Enterprise Class Cloud Managed Wireless
Moving beyond a single access point is not as straight forwards
as might think. Enterprise solutions involve wireless access
controllers which are typically expensive pieces of equipment you
must buy and connect your access points to in order to manage and
exploit. What's more, they are complicated to setup and obviously
represent a single point of failure on your network unless you have
multiple controllers.
Meraki is a cloud managed solution where there is no controller
on-site, but instead the management services are provided through
the cloud. Leveraging cloud technology makes complete sense in this
respect as the up front cost is minimal compared to the huge array
of features provided by the platform.
Make signficant savings
Customers typically save up to 50% over traditional
controller-based solutions, and even more when considering
multi-site and highly available deployments (which require extra
controller hardware on traditional networks, yet are available out
of the box with Meraki's Cloud Controller.)
Features
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Central Management
Meraki's award-winning Cloud Controller provides powerful and
intuitive centralized management, while eliminating the cost and
complexity of traditional on-site wireless controllers. Meraki's
Cloud Controller seamlessly manages campus-wide WiFi deployments
and distributed multi-site networks with zero-touch access point
provisioning, network-wide visibility and control, cloud-based RF
optimization, seamless firmware updates and more. With an intuitive
browser-based user interface, Meraki WLANs configure in minutes -
not days or weeks - without training or dedicated staff.
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Control of Applications, Devices and Users
Meraki is the only wireless LAN to include Layer 7
fingerprinting and application QoS. Identify hundreds of
applications, from business apps to BitTorrent and YouTube.
Prioritize critical apps like VoIP, and limit or block wasteful
bandwidth consumption such as P2P file sharing. Apply policies by
device type, automatically assigning VLAN tags, traffic shaping
rules, bandwidth limits, and firewall policies to iPads and other
device types. And user fingerprinting with Google-like search
allows administrators to easily identify and control individual
users, iPads, Androids, and other devices.
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Guest Wifi
Meraki offers secure, easy to manage guest access out-of-the-box
- without extra appliances, licenses, or complex VLAN
configurations. Meraki's built-in firewall and DHCP server provide
a complete guest WiFi solution, enabling secure, Internet-only
access that protects your LAN and other clients from virus or
information leaks. Meraki also provides cloud-hosted, customizable
splash pages, bandwidth limits, on-the-fly guest logins, and even
content filtering, allowing you to customize your guest
experience.
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Enterprise Security
Meraki provides complete out-of-the-box enterprise class
security. Segment wireless users, applications, and devices; secure
your network from attacks; and enforce the right policies for each
class of users. Meraki's built-in stateful policy firewall,
802.1X/RADIUS support, and native Active Directory integration
deliver fine-grained access control, while Meraki's Guest Access
Firewall provides secure, Internet-only guest WiFi in just one
click. With built-in features like Network Access Control (NAC) and
Wireless Intrusion Detection and Prevention (WIDS/WIPS), Meraki
enables secure wireless environments without complex setup or
systems integration. Meraki WLANs are fully HIPAA and PCI
compliant.
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Optimised 802.11n
Meraki's 802.11n APs provide high capacity wireless in dense,
demanding environments. Meraki APs are custom-designed for cloud
management. Built with enhanced CPU and memory capabilities, Meraki
APs deliver rich services including Layer 7 Application QoS and NAC
at the network edge. Industry-leading 3-stream 802.11n MIMO
delivers radio rates of up to 900 Mbps, while cloud-based RF
optimization with spectrum analysis ensures that Meraki APs are
automatically tuned for highest performance.
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Teleworker VPN
Meraki's Teleworker VPN solution creates a secure IPsec tunnel
from any Internet-connected Meraki wireless access point to your
corporate network, providing secure remote access to IP PBX
systems, file shares, and internal applications. Teleworker VPN is
available on every Meraki 802.11n AP, at no extra cost. Remote APs
connect securely and automatically to an easy-to-deploy
VMWare-based virtual concentrator at HQ, while split-tunneling only
routes internal traffic over the VPN, improving performance and
saving bandwidth.
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Mesh Routing
Mesh networking - the ability for APs not wired into the LAN to
act as repeaters - is included in every Meraki AP. Mesh allows for
two powerful use cases: extending coverage to hard to wire areas,
and providing a self-healing network that is resilient to cable and
switch failures. Meraki pioneered high performance mesh routing,
with behind-the-scene technologies such as multi-radio routing and
per-flow analysis that makes Meraki's mesh faster and more
reliable.
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Device Management
Meraki includes powerful device management tools to control the
clients on your network. Centrally manage iOS devices, Windows PCs,
and Macs. Set security policies for the iPads, iPhones, and iPods
owned by your organization, and centrally manage the applications
installed on them, pushing new apps and updates to any number of
devices. Control Macs and PCs, tracking inventory, pushing
software, and even troubleshooting with built-in remote desktop.
Device management is fully integrated available at no additional
cost.
Adoption
If you're worried that this is a bleeding edge technology, think
again. There are over 18,000 Meraki networks in 143, used by Burger
King, Sony, BT, Toyota and many others.
The Access Points
Meraki wireless access points are available in various models to
suit your requirements - from single radio hotspots to three radio
access points all accepting power by Power over Ethernet (PoE) with
indoor and outdoor models as well as additional antennas
available.
Free Trial
If you would like to trial the Meraki solution for your network,
please contact us and we can supply devices on trial to you to try
out on your network in a live environment to helpp you make your
decision.
Contact
Contact aFinite today for more information about Meraki on
0113 394 4599, or use the contact form in the top
right of this page to get in touch with us.