What are you most excited about with the new MX and Z-Series?

[davidvan]

Meraki just launched new MX67/68 appliances and Z3C. Check out the blog post here.

This is a huge revamp of our small-branch lineup, with 10 new SKUs. (6 new MX models, with 2 cellular models that have both North America and Worldwide versions, 1 new Z-Series with North America and Worldwide version). Our customers loved the MX64 and MX65, and we wanted to continue our investments in the small branch space. The growth of cloud-managed applications, increasing branch traffic, and availability of LTE continue to make this an exciting area for new Meraki products.

Some of the benefits that come with these new models:

• Throughputs from 250Mbps on the MX64/65 line to 450Mbps on MX67/68.
• We will also be going from 802.11ac on MX64/65 to 802.11ac Wave 2 for the new MX's
• Integrated CAT 6 LTE ! (Simplifying vs. 3G/4G dongles)
• Z3C adding built-in CAT 3 LTE modem
• Cellular info in dashboard with LTE API

We get all the benefits of 3G/4G failover with USB dongles, yet we add much greater simplicity and visibility.

We've launched this new line with approval of most major cellular carriers in almost every region. Details will be available soon on Meraki's documentation page. The approvals with carriers will update dynamically as we continue to partner with more providers worldwide. 

So far, I’ve heard of some really interesting LTE use cases with digital signage, kiosks, ATMs, food trucks, gambling machines, large organizations wanting redundancy, and more. We can't wait to hear how the community is going to use these products.

We can't wait to hear how people are going to use these new products. How is everyone thinking of deploying the new LTE models?

[Welles]

Any plans for these new MXs to support SSL VPN?

[davidvan]

@Welles We know this is needed, but not yet. Stay tuned.

[aws_architect]

Hello ,

Thank you for this update .

Unfortunate situation I just ordered and receive 3 days ago Z3 ! If I would have know I would have loved the Z3C instead of the Z3 with USB Modem.

What about catching back features available on MR ?

802.1x with sentry as an exemple 

https://community.meraki.com/t5/Endpoint-Management-Systems/Feature-Systems-Manager-Sentry-Wi-Fi-sec...

Thanks

[PhilipDAth]

I'm most excited about the 450Mb/s firewall throughput - as in my part of the world we can get relatively cheap Gigabit Internet circuits - and this makes putting higher speed Internet into smaller sites "more usable".

The second thing I am excited about is the integrated LTE.  The problem with having an external USB device (especially in retail environments) is that they can be easily broken by something applying force (by accident).  Also you can not be sure a USB LTE is going to work until you need it.  Now with the integrated LTE we'll be able to at least confirm that their is signal available.

[davidvan]

@PhilipDAth Certainly, the speed upgrades were widely requested!

Re: USB. Visibility certainly helps bring trust that things will work when needed.

[s4mmy]

So is the LTE an ACTIVE WAN interface now or is it still only a backup?

What about 5G support?!?!

[PhilipDAth]

Today the built in LTE can only be used as a backup - in exactly the same was as a USB modem.  Their is speculation that in future software updates capabilities might be added to turn it into a "full" WAN interface.

Note that there is still a USB port and you can still use a USB modem.  If you do this it takes over from the built in LTE modem.

No mention has been made of 5G capability.

[Ben]

I still think it's a shame you have to break your bank account to get GB throughput speeds on the WAN interface.

Hope to get my hands on a MX67 soon to see if the speed is really limited to 450.. 

Here in Belgium a lot of providers offer 500Mbps and probably going up to 750 the end of this year. 

Not sure if i'm the only one who feels this way but a GB throughput MX in the lineup that does not cost you the same as a small car would be a nice addition.

[davidvan]

@s4mmy Today, it can be used as a failover or single-uplink to connect sites with no broadband uplink available. 5G is certainly the wave of the future, would love to hear your use-case for this?

[AnythingHosted]

Integrated LTE is great and I welcome the extra throughput. Worth the upgrade next year.

I would like to see some further software updates such SSL VPN but also allowing the use of an iPhone for backup WAN. Our internet rarely goes down, and if it does most of us hotspot to our phones and then VPN to the DC. It would be much better if one of us could simply plug in our iPhone and use 4G that way.

[BBFred]

So, instead of these crappy new hardware upgrades, when are we getting IPv6, IKEv2 or SSL VPN?

[BlakeRichardson]

The higher through put is the most exciting thing for me, 1Gbps fibre is a very common speed in NZ and being bottlenecked by your router isn't ideal. 

