We thought it would be a good idea to compare Meraki MS250 and Meraki MS350 switches to the Cisco 9200, which is their roughly equivalent model. Why? Simple answer is that there is a significant backlog on orders for the Cisco 9200 series. The Meraki MS250 (from $5381) and MS350 (from $5112) are in stock and ready to ship.
Let’s get going
We’ll talk about setup first. Meraki MS Series switches are wonderful at allowing a network admin to configure a VPN mesh network without having to have highly specialized knowledge. Unlike Cisco switches, there is no CLI, there is only a GUI. Also, Meraki support helps you set it up as you add nodes to your network. Meraki MS Series switches are amazingly easy to deploy, and amazingly easy to manage. Period.
As a matter of fact, this is true everything Meraki makes. They do it better than pretty much anybody else.
The famous Meraki GUI
And the Meraki user interface is gloriously clean and easy to navigate. Every Meraki product is cloud-managed, and lives in the same place in the Meraki interface. Your switch, access point, and firewall will all know each other. Thay can work with other vendor’s appliances, but they work best with other Merakis.
The GUI is online, as mentioned. You can reach it from anywhere, as long as you have the credentials. So, you can manage the network from any device that has a browser. Meraki MS Series switches also easily stack. It’s all done for you in the Meraki cloud control panel.
Plus, your Meraki MS Series switches will get an address from your admin VLAN’s DHCP scope and keep it. Even if you unplug it and move it, you will not have to worry about addressing it. Sort of cool.
Not only that, Meraki’s Virtual Stacking enables switch port configuration changes on the dashboard interface without the need to physically stack switches.
Meraki MS250 Specs
The Meraki MS250 is a medium branch and campus, stacking access switch. It comes with either 24 or 48 1GbE RJ45 ports, and 4 10GbE SFP+ uplinks. The Meraki MS250 includes optional PoE/PoE+ support and Layer 3 routing. It also features up to 740 watt PoE budget with PoE+ support and dynamic power allocation for powering APs, phones, cameras, and other PoE-enabled devices.
All MS250s reach 80 Gbps stacking bandwidth. The 24-port models push 128 Gbps and the 48-port models push 176 Gbps switching capacity.
Meraki MS350 Specs
The Meraki MS350 is a campus and multi-gigabit stacking access switch. It is for high-performance networks with media-rich applications. The Meraki MS350 also comes with either 24 or 48 1GbE RJ45 ports, and 4 10GbE SFP+ uplinks. It also includes optional PoE/PoE+ support and Layer 3 routing. It also features up to 740 watt PoE budget with PoE+ support and dynamic power allocation for powering APs, phones, cameras, and other PoE-enabled devices.
All MS350s reach 160 Gbps stacking bandwidth. The 24-port models push 128 Gbps and the 48-port models push 176 Gbps switching capacity. The 24-port versions have a forwarding rate of 95.24 Mpps, and the 48-port versions get 130.95 Mpps. This is the same for the MS250 series.
What’s the difference between the Meraki MS250 and the Meraki MS350?
The MS250 is a basic access switch with optional power redundancy and routing support. On the other hand, the MS350 is a high-performance L3 branch and campus switch. It’s capable of higher capacity routing and x2 stacking bandwidth. For those deploying a wireless-led or wireless-first access model, the MS350 is recommended.
Cisco 9200 Series switches
Cisco 9200 switches offer up to 48 1GbE RJ45 ports, like the Meraki MS250 and Meraki MS350. They have Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking capabilities, and can be used as a distribution and access switch. Forwarding rate is up to 261.9 Mpps, and stacking bandwidth it up to 160 Gbps, with Switching bandwidth of 176 Gbps.
From a specifications standpoint, there’s a good deal of similiarity between the Meraki switches and the Cisco 9200 switches. Since they share hardware, this won’t be surprising.
Cisco 9200 switches are a fine option, don’t misunderstand. But Meraki occupies a somewhat unique niche in this space, and it does what it does like nobody else. Meraki is the sleek, sophisticated IT networking and security gear for EVERYONE. You don’t have to know what you’re doing to be able to own and enjoy Meraki equipment. Because Meraki appliances already know what they’re doing right out of the box.
Who is Meraki perfect for?
Zero-touch provisioning means that Meraki MS Series switches are brilliant for companies with limited IT teams or IT agencies looking to reduce site calls.
The key strengths of Meraki includes rapid cloud deployments, unified management, and
unique analytics.
How does it work?
Install your Meraki at the head office or a remote branch. Meraki devices utomatically connect to the cloud using SSL encryption. They register on your network and download the configuration. Then, your company receives full vizualisation and control of the network through an Internet browser.
Couldn’t be easier.
Parting shot
Meraki vs Cisco is a question with two good answers. It depends on your use case, of course. But as we mentioned earlier, the big difference right now is availability. Cisco 9200 series switches have a waiting list of several months. Meraki MS250 and Meraki MS350 switches are in stock and ready to ship. So email us, or call Corporate Armor at 877-449-0458 and let help show you what 5-star Corporate Armor service is all about! Thanks for reading!
Meraki MS250 and Meraki MS350 switches
| Up to 176 Gbps switching capacity |
| Up to 130.95 Mpps Forwarding rate |
| Completely cloud-managed |
| Amazingly intuitive and easy to set up |
| Perfect for companies with limited IT teams |