Auvik vs. Cisco Meraki Dashboard

Auvik is fantastic for managing multi-site, multi-company networks - very well suited for MSP or consultative technology companies. Navigation is simple and easy between clients and their sites. Auvik is less well suited for managing single sites or single companies - it is really meant to be used at a larger scale.

Cisco Meraki Dashboard is great for NOC teams with little network experience at helping give them all the tools they need to do the job and become more efficient with networks. From easy RMA processes to metric gathering the Cisco Meraki Dashboard does it all very well. The licenses are a problem for a lot of companies since there are no guarantees the product stays online and certain integrations like ThousandEyes are overlooked due to the additional cost despite it being a great product.

Incentivized

• Maps out devices to switch ports.
• Monitors, alerts, and reports on network device and port utilization.
• Quickly created complete network diagrams.
• Works well in a co-manage environment enabling teams full but restricted access to specific sites. Integrates well with site specific access in ConnectWise Automate.

Incentivized

• The ability to monitor any port and get accurate information on its activity.
• The ability to port cycle and reboot remotely. This is best for off-hour reboots.
• Being able to search for devices through the client page with an IP address or MAC address saves time on device searches.
• It is an easy process to add and remove devices to different organizations.

Incentivized

• The map is not easy to quickly zoom in and out of or pan around. Usually requires a lot of filter toggling. Keyboard shortcuts for this would be nice.
• Better global settings that can be pushed to multiple client organizations
• Security groups/RBAC for user permissions across multiple clients
• Ability to change the URL

Incentivized

• More granular controls over devices. It definitely feels like, especially when you come from a CLI environment and you're working in a command line interface and then going into the dashboard, you can feel restricted sometimes because if they don't have the button you can't press it. So more buttons.

Incentivized

Because it's an amazing product.

Incentivized

The program can be a bit unwieldy at times, however the majority of information is displayed in a readable and friendly way. The maps and popup information box from the bottom can be harder to use on a smaller screen but on a 1080p+ display tends to work fine.

Incentivized

At the time of writing this, it appears that Cisco Meraki Dashboard has finally integrated a Cisco IOS XE output window into the dashboard. This is a massive step in the right direction and something that it was dearly missing. At the moment, we do not have this integration and so a lot of the times, we have to navigate via several tools menus to get the info we need instead of being able to run a quick command.

Incentivized

We have never had a major outage or impact that was noticeable.

Incentivized

Pages can be slow to load on larger sites but tends to be fine for most clients.

Incentivized

Fast response and knowledgeable. If the technician does not know, they will look for the information and get back to you.

Incentivized

Auvik's license structure is simple and affordable. Auvik's license is based on total network devices in your network. They charge only for total number of Switches, Routers, firewalls and Wireless controllers in your network. All other devices license would be free of charge

Incentivized

A number of networks we've taken over were using Ubiquiti Unifi, which is an okay solution, but a lot more cumbersome to manage. We've found the Cisco Meraki Dashboard system much more intuitive and way less time-intensive. Simple things like setting up dedicated DHCP entries or poking holes in VLAN firewalls are way easier in Cisco Meraki Dashboard.

Incentivized

Auvik has worked on sites with 15+ offices connected with VPN's and we have not encountered any issues with the monitoring. On larger sites the map can be a bit cumbersome to read however it can be cleaned up easily with device filters.

Incentivized

• We are at an initial stage of device onboarding and Auvik already provides quick network documentation without having to worry about updating; this is done dynamically.
• Helpful for MSP in that it uses role-based access control to present customer-focused device management, and simplifying administration for monitoring and alerting, dashboards and reports, and billing.

Incentivized

• When there's an issue with communication to the cloud. EX: unable to fetch configs. This due to like new device being installed or if you have to factory reset the device. This has been a negative impact.
• Incorrect status. Sometimes the status of the device or network is not reflected as it should be. This has had a negative impact in the past. However, for the most part, the Status is fairly accurate.
• Incident response has been very good. Anytime an issue has been reported to Cisco regarding Cisco Meraki Dashboard, the issue is quickly investigated and doesn't take long to resolve.
• Customer support and Cisco's technical team has been very helpful and responsive.

Incentivized