Have you recently upgraded your Meraki Switches to Firmware 15.18 Release Candidate? If so, we would love to hear from you!  Please take a few moments to complete this  Google Form   and share your direct feedback and experience with us.   If you missed the announcement, please check out this  community post   for details.  As always, should you encounter any issues with your upgrade, please get in touch with Meraki support for assistance. ... View more

We’re excited to share that the MS 15.18 Release Candidate   is now available for all switch customers via the Meraki dashboard . Check out this new announcement post for more details!    As always, s hould you encounter any issues with your upgrade, please reach out to Meraki support for assistance.     Happy upgrades!      ... View more

We’re excited to share that after a long wait, the MS 15.18 Release Candidate is now available for all switch customers via the Meraki dashboard . We have made significant quality improvements and added lots of new features in this release. It brings powerful network security and analytics capabilities, streamlined policy management, and enhanced PoE features. Let’s get into the specifics:    New features ➕ Named VLAN profiles  (private preview testing) ➕ Dynamic config of Voice VLAN and port isolation   ➕ FIPS Phase 1 - Next Generation Device to Cloud Connectivity   New for the MS390 We highly recommend that MS390 users upgrade to this version as soon as possible.  ➕ 802.3bt UPoE support   ➕ Netflow export w/SGT, AVC, ETA ➕ Critical / Failed Authentication ➕ Stack-Power   status and official support ➕ Meraki Authentication ➕ Multi-Auth Access Policy w/ Voice VLAN Bypass ➕ URL-redirect ➕ Group Policy ACLs ➕ MAC Flap ➕ Unidirectional Link Detection (UDLD)  ➕ Alternate Management Interface ➕ IPv6 - management   How to upgrade   Head on over to the firmware management page to schedule your upgrades now.  Check out the article in Documentation for step-by-step instructions.    Don’t forget to use our new  staged upgrades and firmware upgrade status features to help you save time and effort. You can schedule, stage, or sequence update groups ahead of time and reuse these groups.    Happy holidays!  ... View more

We would like to inform you that the MS and MR SecureConnect feature, which enables the secure automation of MS switch ports configuration connected to MR access points, is now SecurePort.  This name change will simply allow us to clarify the feature functionality.    New name, same great feature    The functionality of the feature remains unchanged on the dashboard.  However, please note that this name change will impact the following API end-point, where customers will need to modify the key ‘ secureConnect’  to ‘ securePort’  on their API calls:   1. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-network-settings   2. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-device-switch-ports-statuses       Check out  this new feature announcement post  and learn more.  ... View more

We would like to inform you that the MS and MR SecureConnect feature, which enables the secure automation of MS switch ports configuration connected to MR access points, is now SecurePort.  This name change will simply allow us to clarify the feature functionality.    New name, same great feature    The functionality of the feature remains unchanged on the dashboard.  However, please note that this name change will impact the following API end-point, where customers will need to modify the key ‘ secureConnect’  to ‘ securePort’  on their API calls:   1. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-network-settings   2. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-device-switch-ports-statuses     Check out  this new feature announcement post  and learn more.    ... View more

We would like to inform you that the MS and MR SecureConnect feature, which enables the secure automation of MS switch ports configuration connected to MR access points, is now SecurePort.  This name change will simply allow us to clarify the feature functionality.    The functionality of the feature remains unchanged on the dashboard.  ❗ However, please note that this name change will impact the following API end-point, where customers will need to modify the key ‘ secureConnect’  to ‘ securePort’  on their API calls:   1. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-network-settings   2. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-device-switch-ports-statuses     Check out this new feature announcement post and learn more.    ... View more

