Replacement meraki for core Catalyst 3750 switch

[TippTop]

Hi guys,looking at replacements for this within Meraki

Only issue is BGP, which meraki switches use it?

Is there an issue with BGP for Meraki products?

Can meraki switches replace a core catalyst 3750 switch?

Thanks in advance

[ww]

No bgp routing in the meraki switches

[PhilipDAth]

The closest option you could do would be to offload the BGP functionality onto an actual Cisco router.  I like using the C1111-8P.  Include an AppX licence to enable BGP.

It can easily flat line a Gigabit circuit.  You could probably configure it as a "route server" as well as long as the other next-hop(s) are in the same subnet.  Then the L3 forwarding is still done by the switch(es) while the BGP is done by the router(s).

The 3750 is so old and has a range of configurations and modules it is hard to suggest a direct replacement without knowing more.  Options I like are:

MS250 - entry-level core switch that can also so OSPF and has 4 x SFP+ 10Gbe ports.  Can take redundant power supplies.

MS350-24X - adds MGig ports, so you can also plug in 10GBaseT servers and SANs (as well as SFP+ 10Gbe).

MS425-16 - a pure 10Gbe SFP+ L3 switch.  More common in small server farms or connecting switch blocks together (such as all the floor switch blocks in multi-story buildings).

[TippTop]

Thanks very much working with the customer at present, they're not 100% clear (no network design from them available)

What questions would you recommend for customer which would speed up the decision in choosing the alternatives to 3750?

[PhilipDAth · Accepted solution]

Do they need to use dynamic routing protocols?

Do they need to use policy routing?

Do they need to use vrfs?

How many ports do they need, and what speed/type do they need to be?

[TippTop]

Awesome thanks very much 😀