Free Meraki 8 port switch, attend a webinar..

[knc]

Nice freebie but honestly WHO will spend $700 - $900 for an 8 port switch? I sure hope they show me something pretty fantastic tomorrow..

 

[Markverhyden]

The link

https://meraki.cisco.com/webinars/signup/2030/the-world-is-not-enoughwithout-one-hour-switching/

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Feel like sleeping through the demo just to get another Meraki device to put up on a shelf and look fancy.
Likely never sell their stuff though, that subscription to the cloud service is pretty high.

 

[bitznpcz]

I've registered - i'll add to the AP I got for talking to Cisco Meraki at a trade show. Will be nice to have the POE facility to save running an extra cable

 

[mrapoc]

Signed up apparently i'll get an access point but either way

 

[Mike McCall]

Tried registering several times but never received a confirmation email. And so it goes.

 

[mrapoc]

I got a phone call. Just got the attendee email now

edit...

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your interest in our special MS switching webinar, “The World Is Not Enough: Without One-Hour Switching.” At this time, we have reached our registration cap and were unable to process your information.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We will be running more switch promotions in the future, so keep an eye on our webinars page.

We also encourage you to check out our other webinars which offer free 802.11n access points, or to take any piece of Meraki gear out for a test run with a free trial.

Please reach out to your sales rep or webinar@meraki.com with any questions.

Thank you,

The Cisco Meraki Team

Oh...

 

[Mike McCall]

Yep, same email for me.

 

[Markverhyden]

Did you try registering for 7/8?

 

[mrapoc]

I did straight away

 

[Mike McCall]

Okay, so I watched the webinar and a switch is on it's way. I'll watch another one tomorrow and get an AP as well.

I like what I see, but after purchasing their gear at a hefty price the ongoing licensing can really hurt! Worse, is this little gem from the Meraki Licensing FAQ:

"A: You can purchase a renewal through an authorized Meraki partner. If you chose not to renew, you will no longer be able to manage your devices via the Meraki cloud, and your Meraki network devices will cease to function. This means that you will no longer be able to configure or make changes to your Meraki network equipment, and your Meraki network products will no longer allow traffic to pass to the Internet."

Ouch! So, it's not just a high price for the product and an additional fee for the cloud service, you have to pay a fee every year to use the product you purchased AT ALL!!! That just seems like a whole lot of brass to me! There has to be better options available for comparable products and services, right?

 

[mrapoc]

Really?

So that free bit of gear will be useless after a year unless you pay £xxxs to license them? =/

 

[Markverhyden]

Really?

So that free bit of gear will be useless after a year unless you pay £xxxs to license them? =/

Actually it's a 3 year license. But, yes, you will still need to renew. Kind of like the HP model of doing business. "Give away" the printers and sell the ink.

 

[Mike McCall]

For me, this is a deal killer. I am unable to recommend a product to a client that locks them into such a situation. If you wish to get out of the licensing requirement you have to replace all the Meraki devices you no longer wish to pay for, and you have no aftermarket for them. Why would someone purchase a used product that won't work without buying a yearly subscription? I'll play with them for awhile, but given their business model I doubt I'll have anything more to do with them.

@markverhyden - Actually, you can get 1-year licenses for each of their products. They push for 3-year, but it's not a requirement. Both the free 8-port switch ($55yr.) and the AP ($150yr.) will come with 3-year licenses.

https://meraki.cisco.com/support/#policies:licensing

 

[Markverhyden]

Both the free 8-port switch ($55yr.) and the AP ($150yr.) will come with 3-year licenses.

That was the point I was trying to make. Yes, they do have other options. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10.

 

[Mike McCall]

So, the switch arrived today and I've hooked it up. Nice, and I do like the cloud management. The AP should be arriving sometime next week. I got to thinking that it might be nice to replace my residential router with their entry-level security device. Let's assume I did that and it too came with a 3-year license (sold separately of course). In the 4th year I would have to pay $805 to license only 3 devices, and repeat every year thereafter. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around these numbers. And, there's nothing you can do with the device down the road. There's no aftermarket for a brick, right? So, what am I missing in this?

 

[Markverhyden]

So, the switch arrived today and I've hooked it up. Nice, and I do like the cloud management. The AP should be arriving sometime next week. I got to thinking that it might be nice to replace my residential router with their entry-level security device. Let's assume I did that and it too came with a 3-year license (sold separately of course). In the 4th year I would have to pay $805 to license only 3 devices, and repeat every year thereafter. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around these numbers. And, there's nothing you can do with the device down the road. There's no aftermarket for a brick, right? So, what am I missing in this?

How did you get $805? I've looked around and all I seem to see is a license is needed for each Meraki device, not for the devices connecting to the Meraki devices. Fiddling around with my AP and I can have several accounts and devices. So I would read the annual renewal to $205 for one year for both the AP and the switch.

 

[Mike McCall]

How did you get $805? I've looked around and all I seem to see is a license is needed for each Meraki device, not for the devices connecting to the Meraki devices. Fiddling around with my AP and I can have several accounts and devices. So I would read the annual renewal to $205 for one year for both the AP and the switch.

I was considering an MX64 (entry-level) security device. I was working on the assumption that all licenses would require renewal in the 4th year. I was also noting that the MX64 requires an "Advanced Security" license. In the licensing FAQ it doesn't show the MX64, but it does show the MX60 at $500yr. I then spoke with the rep who said that it's actually $600yr. for the MX64. $600 + $150 + $55 = $805. He did note that those prices are "retail", but could not provide actual renewal prices. He claimed that I should expect about 30% off of that, but even then it's over $550yr. for three devices I had to "buy" at a premium, and would likely have a difficult time selling later since they won't work without a license. Were I to purchase an MX64, which is their entry security product, my up front costs would be:

$595 (purchase) + $600 (1-year license) = $1,195

This is expensive on the small side, and would appear to grow as the organization grows. Even factoring in substantial economics of scale, these products are expensive. I like a lot about the "no-touch" management...but at what cost? I also like the fact that should there be a catastrophic event, there would be no hands-on reconfiguration of the devices. Presumably, one could run with a smaller IT department and therefore offset costs. I don't know. Like I said, I'm not able to wrap my head around the costs yet.

 

[Markverhyden]

I was considering an MX64 (entry-level) security device. I was working on the assumption that all licenses would require renewal in the 4th year. I was also noting that the MX64 requires an "Advanced Security" license. In the licensing FAQ it doesn't show the MX64, but it does show the MX60 at $500yr. I then spoke with the rep who said that it's actually $600yr. for the MX64. $600 + $150 + $55 = $805. He did note that those prices are "retail", but could not provide actual renewal prices. He claimed that I should expect about 30% off of that, but even then it's over $550yr. for three devices I had to "buy" at a premium, and would likely have a difficult time selling later since they won't work without a license. Were I to purchase an MX64, which is their entry security product, my up front costs would be:

$595 (purchase) + $600 (1-year license) = $1,195

This is expensive on the small side, and would appear to grow as the organization grows. Even factoring in substantial economics of scale, these products are expensive. I like a lot about the "no-touch" management...but at what cost? I also like the fact that should there be a catastrophic event, there would be no hands-on reconfiguration of the devices. Presumably, one could run with a smaller IT department and therefore offset costs. I don't know. Like I said, I'm not able to wrap my head around the costs yet.

Ahh... MX64. Now I understand.

 

[bitznpcz]

Just heard back from my account manager... apparently I don't qualify for the free switch as they class me as a reseller... I won't be reselling any Meraki devices in the near future!!

I will stick to Ubiquiti - cheaper, reliable and no licence renewals.