Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT: free Cisco managed router/switches
From: Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1@gmail.com>
I have a Cisco Meraki MX64, AP18, and MS220-8P for my home network. The Meraki product line is all cloud based (which means once the license expires, they become doorstops).
Not entirely. The AP18 can be flashed with OpenWRT (https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/meraki/mr18) at least. I've done similar with my MR12 and it runs fine. The license extension from Meraki is pretty cheap as well. KJ
The only issue with the license extension is that when you have more than 1 device, they apply the extension across all of the devices. