Cisco Meraki amps up throughput, Wi-Fi to
SD-WAN family
Cisco Meraki’s MX family supports everything
from SD-WAN and Wi-Fi to next-generation firewall and intrusion prevention
security.
·
Getting wide-area network links up and securely running quickly
with minimal IT irritation has always been Cisco Meraki’s strong suite.
Equipping customers tasked with securely supporting more cloud
applications and mobile devices with ever more throughput and the latest
connectivity options are the chief goals behind a raft of new model additions
to Cisco Meraki’s MX and Z branch-office security appliances.
Meraki’s MX family supports everything from SD-WAN and Wi-Fi
features to next-generation firewall and intrusion prevention in a single
package.
“Meraki is an option for Cisco customers that want to get stuff up
and running quickly and easily,” said Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal
analyst with ZK Research. “It can't be customized as much as traditional Cisco
gear, so it's an excellent option for companies that want an easy-to-deploy,
cloud managed offering.”
To bolster the MX family, Meraki has added six new models that
build on and nearly double the throughput of the company’s existing MX64 and MX65
models. Each new model — the MX67, MX67W, MX68, MX68W, and the cellular MX67C, MX68CW —features up to
450 Mbps throughput, 200 Mbps VPN support, 802.11ac Wave 2 Wireless, and an integrated
CAT 6 LTE cellular modem. The existing models feature 250Mbps throughput and
100Mbps VPN support.
SD-WAN
gets speed
The speed and throughput rates are key because SD-WAN-connected
resources need more bandwidth, but it is the LTE option that could be more
intriguing for users.
“The throughput updates are important, as there is far more data
today than even just a year ago. The more notable point was the integrated LTE
to make it fast and easy to connect the appliances over the cellular network,”
said Kerravala.
“An LTE based WAN was cost prohibitive before because all the
carriers used metered services. Today there are flat-rate offerings or
corporate plans. With 5G being on the horizon, we will see increased demand for
LTE to be part of a company’s SD-WAN plan."
Some studies show that by 2021 over 75 percent of enterprise
traffic will be SaaS-oriented, so giving branch offices SD-WAN's reliable,
secure transportation options will be a necessity, said Simon Tompson, Meraki
product marketing lead at Cisco.
Cisco also added LTE support to another new model, the Meraki Z3C
teleworker device. The Z3C features a built-in 100 Mbps CAT 3 LTE modem and
802.11ac Wave support and is positioned to securely connect remote or isolated
machinery such as vending machines, ATMs, and kiosks.
All of the new devices can be managed by the cloud-based Meraki
dashboard on which IT admins monitor traffic and historical performance, as
well as troubleshoot and configure new LTE connections.
All of the new boxes are available now with prices ranging from
$695 to $1,795, depending on configuration.
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