In the Meraki dashboard, an 'organization' is a logical container for Meraki networks managed by one or more accounts. It is important to note that 'organization' and 'network' in this sense are from the perspective of the dashboard. A dashboard account is what you use to log in to the dashboard in order to manage and configure your organizations, networks, and devices.

It is comprised of highly reliable servers at various data centers around the world. The Meraki dashboard itself is a centralized, web browser-based tool used to monitor and configure Meraki devices and services.

The Meraki cloud is the backbone of the highly available, secure, and efficient Meraki solution, enabling instant onboarding access to all features inside the Meraki dashboard. Introduction to the Meraki Cloud and Dashboard That's all you need to get started with Meraki! Before moving into creating a dashboard account, let's address some terminology that will come up throughout documentation and the dashboard itself.

An uplink to the internet for your devices with valid firewall rules configured so they can talk to the Meraki cloud.

An idea of what you want to do with your devices and how to group them.

An order number for a Meraki purchase or the serial numbers of your devices.

A Meraki dashboard account and organization: you'll create an organization at the same time you create your account.

Here's a list of the things you'll need to set up for your first devices and networks while following this document: As long as your device can get to the internet and has the appropriate firewall rules configured, as outlined in our article, Upstream Firewall Rules for Cloud Connectivity, your device will be able to contact the Meraki cloud and report on its performance, as well as check for and download its latest configuration.Īll of your configuration settings can be set up in the dashboard, either before you have the device or after. There is a tremendous amount of flexibility with the initial setup for a Meraki deployment. As opposed to traditional hardware that requires physical access to be configured, you can configure everything before you even have your devices, thanks to the Meraki cloud. Meraki devices get their configuration settings from the Meraki cloud, which means the only prerequisite to getting a device up and running is an uplink connection on the device itself.

Cisco meraki firewall