Keeping your network healthy starts with having the right insights at your fingertips. That’s why we’re rolling out enhancements to dashboard, designed to give our switching users a cleaner, more complete view of device performance, stability, and utilization.

Today, I am excited to share the news about a line expansion that introduces out-of-the-box cloud management with the Catalyst 9200L-M models.

You may have noticed a new VRF page under the Organization menu in dashboard 👀 

This page allows users to create Virtual Routing and Forwarding instances, or VRFs, which can then be used for configuring VRF related functions on platforms that support VRF in any network in the organization. 

For example, starting with IOS XE 17.18 Catalyst 9000 switches that have hardware support for VRFs can have interfaces assigned to VRFs you create on the organization-wide VRF page.  

If you’re new to VRF, it allows layer 3 routing devices (such as switches and routers) to keep multiple, separate routing tables, which creates segmentation at layer 3. This is often used to create separate networks for devices such as corporate workstations, IoT devices, or payment processing systems. VRFs allow these devices to use the same switches without being able to reach each other, unless a fusion device such as a firewall is used to connect the VRFs together. 

🔗 See a Preview of VRF from Cisco Live 

We are excited to share that the new assurance-focused Organization Summary page is now available to everyone via early access! The page gives network admins an overall view of their organization health, spanning client connectivity, infrastructure issues, and application outages. It highlights organization-wide trends, surfaces key insights, and helps pinpoint the most problematic networks to resolve issues quickly. 

How do I access the page? 

Opt-in directly from the Organization Summary page using the blue opt-in link on the upper right or from the Early Access page. 

We are excited to announce the launch of the Cisco AI Assistant, now available in controlled availability for the Meraki dashboard! This is a major milestone in our journey to leverage the power of AI to make NetOps simpler and your networks smarter.

Intelligent capture for wireless and wired devices introduces a way to automate the packet capture process. Intelligent capture allows network engineers to initiate and retrieve packet captures on demand remotely

The release of cloud-native IOS XE 17.15.3 this week features the stable release candidate of cloud operating mode, and the launch of public beta for hybrid operating mode, an evolution of Cloud Monitoring.

When a critical application fails or an expected system error strikes, the first question is always: Why? Stop wasting time on drawn-out investigations. Get straight to the answers and cut your MTTR with Meraki’s intelligent Root Cause Analysis (RCA) flows!

Meraki for Government is now FedRAMP Moderate and StateRAMP Moderate authorized

Managing VLANs across multiple switches just got easier! With the new VLAN database feature for Catalyst switches in Meraki mode, you can now streamline VLAN configuration across your network and eliminate unnecessary VLANs - all from a single place.

Experiencing a network outage or a sudden performance drop often leaves network administrators searching for the answer: 'What changed? Now, with Meraki Assurance, finding the answer is easier than ever before.

The MS150 is a stackable access switch designed to support demanding workloads and power-hungry connected devices such as Wi-Fi 7 APs or IoT endpoints. With 12 new models to choose from, the MS150 offers a simple and scalable means for organizations to adopt new technology and gear up for the future of branch networking. 

This product is available to order now! 

As we continue to improve the alert management experience, we are excited to share the new Alerts Configuration page!

This page is generally available and can be accessed by admins with organization-level privileges directly from the Organization Alerts page.

We are excited to share that Assurance Overview is now generally available and enabled by default for all organizations! Assurance Overview delivers a unified assurance experience for you to understand the overall health of your network across the entire stack. It is a one-stop-shop to monitor your network health and quickly troubleshoot problematic areas.

Be the first to experience the cloud-native IOS XE. Try it now by upgrading your cloud-managed Catalyst switches to IOS XE 17.15.1 on the Meraki dashboard. Click 'read more...' and learn what’s new! 

Cloud-native IOS XE

New feature highlights

• Introducing cloud-native IOS-XE
• Improved boot time for your Cisco Catalyst cloud-managed switches, especially for stacks.
• CLI access through the dashboard to run show commands for troubleshooting.
• Intelligent Capture 
• Support for C9200L hardware platforms. 
• Please see this documentation on the migration process and supported models. 
• Attempting to migrate unsupported models, such as C9200CX, may result in an unusable switch. Please review the list of supported models before proceeding with the upgrade. 
• Enhanced logging capabilities with native Catalyst logging support.
• For more information about this release, please consult our cloud-native IOS XE documentation landing page, which includes access to FAQs, an overview, and steps for upgrade and migration.

Share Your Feedback

We value your feedback on our latest release! Please take a moment to complete this brief 5-minute survey (https://forms.office.com/r/gHuK4bJRZ5)  and share your experience with us. 

Being able to monitor the health of your fiber optic transceivers in real time is critical for maintaining network reliability and efficient troubleshooting. If you haven't heard about this yet, we are excited to announce a new feature that provides enhanced visibility into the monitoring data of SFP(Small Form-factor Pluggable) fiber optic transceiver parameters such as optical power (input and output), temperature, current, and voltage directly on your switching port details tab. 