Also the cellular option is nice, having one of these at home with cellular backup for onlien gaming would be nice but I don't think my wife would let me buy one...

[davidvan]

@BlakeRichardson Just in case your wife cuts your ISP cable, you can keep the gambling going via LTE 🙂

[davidvan]

@BBFred I wish I had more at this moment for you on that front!

[davidvan]

@AnythingHosted iPhone backup WAN integration, interesting.

Agreed on SSL VPN. We are certainly hearing everyone on this loud & clear. It is a top 3 request.

[aws_architect]

@davidvan 

You didn't answer regarding having same functions on WiFi as MR ( even same menu )

If no change are made on SW for WiFi , it would be smart to have as also suggested by @dustinnewby to have a version without WiFi, cheeper , because personally we put a MR33 instead, to get missing functions and the WiFi is diasabled on Z3  !

What is top 1 ? Top 2 ? ...

Can you share roadmap ?

Thank you !

BR

[PhilipDAth]

@dustinnewby the MX67C does not have WiFi built in (only the models with "W" in the name have WiFi).  Note that the MX68C has external antennas - but unlike the other models - those are LTE antennas, not WiFi antennas.

[davidvan]

@dustinnewby@PhilipDAth

I think Philip meant to say MX67C. Yes, the MX67C looks like it has Wi-Fi, but as Philip mentions those are LTE antennas!

MX68CW: PoE+, Wi-Fi, 12 ports, LTE

MX67C: LTE (no Wi-Fi)

C = Cellular

W = Wi-Fi

[PhilipDAth]

@davidvan fixed thank you!

[dustinnewby]

Ok thanks for the clarification.

[davidvan]

@aws_architect

In regards to your question about Wi-Fi vs. MR... the new models with wireless upgrade to 802.11ac Wave 2. However, some features like meshing with MR AP's will not be available.

[aws_architect]

@davidvan The request was about to support 802.1x with certificate via sentry .

Wifi functions in Z3 is severely retarded in comparaison to MR

It have nothing to do with 802.11ac dual wave 

- What about most wanted feature 1 2 ..

- What about the roadmap ?

- any version of Z3 without WiFi in your plans ?

Thank you 

[davidvan]

@aws_architect No, these new models do not have sentry wireless. This is a feature available on MR only

[aws_architect]

@davidvan

We know that it’s not supported 🙂 , I fell that I need to insist to get the infos .

- When will it be supported ?

- When are you going to align function from MR to Z or MX ?

- What about most wanted feature 1, 2 that you talk about ? What are they ?

- What about the roadmap of MX and Z ? Can you share it ?

- Any version of Z3 without WiFi in your plans ?

thank you very much !

[davidvan]

@aws_architect Our goal is to keep our upcoming features private until they are stable enough and ready for the public. Stay tuned!

[aws_architect]

@davidvan , I understand that you want to keep private until it’s stable , but from my point of view , a successful company should move at the speed of customers’ expectations, and I don’t have this feeling at the moment : IKE v2 , SSL VPN , IPv6, WiFi 802.1x with sentry ... so many features that we’ve been expecting for years . They are the standards at the moment , nothing fancy .

To illustrate my feedback l can tell you that when I first received a Z3, I was surprise to find a totally different level of functionalities in comparaison to MR series , it was so retarded that we had to combine it with MR33, meaning that the WiFi on Z3 was useless and we paid for it ! What a cold shower !

[davidvan]

https://documentation.meraki.com/MX-Z/User_Manuals

In these new user manuals (just posted), we will be updating carriers supported on MX & Z-Series. These will be updated dynamically as we continue to partner with more service providers.

[dustinnewby]

I was originally really excited about the built-in LTE, but it would be nice if it was available on the non-wifi model too since I run separate AP's anyways and it really shouldn't be nearly double the cost.   The speed increase is always welcome, but out here in the rural area's where I have them deployed I'm not anywhere close to hitting the limits on my MX64/65's.  

[JPAWELCHAK]

Since you asked @davidvan, I'm most excited that Meraki MX may someday support IPv6 but won't hold my breath. Competing products at a fraction of the cost already support it but Meraki can't even be bothered to update their partner community in any useful way. New devices are useless when they don't support a ratified standard like IPv6 that ISP/Carriers are moving full steam ahead with.

[Senan_Rogers]

Hello David,

+ How much Bandwidth the new devices ( MX67C) as an LTE device will be using for the keep-alive traffic  ? is it also less than 9MB total per month?

