CDP/LLDP between Cisco Catalyst and Meraki switches

[Brian_Evans]

We are currently using Cisco 4500X switches for our "core" and distros while using Meraki MS250 series for access switches.  The 4500's show up as clients in the dashboard with random description names of other clients listed as their own like Jimmy's_MacBook.  The 4500's each show up twice in the topology map as well.  All the 4500's have LLDP and CDP enabled.

Is there a way to get the 4500's and Merakis communicating better?

[Adam]

Is your ultimate goal to get better client data?

[Brian_Evans]

In a way yes, I don't think the 4500s should be showing up as clients. They show up as the top clients by usage on reports and such.

[Adam]

In my environment I have a Meraki switch trunked to a Cisco 3560.  So the 3560 is downstream from the Meraki Switch.  The Cisco switch shows up as a client as do the actual client devices connected to the Cisco switch.  All seems to report accurately. I don't get the same visibility I'd have gotten if the clients were directly connected to a Meraki switch.  I can't see the port the devices are connected to etc.  But the rest seems fine, device names, traffic etc... 

[PhilipDAth]

The Meraki switches report clients base don MAC address.

Are you 4500's acting as layer 3 gateways?  If so, all their packets (for remote subnet clients at least) are sent using the MAC address of the 4500.  This makes the 4500 show up in the clients list consuming a lot of traffic.

[Brian_Evans]

Yes our 4500s are acting as layer 3 gateways.

[PhilipDAth]

You'll need to do tracking by IP.

https://documentation.meraki.com/MX-Z/Monitoring_and_Reporting/Client_Tracking_Options#Tracking_by_I...