Can Meraki MX85 support cisco wlc ct2504 or c9800 and cisco aironet 1832i wireless APs?
Dear all,
Per Rafael Jamir from Cisco TAC suggest, I am here to look for help, because we plan to buy Meraki MX85 as our wifi management platform to replace our current Huawei wifi firewall and Cisco wireless controller ct2504, the key question is we already bought a Cisco c9800 wlc to replace ct2504 but not delivered yet. c9800 can work with MX85 in the future? Another question is MX85 support Aironet 1832i wireless AP?
Ok, but the MX85 will provide the network connectivity, and the Access point will be managed by Cisco WLC. Meraki MX just can be the wireless concentration for Meraki MR.
There is soooo much that needs to be considered here that you really should look for a Cisco partner to support you. But in general:
The MX is typically "only" the firewall and doesn't care if the network has APs from vendor A or vendor B.
With Meraki APs, the MX can take the role that is known as an anchor controller in the traditional Cisco wireless world. It is not possible to mix traditional Cisco and Meraki for this function.
If you buy Catalyst 9100 APs, you need a compatible controller which could be any of the c9800-series. Your older Aironet 1832 can still run on this controller.
that means i can use new mx85 as a fw and work with current on premise devices, such as cisco wlc ct2504 (later replaced by c9800) and aironet 1832i, right?
Ok, but the MX85 will provide the network connectivity, and the Access point will be managed by Cisco WLC. Meraki MX just can be the wireless concentration for Meraki MR.
Honestly, I find it kind of sad, that Cisco TAC has to refer a customer to Meraki Community, for answers on compatibility of Cisco Classic Wireless LAN infrastructure and Meraki security appliances..
