Room3.07Floor 3 Network and firewall
Cisco Meraki support and licensing
We manage Meraki security appliances, switches and access points through the dashboard, keep licences renewed before they lapse, and fix the problems the dashboard shows but does not explain.
- Registered Cisco partner
- Licence expiryDevices stop after the grace period
- MX, MS and MR supported
- Renewal dates tracked
Meraki is easy to run, until it is not
Cisco Meraki equipment is managed entirely from a web dashboard. Security appliances, switches and access points report to the cloud, take their settings from it and update themselves on schedule. For a business with several locations and no network engineer on staff, that is a genuinely good arrangement, and it is why so many GTA offices, clinics and retail chains run on it.
The dashboard makes the everyday easy. It does not make the hard parts disappear. It will show you that a tunnel between two offices is down, but not that the cause is a new internet modem doing its own address translation. It will warn you that licences are expiring, in an email that goes to the person who set the account up four years ago. That gap, between what the dashboard shows and what it means, is where we come in.
We are a registered Cisco partner and support the full Meraki range used by smaller businesses, including MX security appliances, MS switches, MR access points and MG cellular gateways.
Licence expiry is an outage, not a warning
Meraki hardware does not work without a valid licence. This is the single most important fact about owning it, and the one most often missed. Under the co-termination and per-device licensing models, Meraki gives a 30-day grace period after licences expire. After that, the devices stop passing traffic. Under the newer subscription model, an expired subscription removes your ability to manage the network from the dashboard.
| Licensing model | How the dates work | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Co-termination | Every device in the organization shares one end date. Adding licences moves that date for everything | One date controls the whole network, so one missed renewal affects every site at once |
| Per-device | Each licence is tied to one device and has its own end date | Many dates to track, but expiry affects only the devices whose licences lapse |
| Subscription | Licensing is bought as a subscription for the organization rather than per device | The newest model. Check what expiry does to management before letting it lapse |
We track the licence dates for every Meraki organization we support, raise renewals well ahead of time, and make sure the dashboard’s licensing alerts go to an address that someone actually reads.
MX, MS and MR
Meraki’s product lines are named by two-letter codes. Most smaller businesses run some mix of these three, sometimes with a cellular gateway for backup internet.
MX security appliances
The MX is the firewall and router at each site. Its best feature is Auto VPN, which builds encrypted links between all your locations with a few clicks, and its SD-WAN features steer traffic across two internet connections, keeping Teams calls on the better link. Intrusion prevention and malware protection need the Advanced Security licence tier, so it is worth checking which tier you actually pay for.
MS switches
Meraki switches handle the wired network: VLANs to keep phones, cameras and guests apart, Power over Ethernet for phones and access points, and port schedules. The dashboard shows every port, which device is plugged into it and whether it is drawing power.
MR access points
We manage Meraki access points in the dashboard as part of the network: SSIDs, guest access, firmware and troubleshooting connected devices. Coverage design and new installations are planned alongside the cabling.
MG cellular gateways
An MG gives a site a 4G or 5G connection as backup. When the main internet line drops, the MX fails over to it automatically and payment terminals, phones and cloud apps keep running.
Common Meraki problems and their real causes
| What you see | What is usually behind it |
|---|---|
| Auto VPN between two sites keeps dropping | The internet provider’s modem is doing its own address translation in front of the MX, or two sites use overlapping address ranges |
| A device shows offline in the dashboard but the network works | An upstream firewall or provider is blocking the outbound ports Meraki devices use to reach the cloud |
| Phones or access points reboot at random | The switch has run out of Power over Ethernet budget, and the newest devices are starving the oldest |
| Teams and VoIP calls break up at one site | Traffic shaping is not prioritizing voice, or the uplink chosen for calls is the weaker connection |
| Staff hit a blocked page on a site they need | A content filtering category is wider than intended, and an exception is needed |
| Nobody can log in to the dashboard | The only administrator was a former employee or previous IT provider. Regaining access needs Meraki support and proof of ownership |
| A firmware update took the network down mid-morning | Update windows left at the default rather than set to after hours |
Dashboard hygiene
A Meraki dashboard is the key to your whole network, from every site, through a web browser. When we take one over, these are the first things we put right.
