Cisco Catalyst 9000 Cloud Evolution: Born Meraki

Alex Burger and Nico Darrow from the Meraki Product Organization discuss the expansion of the Catalyst 9300-M portfolio and its integration into the Meraki Dashboard. The Catalyst C9300-M is designed to bring together Cisco’s hardware capabilities with the cloud management features of the Meraki Dashboard, offering flexibility and a unified platform for various customer environments.

Nico elaborates on the benefits of using the Meraki Dashboard for configuration, visibility, and ecosystem integration. He highlights the ease of provisioning and management, including firmware upgrades and day-to-day operations. The discussion also covers the hardware announcement of 15 new switch models, including the 9300-X and 9300-L series, which offer features like 25 gig uplinks and UPOE+ (up to 90 watts per port).

They discuss the 9300-X as a new fiber aggregation switch with high port density and stack-wise capabilities. The 9300-L models are presented as a cost-effective alternative with similar features but targeted at smaller remote offices.

The conversation also touches on smart building convergence, with the 9300-X enabling the convergence of IT and OT networks through adaptive policy and smart power management. They explain how the Meraki Dashboard allows for monitoring and automating power usage and environmental conditions.

Finally, they address the ability to migrate existing Catalyst switches to Meraki management and vice versa, as well as simplified licensing options. The talk concludes with a discussion about adaptive policy for micro-segmentation, integration with Cisco security operations, and the potential for future developments in granular security controls.