Low to none 4G LTE capabilities on SDWAN, Any improvements coming?

[Peter-Loyen]

Hi,

After testing extensively all possible 4G/LTE DS/FB solutions, provided by Meraki:

• Built in cellular
• USB dongles (Huawei)
• External 4G modem
• MG series external 4G modem

I have come to the conclusion the only the last two options are viable solutions.

Especially when using these as a primary WAN interface (remote spoke site / low bandwidth)

But these are also the most expensive / elaborate solutions.

My question: Is Meraki planning to catch up the competition in this matter?

Or is the Meraki answer: MG series with license please!

We are hardly selling any Meraki SDWAN solutions due to lack of proper 4G capabilities.

I would love to hear about a proper roadmap.

Thanks

[KRobert]

@Peter-Loyen, what setup do you have that is making the External 4G Modem/MG elaborate and expensive? We have been using these last two options for years now (recently moved to the MGs) without issue. We sometimes even run entire locations with 40 plus devices on 4G WAN as the primary.

[Bruce]

@Peter-Loyen as you rightly note, currently the best option is the external 4G/LTE modem (either the MG21 or third-party) connected to a WAN port if you want to use 4G/LTE in a SD-WAN solution (i.e. true SD-WAN wan with multiple tunnels and performance-based traffic steering).

The built-in cellular is coming - its noted in one of the early MX16 firmware release notes. I'm guessing it wasn't considered robust enough at the time to make it into the public beta version, but its still coming. This will allow you to effectively configure the cellular modem to be WAN2 (rather than just being for fail-over).

The USB dongles are never likely going to be able to be used in SD-WAN, only for fail-over (i.e. if your WAN1 and WAN2 are down it'll bring up a tunnel on the USB dongle).

From personal experience, yes using a MG21 rather than in-built cellular (e.g. MX67C) is slightly more expensive, but the flexibility that the MG21 gives you with regards to placement of the antenna (since its IP67 rated) is worth the extra cost to ensure you have the best signal. Often a MX67C stuck in a comms. cabinet somewhere in the bowels of a building doesn't work too well.

[Peter-Loyen]

Hi,

I agree the MG21 is a suitable candidate but again another Meraki device and a license.

An MG21 is 1000USD list price without license.

I am in favor of external LTE modems compared to internal ones.

But nevertheless, it is  an expensive solution if you talk about 50+ sites for a customer (petrol stations).

Even with a high discount, it still is a too high cost for my customers with a high number of sites.

technically it is a very good solution but it doesn't fly commercially at all

[KRobert]

I definitely see your point for 50+ sites. Have you looked at the Inseego Skyus 160? We used the Inseego SA2100 (previous model) and I don't believe you need a license for that. We just replaced our SA2100s that worked for us for years with the MG21 for better integration with the Dashboard, but they are still working without issue.
https://inseego.com/products/enterprise/skyus-160/
https://www.tessco.com/product/sa2100-at-t-3g-4g-lte-gateway-telemetry-bundle-222571