidth and even impact QoS policies if traffic isn’t properly classified. from my experience, I recommend reviewing Meraki’s Traffic Analytics and Layer 7 firewall rules to identify and classify the SMM-related traffic. You can also tag this traffic using custom Group Policies to apply appropriate QoS or firewall handling.

https://documentation.meraki.com/MX/Firewall_and_Traffic_Shaping/Traffic_Analysis_and_Classification

https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Firewall_and_Traffic_Shaping/Traffic_and_Bandwidth_Shaping 

hope it helps...

-Enes

[autosm]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. really helpful!
Yeah, I had a feeling the traffic patterns might be triggering something on the Meraki end. Appreciate the links I’ll definitely take a closer look at Traffic Analytics and try setting up a custom Group Policy for the panel-related traffic.

Have you had better luck using Layer 7 rules vs custom tagging in terms of long-term stability? Just curious what’s worked best for you.

Thanks again!