Meraki introduces cloud-managed Ethernet switches

Meraki has expanded its cloud-managed networking kit to include its first cloud-managed switches, along with new security appliances, bolstering a line-up that began with cloud-managed Wi-Fi access points.

Available immediately, Meraki's new hardware includes the MS series of Ethernet switches, designed for network edge connectivity with 24-port and 48-port configurations both with and without power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ports.

Also available is an expanded MX line of security appliances, with four new models that scale from a small branch office device to models suitable for protecting large environments with tens of thousands of users.

Meraki's product line-up is differentiated by the firm's cloud-based management layer, which makes it simpler to deploy and configure products, as well as making it easier for an administrator to oversee deployments where sites may be distributed over a wide geographic area.

"Management from the cloud makes it really easy to deploy. All the appliance needs is a path out to the internet and the management layer automatically recognises there is a new device on your network and integrates it," said Geoff Haggart, vice president of sales for Meraki, EMEA.

According to the firm, this architecture means a single IT administrator could theoretically oversee an entire distributed network with thousands of nodes although, in practice, customers will delegate responsibility for parts of the network to different technicians.

It also means that Meraki's Wi-Fi access points need no costly access point controller hardware on the Lan, while the switches support a feature called 'virtual stacking' that lets customers add more ports without having to physically cable the switches together.

The MS switch series is made up of the MS22 24-port switch with gigabit Ethernet, plus the MS22P, which is identical but offers PoE support. The MS42 device has 48 ports supporting 10Gbits/s Ethernet, while the MS42P is the PoE version of this.

In the MX security family, new models include the MX80 and MX90 for medium-sized branches, offering 6 and 8/10 gigabit Ethernet ports and 250Mbits/s and 500Mbits/s firewall throughput, respectively.

The MX400 and MX600 models both have 16 gigabit ports, plus four 10Gbits/s ports and are capable of 1Gbit/s and 2Gbits/s firewall throughput, respectively.

All MX models have redundant power supplies and operate at Layers 3-7, with traffic shaping capabilities. They can also provide WAN optimisation, with caching and de-duplication of data traversing the WAN and throttle or block specific kinds of traffic, such as peer-to-peer or social network applications.

Meraki's MS switches are priced from $1,999 (£1,297), with the MX security appliances priced from $495 (£321) for the smallest branch office model.

The products are distributed in the UK by Cloud Distribution.