Thoughts on two switching setups for branch sites.

[chrisautomates]

I call them branch sites but some can have up to 500 endpoints, a good chunk of which are IoT devices. We already have beefy MXs in the sites but are upgrading the switching. very little E/W traffic, its mostly over the tunnel to the cloud or out to the internet.

What we have traditionally done is a stack of MS225s in the MDF and if there is an IDF a single MS225 or a stack as needed.

We do layer 3 routing but since the MS225s don't support DHCP we relay that to the MX.

We did that in the past as a cost saving measure, as you can imagine its saved a pretty penny over going with the MS250 at the time, when redoing doing 50+ sites.

These days it seems like the C9300s are being pushed more and more and I'm starting to wonder if the MS225s will be EoS soon and if its worth to swap to the C9300Ls in a similar setup (though now they can do DHCP).

Am I overthinking this, are the MS225s safe for years to come?
Should I keep it simple and stay the course with the MS225s or is it worth it to start using these new C9300s for new deployments?
Have the C9300s been stable for you all? I've seen some funky issue here and there (traffic data not showing up in dashboard, stacking cables showing unplugged) 

[alemabrahao]

You're not overthinking, you're being strategic. The MS225s are still viable, but if you're refreshing sites or planning new ones, it’s worth considering the C9300L-M or newer Meraki models. Just be mindful of the known issues and ensure you're running recommended IOS-XE versions.

[RWelch · Accepted solution]

@Mloraditch provided a glimpse into the future a while back for your consideration (see link below).  

While the MS225s are still active the future roadmap shows MS150s as its replacement.  

The C9300 series would be considered a step-up in capabilities/features/functionality.

Really Cool Meraki Product Line Trees 

[Mloraditch]

Thanks for sharing this! This image was created before the 9200s and 9200Ls were available, still in beta support at the moment, but they would slide in somewhere between the MS150s and 9300Ls.  Depending on your planning timeframe, may want to look at them as well.

OP, No matter what I would not be buying new MS225s at this point in time. Newer switches have mGig and uPoE which are critical for Wifi6e, 7, and beyond. I'd definitely talk to your Meraki AM/SE. 

[chrisautomates]

Ill check on the 9200Ls looks like they do support layer 3 and DHCP which ticks those boxes. Seems the downside is the stacking bandwidth and higher levels of POE which should not be an issue, don't think there are any poe devices over 30w and very little E/W traffic for the stacking bandwidth need.

Thanks everyone for the responses, greatly helps our decision making!

[cmr]

@chrisautomates also remember that the 9300Ls and possibly the 9200Ls don't come with the stacking ports, they have a motherboard header, but you need to buy the actual port separately for quite a lot.  The benefit is that they do have the SFP+ ports on the end and you don't need to buy a module for them, as you would with a 9300.

Lastly the annual licence for the 9300(L) is quite a lot more than the MS225,

[DarrenOC]

Hi @chrisautomates - might even be worth holding off from the 9300’s and look at the 9350’s.  Newer to the market so more longevity.

https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/products/collateral/networking/switches/c9350-series-smart-switches...