19 January 2012

Introducing 100% Cloud Managed Switching & Security

Less than three weeks into the new year, we’re incredibly excited to kick off 2012 with two major new product introductions:
Together with our award-winning cloud managed wireless LAN, these products enable enterprises to deploy 100% cloud managed networks, adding visibility and control while eliminating the cost and complexity of traditional solutions.

Meraki MS Cloud Managed Switches

Meraki MS Cloud Managed Switches
Meraki MS Cloud Managed Switches
We’re now bringing the ease of use, visibility, and control that made Meraki famous to the edge of the wired network. MS switches are centrally managed through the Meraki dashboard and include an industry-first technology called Virtual Stacking. This enables centralized management of up to thousands of ports regardless of the locations of the switches or the scale of deployment. Of course, the MS switches also support traditional stacking.

In addition to the excellent management tools and ease of use, we’ve built the switches from the ground up to support the high performance needs of the network edge. The switches feature a non-blocking Gigabit switching fabric, PoE available on all ports of the PoE models, and the MS42/MS42P support 10 Gb uplink for stacking and high speed core connectivity.
The Meraki MS Cloud Managed Switches are available in four models:
  • MS22, MS22P: 24-port GbE switch with power over Ethernet (MS22P)
  • MS42, MS42P: 48-port GbE switch with power over Ethernet (MS42P)
Learn more about the industry’s first cloud managed switches on our website.

Meraki MX Cloud Managed Security Appliances

Meraki MX Cloud Managed Security Appliances
Meraki MX Cloud Managed Security Appliances
As if an entirely new line of cloud managed switches wasn’t enough, we’re also expanding our line of MX Cloud Managed Security Appliances by adding WAN optimization and five new hardware models.

MX Security Appliances are now available in six models that scale from branches to campus and datacenter environments:
  • MX60: Security appliances for small branch deployments
  • MX80MX90: 1U appliances for mid-sized branches
  • MX400MX600: Campus and datacenter-class appliances scaling to over ten thousands users, with 10 GbE connectivity and high availability features

WAN optimization

We’ve also added WAN optimization to the MX, allowing network administrators to dramatically reduce branch bandwidth consumption and accelerate application performance. Using a variety of technologies, intra-site bandwidth can be reduced by up to 99%. Applications such as Windows file sharing (CIFS), FTP, HTTP, and generic TCP-based applications can be accelerated up to 209X over un-optimized connections.

WAN optimization is configured and enabled with a single click in the dashboard, and it’s included at no additional charge in the MX Enterprise and Advanced Security licenses.

Cloud management for all parts of the network


Finally, it’s here: cloud managed networking for all parts of the network. Using Meraki wireless LAN, Gigabit switching and security appliances, it’s now possible to have unified, single pane-of-glass visibility and control of the entire cloud managed network.

09 January 2012

Law Firms Stepping into the Cloud

Meraki is spotlighted in the International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA) newest publication of Peer to Peer!  In his article, Brian Clayton, the Director of Information Systems at Taft, Stettinius, and Hollister LLP, explains how he transformed his firm’s wireless network with Meraki’s cloud-managed wireless solution.  “More WiFi, Less Hardware” discusses the firm’s increase in iPads and mobile devices and the growing demand for mobility, scalability, and reliability.  In choosing Meraki, Clayton saved considerably on TCO and ensured network security.
Read Clayton’s article to see how Meraki can work for your firm.

06 January 2012

Is Your WLAN PCI Compliant? Check!

PCI DSS 2.0 Compliance Reports are now available on Enterprise dashboards! You can check your network settings such as firewall rules and password policies against PCI WLAN requirements, and receive a summary report that can be archived or printed out. If something’s out of compliance, the report provides guidance on how to fix things. Centrally managed from the cloud, Meraki makes it easy and cost effective to deploy, monitor, and verify PCI compliant WiFi across distributed networks of any size. It’s no wonder retailers are turning to Meraki for their networking solutions.

Take a look at this short demo to see how simple WLAN PCI compliance can be.

05 January 2012

Cloud Managed WiFi — on a Massive Scale

Alongside Accor North America (ANA), we’re excited to announce the completion of a nationwide WiFi deployment across all of ANA’s Motel 6 and Studio 6 properties. With nearly 10,000 access points spanning 620 properties and covering over 70,000 rooms, the deployment represents one of the world’s largest WiFi installations and is the largest cloud managed wireless LAN on record. It’s a great milestone for WiFi and for travelers everywhere.
Motel 6
A Motel 6 in Nebraska
Accor North America operates more than 1,100 upscale and economy properties, including economy leaders Motel 6 and Studio 6. ANA sought to upgrade the wireless network for the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands to the latest 802.11n standard, ensuring that its infrastructure kept pace with its guests’ needs to conduct business, stay in touch with loved ones, and relax with entertainment.

ANA selected Meraki’s cloud managed 802.11n technology to provide its guests with consistent, reliable coverage. Moreover, Meraki’s technology enabled rapid deployment and minimized ongoing maintenance, even at ANA’s large scale. The nationwide rollout was completed in just five months, covering over 620 properties. Each property – up to 600 rooms and 17 buildings – now has complete 802.11n coverage, and up to 35,000 guests use the network each week.

We’re proud to supply ANA with a simple and cost-effective platform that provides value to their guests. Now they’ll not only leave the light on for you, they’ll leave the wireless on as well.