MERAKI RELEASES 2ND MAJOR UPGRADE TO MX-SERIES CLOUD MANAGED MULTI-SERVICE ROUTER Customer Adoption Outpacing Expectations

Meraki, the recognized leader in Cloud Networking, today announced the availability of the second major feature update to its MX series multi-service router product family. Designed specifically for the branch, the MX provides complete networking and security, centrally managed via the cloud.

Meraki released the MX in January of 2011. Built on Meraki’s five years of experience in the cloud, the MX brought out-of-the-box centralized management and zero touch deployment to firewall services, site-to-site VPN, branch routing, layer 7 application traffic shaping and more, all in a single powerful hardware platform.

2nd Major Upgrade Packs Dozens of New Features
Today, Meraki announced the second major firmware upgrade for the MX platform. This upgrade includes dozens of new features, enhancements, and performance improvements. Available immediately and at no cost to all new and existing MX customers, this update is delivered seamlessly to users from the cloud. Highlights include:

Enhanced Auto-Negotiating VPN
The original MX featured the industry’s first auto-negotiating site-to-site VPN, a revolutionary feature that lets administrators instantly create secure distributed networks. This technology delighted customers by eliminating the headaches of site-to-site VPNs - routing tables, authentication, association parameters, key
exchanges, etc. - replacing them with point and click configuration and on-demand, automatic provisioning from the cloud. This latest update adds interoperability with third party site-to-site VPNs, enabling heterogeneous network environments and facilitating phased MX deployments.

Identity Based Security Policies
This latest update also enhances the MX’s identity-based policy capabilities. The MX now features deep integration with Active Directory environments, enabling administrators to tailor policies, such as content filtering, to a user’s identity. In a school, for example, students can be subject to strict content filtering, while teachers and staff enjoy unrestricted Internet access. Unlike other identity-based policy engines, the MX configures network-wide in just minutes, and does not require agent software on the customer’s Active Directory server.

Customer Adoption Outpacing Expectations
Since introduction, customers have embraced the MX at a torrid pace. Notable customer deployments include:
• Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the worlds 2nd largest music publisher
• Syracuse University, who uses the MX to power their satellite campuses
• Westfield Malls, who deployed the MX in major shopping centers across the United States

“The branch has traditionally been an overlooked area of the enterprise network,” said Kiren Sekar, V.P. of Marketing at Meraki. “But demand for secure, reliable connectivity is exploding, with hundreds of millions of people using iPads and cloud applications from remote offices, retail stores, restaurants, clinics and hotels – often without on-site IT. The Meraki MX provides a complete solution for the branch that is easy to use and cost effective. We’re delighted to see customer adoption blow away our wildest expectations.”

Meraki Slims Down Cloud Routers - Datamation

Meraki Slims Down Cloud Routers

Cloud-managed routing vendor drops a key product in favor of redesigned version that can sit on a desktop.

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July 14, 2011
By

Sean Michael Kerner

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When it comes to managing on-site networking gear, you don't necessarily need have on-site networking expertise.
Networking vendor Meraki has been pushing its cloud managed networking routers as a solution since the beginning of 2011. One of the first solutions that Meraki announced was the MX50 router, which is now being replaced after being in market for only 7 months.
In its place Meraki is announcing the new MX60 cloud managed router which provides additional features and a new form factor.
"The MX50 we introduced earlier this year but we haven't redesigned the MX50 into the MX60, entirely," Pablo Estrada, solution architect at Meraki toldInternetNews.com. "Definitely the form factor is different."
Estrada noted that the features in the MX50 were well suited for a small branch office, but people didn't have a network closet where they could place a router into a rack.
"The MX60 is more of a desktop device, so the form factor is the main difference, there is no difference in ports or throughput," Estrada said.
Both the MX50 and the MX60 are four port Gigabit Ethernet devices that are managed via the Meraki cloud service. The other thing that has changed is some of the underlying software that Meraki is now updating across its product lineup. The underlying operating system in the MX50, MX60 and MX70 router is a customized Linux base that Meraki has enhanced.
From a security perspective, Meraki has added two-factor authentication that is delivered via SMS. Estrada explained that delivering the tokens via SMS reduces cost and management time. He added that the network administrator inputs their cell phone number as part of the management configuration and is then provided with the token over SMS.

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Additionally, Meraki is adding enhanced role-based administration and the capability to keep track of network configuration changes. The system also enables administrators to compare old configuration values against the news ones to help remediate any issues.
As a cloud service, Meraki is also improving its own security by partnering with Intel's McAfee security division. Meraki's data center infrastructure is now being audited and regularly scanned by McAfee to ensure security.
In a related effort, Meraki is trying to reinforce to customers that its management in the cloud offering is trustworthy with a new website content at meraki.com/trust.
"In the spirit of transparency and openness about architecture and security, customers can learn aobut what happens in our data centers and what happens with user data," Estrada " They can also learn about how to configure a network for optimal security."
Meraki is also now spelling out their service level agreement and how much monetary compensation a customer is entitled too if Meraki doesn't live up to their uptime promise.
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Introducing the new standard for cloud networking security, reliability and scalability

Introducing the new standard for cloud networking security, reliability and scalability
Meraki » The Official Meraki Blog

Today is an exciting day for cloud networking and for Meraki customers. We're thrilled to announce a new router and a suite of enhanced security features for wireless and wired networks:

• A brand new member of the MX Cloud Managed Router family, the MX60. 
• A suite of new features that enhance network security and account protection 
• 99.99% uptime SLA 
• Third-party audits of Meraki's cloud networking service

Meraki MX60

Our new router, the MX60, is the industry's only small branch router and firewall with out-of-the-box centralized management. With fully integrated networking and firewall services, the MX60 provides 50 percent savings over traditional branch solutions. The MX60 allows organizations to: Manage distributed branches through cloud-based centralized management, monitoring, and tools  Secure their branch networks using complete firewall services, content filtering, and antivirus/antiphishing  Improve network performance through Layer 7 Application Traffic Shaping (e.g. block Bit Torrent, prioritize VoIP) and user fingerprinting, without the hassle of host and port management  Replace MPLS with cost effective, self-configuring site-to-site VPN  Save over 50 percent by eliminating point solutions (firewall, traffic shaper, content filter)

It's really easy on the eyes, too, with a form factor that is ideal for small branches that need networking and security features without the bulk of racks of hardware. Have a look:

New security tools, SLA, and third party audits

In addition to the MX60 router, we're also releasing new enhancements that benefit both wired and wireless networks. These increase security and provide even greater dependability for security-conscious customers. We're now adding:

Two factor authentication that protects accounts even if a customer's login is compromised  Change management tools that enable audits, alerts, delegation and control of privileges with fine-grained role based administration  99.99 percent SLA, guaranteeing availability of Meraki's cloud service, with customers' data replicated in real time across three independent datacenters  Independent security audits that validate infrastructure security, with daily penetration tests and certifications from trusted third parties including McAfee. 

To make security and reliability information easy to find, we've created a new section on our website: meraki.com/trust. Here you'll find a new centralized repository for security and reliability information about Meraki's cloud service, as well as information on the new tools and services we're announcing today. Cloud networking has never been as easy, secure, and reliable as it is today. And if you go over and look at meraki.com, you'll also see a completely enhanced and revamped website to go along with our new products and enhancements.