Archive for March, 2010

Using the Events Log for Quick Troubleshooting of Client Issues

If a client is having trouble associating to your Meraki Enterprise wireless network, one of the best troubleshooting tools at your disposal is the event log. You can find the log under Monitor -> Event log and see a detailed log of exactly what has been going on with your network.

The log captures various types of traffic on your network that can be very useful for troubleshooting:

802.1X – Authentication communication between the client and RADIUS server.

IP (Data) – Initial requests and responses between computers and servers, including HTTP.

802.11 – Association and disassociation of clients from the network.

DHCP – Lease information from the DHCP server about the client IP address, default gateway, and DNS server.

WPA – Password authentication of the client.

ARP – Requests by clients to find the MAC address associated to an IP address.

3-15-2010 11-01-01 AM_EventLog2

If a client is having trouble associating to the network, the event log can help you determine the most likely culprit. For example, you can easily tell if it’s related to a bad password or a failure to obtain an IP address and take the appropriate steps to get the user up and running again.

If you’d like to see more information captured in the event log, let us know by entering your feedback in the “Make a Wish” field on the Dashboard.

-Posted by Ahmed Akhtar

Tips for Multi-Site Network Management

Do you have a multi-site wireless deployment that is giving you fits?  Does making a small change to your wireless configuration require manual intervention and painful coordination among sites?  Managing wireless implementations in different locations is a snap with Meraki.  Not only can you manage your networks from one centralized Dashboard, but in many cases, you will only need to create a one-time  Meraki network configuration that will scale to all of your sites.  Simply create your preferred wireless network configuration prior to deployment, and then add access points to each network as necessary.  Once these access points are plugged in, they will automatically “call home” to Meraki’s Cloud Controllers and configure themselves according to your Meraki Network’s configuration.  This greatly simplifies the regional deployment of your wireless networks.

After creating each of your regional networks, you can assign specific network administrators to each network for localized administration.  You may also assign read-only administrators if required to monitor user access and overall network performance.  With the combination of centralized configuration, ease of deployment, and shared network administration, your Meraki wireless networks are super scalable and perfect for multi-site deployments.

-Posted by Dan Pittelkow

New access control features: $0. More flexible policy enforcement: $0. Not having to read a thick configuration manual: Priceless.

Here at Meraki, we like to take the traditional network experience (read: complex and expensive) and turn it on its head by making it easier to use and manage while keeping it affordable.  Recently, our engineers have been working on identity-based policy enforcement, a feature set that is typically found in only the most complex and expensive wireless LAN solutions. Meraki’s new Identity Policy Manager (IPM) offers identity-based policy controls, such as per-user VLAN tagging and per-user access control lists, coupled with the easy-to-use graphical interface that our customers have come to know and love.  We see a lot of higher education organizations use this feature set to create different access policies for the various students, faculty, and guests that are accessing the wireless network.  We also have seen larger businesses use these features to enforce granular access control over multiple sites.
With Meraki, these schools and businesses can implement these same access policies without having to pay dearly for them.  And, if you’re used to having to read bulky administrator manuals to configure features like these, we’re sorry to report that you may have to find some new bedtime reading material: A Meraki wireless network is so easy to configure that you won’t have to read a single configuration guide.  (Feel free to contact us for some good book recommendations.)
Please see our press release about our new IPM product <link>here</link>.  As you’ll see, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is currently using IPM successfully today.  Others can look for it in a few weeks when it becomes generally available, at no additional cost to Enterprise customers.

Here at Meraki, we like to take the traditional network experience (read: complex and expensive) and turn it on its head by making it easier to use and manage while keeping it affordable.  Recently, our engineers have been working on identity-based policy enforcement, a feature set that is typically found in only the most complex and expensive wireless LAN solutions.  Meraki’s new Identity Policy Manager (IPM) offers identity-based policy controls, such as per-user VLAN tagging and per-user access control lists, coupled with the easy-to-use graphical interface that our customers have come to know and love.  We see a lot of higher education organizations use this feature set to create different access policies for the various students, faculty, and guests that access the wireless network.  We also have seen larger businesses use these features to enforce granular access control over multiple sites.

With Meraki, these schools and businesses can implement these same access policies without having to pay dearly for them.  And, if you’re used to having to read bulky administrator manuals to configure features like these, we’re sorry to report that you may have to find some new bedtime reading material: A Meraki wireless network is so easy to configure that you won’t have to read a single configuration guide.  (Feel free to contact us for some good book recommendations.)

Please see our press release about our new IPM product. As you’ll see, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is currently using IPM successfully today.  Others can look for it in a few weeks when it becomes generally available, at no additional cost to Enterprise customers.

– Posted by Jed Lau