Corporate Armor carries several routers in its product line. We have looked at Cradlepoint routers in the last few months, and today we will take a look at Meraki’s MG21 and MG21E. These two are identical, except that the MG21E has external antennas. The rugged little MG21 is available for $564, and the MG21E is $630.
What is a router?
A router like the Meraki MG21 helps you connect multiple devices to the Internet, and connect the devices to each other. Also, you can use routers to create local networks of devices. These local networks are useful if you want to share files among devices or allow employees to share software tools. So basically, a router sends traffic from one network to another.
It can be used for mainline or back-up connectivity. A basic home router can simply inter-connect the devices within your home or office and nothing else. For instance, if you want to print a photo from your smartphone to your home printer, all you have to do is connect the two devices to the router’s wireless hotspot.
Now, since your home router is using WiFi, it doesn’t need internet to do these things. Therefore your router doesn’t need to have a simcard to pick internet from your mobile network of choice.
That said, routers can hook your devices to all sorts of networks. They can be your own little home network. In this case your router is simply inter-connecting your devices so that they can talk to each other. For example, you can connect your laptop and smart TV to the home WiFi network with your router. In addition, you can connect to your mobile operator’s network with or without cables.
The MG21 is a cellular router, or a cellular gateway, as Meraki calls it. It converts an LTE (cellular) signal to an ethernet signal. It is managed centrally, from the web, together with all other Meraki products. And, like all other Meraki products, it is a pleasant pushover to set up and use.
The Meraki MG21 use cases
Of course, signal strength is key for cellular performance. With a router like the Meraki MG21, you can use a firewall in locations where cellular signals are stronger than WiFi or other options. The thing is, the best location for the you firewall (or other appliance) is not always the best for cellular signal. The separation of cellular antenna in the MG21, and the firewall expands options for all networks. In other words, it greatly broadens where you can locate your other appliances. The router becomes their ‘gateway’ to the outside world.
Plus, in areas where wired internet services are not available, the MG21 provides a simple, viable option for wireless connectivity.
It allows you to quickly add Internet access to kiosks, trade shows, and the like.
And, an appliance linked to the MG21 as a secondary WAN uplink can use the cellular network to establish VPNs for SD-WAN. So the MG21 becomes backup connectivity.
Specifications
MG21-series gateways push 300 Mbps with a CAT 6 LTE modem. They have two separate ethernet ports for downstream connections. And, they can be powered via DC power or PoE. They are also IP67 water and dust resistance. That means they are easily up to outdoor use.
They are completely manageable from the famous Meraki Dashboard, and are self-configuring, and self-updating. And, if you have any further questions about the MG21 or any other Meraki product or service, please email us or call 877-449-0458. Thanks for reading!
Meraki MG21 highlights
| 300 Mbps CAT 6 LTE Integrated modem |
| Supports 2 separate gateway connections |
| PoE or DC powered |
| IP67 rating |
| Email, SMS and Mobile push notification alerts |