Hi,
We are currently using MS355-48X switches in our network. We would like to extend the available ports in our storage room and use some switches to connect our spare endpoints in storage/not-in use, so that they remain connected to the network to receive patches.
Which supported switches for our environment would you recommend? All of the devices connected to the switch would all be on the same VLAN (workstations VLAN), so layer 3 routing would not be needed. Correct? Please advise.
@pazces : Yes you can opt for Layer 2 switches. Check out the different models in the below link and go with what is matching your requirements on the ports
https://meraki.cisco.com/product-collateral/ms-family-datasheet/?file
How many ports do you require?
@pazces, if all you are looking for is a basic Layer 2 switch to plug end-points into that are already in a secure storage room then I’d probably just go with the MS120 or MS125 models - they’re basic and will do connectivity just fine. The MS120 will give you 1Gbps SFP ports if you need them for uplinks, whereas the MS125 range will give you the option of 10Gbps SFP+ ports for uplinks. All depends what bandwidth you might need (or if you’ll use the fibre uplinks at all). Both have PoE versions if you need that too.
@Bruce Hi, so luckily enough we have two MS120's in our inventory. I have not had much experience with configuring these but seems like all that is needed is to plug them into an available port in the storage room and start hooking up devices. Of course the port I plug the MS120 into needs to be on the same VLAN as the endpoints.
@pazces, in its simplest form, yes that should work. The VLAN will need to have a DHCP server available on it (or via a DHCP relay) so that the switches can get an IP address. The VLAN will also need access to the internet so the MS120 switches can connect back to the Dashboard and register to the Meraki cloud.
@pazces personally I'd set the port you plug the switch into to a trunk port and make the native VLAN the management VLAN. On the ms120 set every port other than the uplink port as an access port and enter the VLAN you want them all to be on.
@cmrthat is exactly what I ended up doing 🙂
Happy to report the switch has been successfully added and devices are hooked up. First time using the Meraki Community and WOW! you guys are awesome!
Thank you everyone.