With this capability, you will be able to:

• Monitor and troubleshoot Meraki SFP optics in real-time
• Receive alerts on the dashboard when parameters exceed set thresholds
• View historical data for each DOM parameter, enabling you to troubleshoot issues more effectively and identify when network failures occurred

We are excited to share that the new Assurance Overview is now available to everyone via the Early Access page! Assurance Overview provides a unified assurance experience for you to understand the overall health of your network across the entire stack. You can easily monitor your network health and quickly troubleshoot problematic areas.

Enable the feature for your organization by going to Organization > Early Access and opt in to the ‘Assurance Overview’ feature.

As we reach the first big milestone in our journey to build a better experience for alert management, we are excited to share multiple features we have launched to date.  

At the beginning of February, we made the Organization Alerts page generally available. This page is one of the most requested alerting features by users and an extension of the Alert Hub. It can be found under the Organization tab:

Introducing the MS17 beta release – it's packed with exciting new features to help you elevate productivity with powerful security, enhanced visibility, and robust automation in your network! Head on over to the firmware management page and schedule your upgrades now.   

Reminder: MS17 is available to all Meraki Switches, except for MS390 and Catalyst 9300-M.  

[UPDATE: As of December, 2024, MS17 reached the Stable release stage. 🎉] 

<< As of Sep 12th, 2024, CS17 has reached the stable release candidate (RC) stage! >> 

We are thrilled to introduce the latest Catalyst Switching (CS)17 software beta release!  With CS17, Cisco Meraki MS390 and Catalyst 9300-M (including migrated Catalyst 9300) users can unlock new security, visibility, and sustainability features for their networks. Learn more >> 

We are excited to extend the features of the MAC Allow List and Sticky MAC Allow List to MS390 and Catalyst 9300-M switches. MAC Allow List and Sticky MAC Allow List are currently supported on Meraki Switches (MS). With this early access, users will be able to extend the configurations and settings to their Catalyst-based switches.   

Navigate to Organization > Early Access page, and toggle “Opt-in” now.  

Learn more

Port configuration on Switch Ports documentation. 

Even more powerful hardware options to meet your most demanding networking needs—with 15 additional Catalyst 9300-M models.  Available to order now! 

🌟Features include: 

• 90 W UPOE+ 
• High-density mGig and fiber options 
• 25G/100G uplinks 
• Physical stacking flexibility across models—capable of up to 1T  
• Extension of Adaptive Policy to more platforms 

Read our blog and learn more. 

MS16 Stable is available! 

Upgrade to this new version for remote network traffic analysis flow improvement and network security enhancement. We encourage you to upgrade to the latest software release and provide us with your feedback.  

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. 

Introducing MS130R! 

Extend reliable connectivity and PoE wherever you need it with the new MS130R, a cloud-managed ruggedized switch from Meraki. 

Learn more 

We are excited to share that the Org-level RADIUS Server Configuration feature is available to enable via public preview! This new feature supports Meraki Switching today and is designed to help you further streamline and reduce potential mistakes in configuring and updating local RADIUS servers. Navigate to Organization > Early Access page, and toggle “Opt-in" now. 

We are excited to announce that Cisco Meraki Canada Region has added support for MX SD-WAN Plus and MI Insight. With MX SD-WAN Plus, users get access to ThousandEyes insights, Smart L7 local internet breakout, performance-based routing, and ML-powered analytics. Meraki Insight provides end-to-end visibility into how users experience a network, providing performance management and troubleshooting with zero setup or configuration required.

Introducing Catalyst 9300-M! 

With a wide range of mGig speeds, high redundancy designs, 60W UPOE options, and Adaptive Policy, these switches are ideal for large campuses and many other use cases to securely power and connect the latest Wi-Fi and IoT devices.

Learn more

Read our latest blog and learn more about how these new Catalyst 9300-M network switches unleash employee productivity.

We are excited to share that Named VLANs MS Port Configuration can be enabled via the Early Access Page. This is our first step in building out continued functionality and simplicity by taking advantage of the VLAN Profiles feature on various configuration elements throughout the dashboard.  Navigate to Organization > Early Access page, and toggle “Opt-in" now! 

Introducing MS130!

Power up your network and unlock endless customer experience possibilities with the new MS130 switches! Designed for high-bandwidth Wi-Fi deployments, these purpose-built access switches offer multi-gigabit capacity, advanced security features*, and intelligent power management. They allow you to upgrade your network without the need for costly cabling overhauls, ensuring a seamless experience for your users.

We are excited to announce additional Catalyst 9300 switches can now be migrated to Meraki management mode.  Join us and unlock the flexibility and control at the cloud scale today with the Meraki dashboard.  

Newly added support: 

• Switches: C9300 24S/48S, C9300X 12Y/24Y

• Network modules: C9300-NM-2Y*, C9300X-NM-2C, C9300X-NM-8Y* (please note: the C9300X-NM network modules are compatible only with the C9300X switches)

• Other C9300 compatible network modules: C9300-NM-2Q, C9300-NM-8X, C3850-NM-2-40G, C3850-NM-4-10G, C3850-NM-8-10G

* Please note that C9300-NM-2Y and C9300X-NM-8Y support up to 10G in Meraki cloud-managed mode.

For more information, please refer to this announcement post. 

Resource:

• FAQs
• Quick Migration Guide 
• Getting started documentation