- Named administrators only. No shared logins, and every account tied to a real person.
- Strong sign-in. Two-factor authentication on every administrator, or sign-in through your Microsoft Entra ID with MFA.
- Former administrators removed. Ex-staff and previous IT providers are taken off, after we confirm at least two current owners remain.
- The right level of access. Organization-wide rights for those who need them, site-level or read-only for everyone else.
- Alerts that reach someone. Device offline, licence expiry and security alerts go to a monitored mailbox, not one person’s inbox.
- API keys reviewed. Old integrations with keys still active are found and switched off.
- Change log checked. The dashboard records every change and who made it. We read it, so surprises are caught early.
Staying with Meraki, adding to it, or moving on
Meraki is excellent for businesses with several sites, limited in-house skills and a preference for one dashboard over many. Its cost is ongoing, because every device needs a licence for as long as it runs.
For some single-site offices, that recurring cost is hard to justify, and a FortiGate firewall with conventional switches does the same job for less over five years. We will set both options out honestly at renewal time, and our FortiGate page explains that alternative.
Meraki devices also reach end of sale and end of support on published dates. We check every serial number in your dashboard against Cisco’s lists, so a replacement is planned rather than forced. For wider Cisco equipment, see our Cisco support page, and for new hardware, our IT procurement service.
Meraki work we quote
- Meraki dashboard takeover and health checkFixed quote
- Licence review, renewal and consolidationFixed quote
- Auto VPN between offices set up or repairedFixed quote
- Second internet connection or cellular backup addedFixed quote
- Switch and VLAN redesign for phones, cameras and guestsFixed quote
- Meraki hardware nearing end of support replacedFixed quote
Questions people ask
What happens if our Meraki licence expires?
Under co-termination or per-device licensing, Meraki allows a 30-day grace period. After that, the devices stop passing traffic, which means the network goes down. Under the newer subscription model, an expired subscription removes your ability to manage the network. Either way, renewal dates need to be tracked carefully.
Can you take over Meraki from our previous IT provider?
Yes. We need to be added as administrators on your Meraki organization. If the previous provider is unresponsive or the only administrator has left, Meraki support can restore access once you prove ownership, usually with order numbers or licence keys. We help you through it.
Are you a Cisco partner?
Yes. We are a registered Cisco partner and supply and support Cisco and Cisco Meraki equipment for businesses across the GTA.
How do we know which Meraki licensing model we have?
The Organization section of the dashboard shows it, along with the end dates. If you see one date for everything, you are on co-termination. A list of licences with individual dates means per-device licensing. We check it as part of every takeover and record the dates in our renewal tracking.
Why does the dashboard show a device offline when everything works?
Meraki devices need outbound access to Meraki's cloud. If an upstream firewall, a provider's equipment or a restrictive network blocks those connections, the device keeps working with its last settings but cannot report in or receive changes. Opening the right outbound ports fixes it.
Can Meraki connect our offices together?
Yes, and it is one of its strengths. Meraki Auto VPN links MX appliances at each site with encrypted tunnels, set up from the dashboard, and handles routing between them automatically. Sites need non-overlapping address ranges and the MX should not sit behind another device doing address translation.
Is Meraki worth it for a single small office?
It can be, if you value the dashboard and plan to grow. But Meraki's licences are a permanent running cost, and for a single site a FortiGate firewall with conventional switches often costs less over five years. We compare both at renewal and recommend whichever fits better.
Do you support our Meraki access points too?
Yes. We manage MR access points in the dashboard alongside the MX and switches, including wireless networks, guest access, firmware and troubleshooting. Coverage design and new installations are planned together with the cabling.
Tell us what’s going on
Pick how urgent it is and leave a way to reach you. The help desk replies by phone or email. If work has stopped, call 647-812-3775 instead.
Something broken, or something to plan?
For anything urgent, call. A technician answers the emergency line 24/7. For everything else, open a ticket and tell us what is going on.