We would like to inform you that the MS and MR SecureConnect feature, which enables the secure automation of MS switch ports configuration connected to MR access points, is now SecurePort.  This name change will simply allow us to clarify the feature functionality.    New name, same great feature     The functionality of the feature remains unchanged on the dashboard.  However, please note that this name change will impact the following API end-point, where customers will need to modify the key ‘ secureConnect’ to ‘ securePort’ on their API calls:   1. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-network-settings   2. https://developer.cisco.com/meraki/api-v1/#!get-device-switch-ports-statuses     What is SecurePort?  SecurePort automates the process of securely provisioning Meraki MR Access Points when directly connected to switch-ports on Meraki MS Switches, without requiring a per-port configuration. With this feature, IT teams no longer need to claw their way through multiple disparate dashboards and manual, complex tasks to secure their networks. In just a few clicks on a single dashboard, network professionals (like you) can implement a security posture that reliably protects every layer of the network. It effectively secures switch ports and automates device configurations, eliminating potential configuration errors and downtime.      How does it work? When a SecurePort-capable MR access-point is connected to an MS switch configured for SecurePort, the switchport's configuration is automatically modified to implement traffic and security restrictions on the MR access-point, while still allowing it to communicate with the Meraki Dashboard. The access-point is provided with an identity certificate which it uses to validate itself as an MR belonging to the same Dashboard Organization before it is authorized to use the network.   The SecurePort status of a switchport is reported to users with a new port-state indicator on the switch's mimic panel, and via state-specific banners in the port details view.    A configuration override by SecurePort is applicable to a port only while the MR access-point remains connected to it. The user-defined config for the port remains accessible and can be modified even while SecurePort is active on the port.     Learn more   Read more about SecurePort here . ... View more

  Introducing the new MS firmware upgrade status ! These new status indicators will automatically appear  for all switch networks whenever an upgrade is scheduled or in progress.  💡 Plus, two additional “bonus” pieces work together with the firmware upgrade status.    Check out this new feature announcement post and learn more.      ... View more

Keeping track of your firmware update isn’t a glamorous task, but it’s a necessary one that can consume bandwidth you probably don’t have. Perhaps you’ve checked out the improved Staged Upgrades feature, but how can you monitor upgrade progress at the individual switch level? “Does this switch have an upgrade scheduled?”, “Does anything need my attention?”. These are the common questions we all have when updating.  🤔   We now have per-device upgrade status for each switch in a network.   Rolled out on Oct 31st (no trick, only the treat!), firmware upgrade status provides context on the upgrade status for each switch in a network, to reassure admins that firmware upgrades are progressing as scheduled. Update status flags will appear automatically for all switch networks whenever an upgrade is scheduled or in progress.  👏     The status flags are: Pending: This indicates that a firmware upgrade that includes this switch has been scheduled to take place, but that the scheduled time has not yet arrived. Started: This indicates that the scheduled time has arrived and that the switch will begin the upgrade. Completed: After the upgrade starts, the completed flag will appear when the first of the following two situations occurs: The switch appears back online in Dashboard running the upgraded version of firmware, or: 30 minutes has passed since the scheduled upgrade time. Canceled: This status appears only if the switch belongs to a staged upgrade group whose upgrade stage has been canceled as part of a rollback. It remains until the staged upgrade rollback is complete. Skipped: This flag indicates that the switch has a firmware version locked by Meraki support and will not be upgraded. So your upgrade completed, now what? There are two additional “bonus” pieces that work together with firmware upgrade status :   Firmware version column The firmware version column on the switch list page will also reflect the firmware version status during and after the upgrade. In this fashion, you can see at a network level how an upgrade is progressing, and after the upgrade you can tell whether any individual switch needs additional attention if it wasn’t able to complete the upgrade:     Staged upgrade group statuses If you happen to be running a staged firmware upgrade, you’ll also notice that the switch upgrade status flags match the flags that indicate the status of the upgrade group stages during the upgrade:       Need more information?  ℹ️ Please see the documentation page for more information.  ... View more

We are thrilled to introduce the public preview of the improved MS staged upgrades ! This new, improved staged upgrades page will automatically appear and replace the previous Switch > Staged upgrades page on the dashboard.    Check out   this new feature announcement post   to learn more.  ... View more