+ Can we have Layer 3 / Layer 7 rules applied to the Cellular LTE  with no conflict with the Cellular Rules in the Firewall Category? 

+  Will the auto VPN  setting will be connected to the LTE and use those Layer 3 /Layer 7 rules with no issues? 

Thank you 

[davidvan]

@Senan_Rogers 

1. I'll dig deeper into this one. However, if you review the documentation page, it says keep-alive traffic was disable as of MX10.11+ firmware. Let me get back to you.

2. This will operate no differently from the current cellular rules in the firewall category.

3. I'm not sure I completely understand the question. However, L3/L7 rules and Auto VPN will operate similar to USB cellular modems.

[davidvan]

@Senan_Rogers To get back to your question on keep-alive traffic, as I mentioned, the newer firmware no longer pings every 60 seconds, but rather every few minutes, so hitting the 9MB limit is very unlikely. In addition, these new models with integrated modems allow you to monitor the signal strength and whether the modem is ready.

[Bovie2K]

I'm most excited about the speed increase but as other posters have noted many home users are able to get Gigabit Internet now at home and while much better than before 450 is still lacking. I'd like to push for a 450 guaranteed but not software cap'ed allowing the firewall to burst to whatever its CPU could sustain. No one is expecting an MX67 to power a 200 person company but to allow a full gigabit would be wonderful. Similar to my MX64 where Meraki advertises 200 megabit on threat defense but I have no problem hitting the 250 megabit software cap.

I'd also like to add on we are really hoping for software updates to support IKE v2 VPN , SSL VPN and AnyConnect , and IPv6.

Still with that being said really happy for the speed increase.  

[JPAWELCHAK]

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@Bovie2K wrote:

I'm most excited about the speed increase but as other posters have noted many home users are able to get Gigabit Internet now at home and while much better than before 450 is still lacking. I'd like to push for a 450 guaranteed but not software cap'ed allowing the firewall to burst to whatever its CPU could sustain. No one is expecting an MX67 to power a 200 person company but to allow a full gigabit would be wonderful. Similar to my MX64 where Meraki advertises 200 megabit on threat defense but I have no problem hitting the 250 megabit software cap.

I'd also like to add on we are really hoping for software updates to support IKE v2 VPN , SSL VPN and AnyConnect , and IPv6.

Still with that being said really happy for the speed increase.  

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Agreed! Maybe Meraki needs to consider enforcing device counts but develop hardware with more horsepower to accommodate a Small, Medium, Large & Extra Large license throughput model OR do what many vendors are doing at a lower price point simply support a bigger 1Gbps pipe. Access to 1Gbps service in metro areas like Toronto is becoming the norm not the exception.

[Matt-Ignite]

These look really good!

As someone who's had no end of trouble trying to get a USB modem working with the MX64 devices (and ended up giving up because it just won't work here), having an integrated LTE modem is a real benefit. 

The downside is obviously the cost - the MX67C is twice the price of the MX64 by the looks of things. I'd pay a bit more for integrated LTE, but an extra $1000 is a tough sell to a customer when a USB dongle is only $50.

On the official Documentation page for the new devices (https://documentation.meraki.com/MX/MX_Overviews_and_Specifications/MX67_and_MX68_Overview_and_Speci...), there's mention of being able to set a custom APN via the dashboard UI. I don't support there's any chance of getting this added to the MX64 devices as well? That would be a huge help when dealing with 4G failover.

Cheers,

Matt

[JPAWELCHAK]

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@Matt-Ignite wrote:

These look really good!

As someone who's had no end of trouble trying to get a USB modem working with the MX64 devices (and ended up giving up because it just won't work here), having an integrated LTE modem is a real benefit. 

The downside is obviously the cost - the MX67C is twice the price of the MX64 by the looks of things. I'd pay a bit more for integrated LTE, but an extra $1000 is a tough sell to a customer when a USB dongle is only $50.

On the official Documentation page for the new devices (https://documentation.meraki.com/MX/MX_Overviews_and_Specifications/MX67_and_MX68_Overview_and_Speci...), there's mention of being able to set a custom APN via the dashboard UI. I don't support there's any chance of getting this added to the MX64 devices as well? That would be a huge help when dealing with 4G failover.

Cheers,

Matt

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The MX67C in addition to having integrated LTE also has 2x firewall throughput so additional cost is reasonably justified. If still too steep for you/your customer have you tried the Inseego Skyus LTE device? It is "Meraki Certified" and the only device we deploy now because they have been rock solid for our clients that have purchased them.