Meraki Switch

[Dhrubojit Giri]

Hello everyone,

I’m currently learning about Cisco networking technologies and recently started exploring Cisco Meraki switches. I find the concept of cloud-managed networking very interesting, especially how Meraki allows administrators to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot switches directly from the Meraki Dashboard.

I would love to hear from professionals and learners who have experience with Meraki switches. In particular, I’m interested in understanding:

• What are the main advantages of using Cisco Meraki switches compared to traditional Cisco Catalyst switches?
• How does the cloud-based management improve network efficiency and troubleshooting?
• What are some real-world use cases where Meraki switches work best?

Any insights, recommendations, or learning resources would be greatly appreciated. I’m excited to keep learning and growing in the networking field.

Best regards,
Dhrubojit Giri

[xbrugne]

Hi, as you will see here : https://www.ciscolive.com/c/dam/r/ciscolive/emea/docs/2026/pdf/BRKENS-1402.pdf we are now moving to the support of more Catalyst hardware. The Meraki switches (MS) that are still orderables are MS130 & MS150 famillies. This to increase the benefits of both world : the Catalyst Hardware innovations with the Meraki simplicity of management. Be aware also that you can choose between two cloud management way : Cloud config or Device config : https://documentation.meraki.com/Switching/Cloud_Management_with_IOS_XE . The new (and futur) switches are now named "Smart switches" as the new C9350 and C9610. "C" is for "Cisco" and no longer "Catalyst".

[Philip D'Ath]

You should give this question to AI as a prompt.  🙂

I work almost exclusively with the Meraki family.  We 99% use it for access.  We've been using it for many years.  It works better.  It works so well that we have pretty much dropped our existing Cisco IOS-XE business for switching.

[xbrugne]

 If you are into AI, you will love Cisco Cloud Control and AI Canvas 🙂 See our latest annoucements from CL US :

https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/about/whats-new.html

[aleabrahao]

It all depends on how you want to use it. Some limitations of Meraki still bother me, so its use will depend heavily on the client's scenario. My suggestion is that you contact your Cisco sales representative to evaluate your case together and decide what would be best for you.