We are thrilled to introduce the public preview of the improved MS staged upgrades !    Public preview allows all customers to test the feature and leverage Meraki support if they encounter issues. However, this feature is still considered “beta” and customers should be prepared to test for unexpected issues that may occur before deciding to roll out the feature to critical networks.    To upgrade or not upgrade?    That is a question many of us have been asking ourselves when it comes to new software versions. On the one hand, the upgrade process can be painful, especially for large, cross-site operations, and the maintenance window is short (often during weekends or late at night). On the other hand, it can be nerve-wracking not having the latest software updates to protect from bugs and enjoy the latest features.    Make the switch (pun-intended) to better efficiency.   Staged upgrades is a great feature for uses in situations such as these:    “I have a one-hour maintenance window each night, but I also have 200 switches.”   And:   “I can handle a daily outage for access switches, but only have one window a month to upgrade the core”   What’s new?  Staged upgrades improves on the previous version with:   Reusable upgrade groups Easier rescheduling Better upgrade progress monitoring Ability to use the API to manage and schedule staged upgrades A single-page workflow so the entire upgrade can be managed from the org-wide firmware page. Switch stacks are treated as a single logical unit, rather than assigning individual stack member switches to upgrade stages.   > Yes, you can prepare upgrade groups and the sequence ahead of time and reuse them! (If you didn't know these functions existed, now you know. Use them to help you minimize potential disruptions and time spent on these manual tasks! )   Create and modify staged upgrade groups without scheduling a firmware upgrade by navigating to Switch > Staged Upgrades, and choosing the "Groups" tab.   Modify the staged upgrade groups and sequence between upgrades by navigating to Switch > Staged Upgrades, and choosing the "Sequence" tab.   Need more information?  This new improved staged upgrades page will automatically appear and replace the previous Switch > Staged upgrades page on the dashboard .  Please see the documentation page for more information.    ... View more

Great news! We are excited to share the  public preview  of the new MS 802.1X Control Direction (1XCD)! This public preview is now available for all orgs on the switch access policies page.    Check out this new feature announcement post to learn more.        ... View more

Putting endpoints to sleep to save energy doesn’t normally play well with 802.1X. You often have to make a choice between compromising security or keeping devices awake 24/365. With more pressure on IT energy savings on the one hand and rising cybersecurity threats expected to continue on the other hand, network pros (like you) are getting a seemingly impossible mission.    Great news! We are excited to share the public preview of the new MS 802.1X Control Direction (1XCD)! This public preview is now available for all orgs on the switch access policies page.    Public preview allows all customers to test the feature and leverage Meraki support if they encounter issues. However, this feature is still considered “beta” and customers should be prepared to test for unexpected issues that may occur before deciding to roll out the feature to critical networks.    Say hello to sustainable sustainability with enhanced security (No compromise!)   With 1XCD, customers can now have the best of both worlds, using high security on switchports connecting to endpoints (such as cash registers) in remote branches while still allowing those devices to save energy outside of business hours.   Let’s dive a little further.   > Default to both directions    802.1X Control Direction defaults to "both". In this mode, the switchport drops ingress or egress traffic until after the port is authorized via 802.1X or MAB authentication.    > Or set to “inbound-only”    Control Direction can now also be set to "inbound-only," in which case the switchport drops ingress traffic, but will allow limited egress traffic from the network through the switchport to reach the connected device. This is often used to allow Wake-on-LAN magic packets to wake a sleeping host on the connected port, at which point the host can attempt a normal 802.1X or MAB authentication to authorize the switchport for full ingress and egress traffic.   802.1X Control Direction is enabled as part of switch access policy configuration. When enabled, is also indicated on the switchport details:   > Works with API and template networks    1XCD works via the API, in the Dashboard, and works with template networks. As a bonus, switch access policies in template networks are now configurable via the API .     Need more information?  1XCD is supported on classic switches and requires MS 15 or later. Please see the Documentation page for more information.    Join many of our customers in a mission to a more sustainable IT environment today! Go green!    ... View more