Meraki Solutions Specialist key terms

The cloud-hosted web portal used to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot all Meraki devices in an organization. It is the single management interface, so no on-premises controller or appliance is required.

The top level of the Dashboard hierarchy. It contains every network, device, license, and administrator belonging to a customer, and org-level settings apply across all networks inside it.

A container inside an organization that groups devices and settings for one site or logical segment, such as a branch office. Devices, VLANs, SSIDs, and firewall rules are configured per network.

Permission levels assigned to Dashboard users. Organization administrators manage org-wide settings and every network, while network administrators are restricted to the specific networks and privileges they are granted.

A Meraki licensing model in which every device license in an organization shares one common expiration date. Adding or removing devices recalculates the combined license value and may require an extra co-termination payment.

A small web page served directly by a Meraki device at its management IP address. It shows basic status and limited settings and stays reachable even when the device cannot contact the cloud.

Meraki's architecture in which configuration and monitoring traffic passes through Meraki's cloud while user data stays on local networks. Devices cache their configuration and keep forwarding traffic if the cloud is unreachable.

The process of adding hardware to an organization's inventory by entering its order number, license key, or serial number in the Dashboard. Once claimed, the device can be assigned to a network and provisioned.

A set of shared settings stored at the organization level that can be bound to multiple networks. Bound networks inherit template settings such as VLANs and SSIDs, reducing repetitive setup across many sites.

Meraki's zero-touch site-to-site VPN technology. Tunnels between MX security appliances are built automatically from Dashboard settings using a mesh or hub-and-spoke topology, with no manual peer configuration.

A high-availability deployment of two MX appliances at one site, one active and one standby. They share a virtual IP address and synchronize configuration so traffic fails over if the active unit fails.

Per-port settings on MS switches, including VLAN assignment, trunk or access mode, PoE, and link speed. Ports can be edited individually or changed in bulk through the Dashboard or API.

A wireless network name broadcast by Meraki access points. Each SSID carries its own security mode, VLAN tagging, splash behavior, and firewall rules, and can be bridged locally or tunneled to an MX.

A captive portal shown to clients before they receive network access. It is configured per SSID with options such as click-through, password, or RADIUS sign-on, and is common for guest Wi-Fi.

A collection of bandwidth, firewall, content filtering, and VLAN settings applied to specific clients, users, or device types. Group policies let one network treat different user groups differently.

Rules on an MX that permit or deny traffic using source and destination IP addresses, protocols, and ports. They are evaluated top-down and apply to routed traffic between VLANs and to the internet.

MX rules that identify traffic by application or category, such as social media or peer-to-peer, instead of by port number. They let administrators block or allow specific applications regardless of port.

A category- and URL-based web filtering feature on the MX that allows, blocks, or warns on sites. Policies can be applied network-wide or to selected client groups.

Cisco file inspection on the MX that checks files downloaded over HTTP against reputation data, blocks known malicious files, and provides retrospective alerts when a file is later found to be bad.

Snort-based signature inspection on the MX that detects and blocks known exploit and malware traffic. It requires an Advanced Security license and is configured per network with a selected rule set.

An MX feature that groups users and devices into policy groups and enforces allow-or-deny rules between them, with a default rule for unmatched traffic. It simplifies intent-based segmentation compared with long address-based rule lists.

Meraki's wireless intrusion detection and prevention system. It scans for rogue and neighboring access points, flags suspicious wireless activity, and can contain specific rogue devices when containment is enabled.

Network access control in which clients authenticate to a RADIUS server and Meraki devices act as the authenticator. Access may be denied or granted with a specific VLAN or group policy.

A remote-access VPN service on the MX that lets individual users connect from anywhere using a Meraki-hosted or RADIUS-authenticated account and receive an address from a configured client VPN subnet.

On-demand diagnostics launched from the Dashboard for a specific device, such as ping, traceroute, ARP table lookup, cable test, and packet capture. They help isolate connectivity and cabling problems quickly.

A timestamped record of device and network events shown in the Dashboard, listing what happened, when, and which client or device was involved. It is the starting point for many troubleshooting investigations.

A configuration that selects which Dashboard alerts, such as device down or uplink loss, are sent, who receives them, and whether delivery uses email, SMS, or a webhook.

A Dashboard feature that scores the health of networks, devices, and clients from telemetry such as connectivity, latency, and usage, then highlights likely root causes of degraded performance.

Dashboard views and alerts that show whether each WAN uplink on an MX is up, along with its latency and loss. It also indicates when traffic has failed over to a backup link.

Meraki devices can stream event messages to an external syslog server and expose statistics for SNMP polling. This lets third-party monitoring and log-retention tools track the network alongside the Dashboard.

A RESTful interface that lets programs read and change Dashboard configuration over HTTPS using JSON payloads. It supports automation, bulk changes, and integration with external systems.

A per-user credential generated in a Dashboard profile and included with API requests. The key inherits the permissions and network access of the administrator who created it, so keys must be revoked when users leave.

A Dashboard API safeguard that caps requests at roughly five calls per second per organization. Exceeding it returns HTTP 429 responses, so scripts should throttle and retry with backoff.

Outgoing HTTP callbacks that the Dashboard sends to a URL you specify when an alert fires. They let external systems such as ticketing or chat tools react to network events in near real time.

An API feature that submits many device actions, such as LED blinking or port updates, in a single asynchronous request and returns a batch identifier that is polled for results.

A catalog of third-party applications and integrations that connect to Meraki through APIs and webhooks, covering areas such as monitoring, security, guest access, and location analytics.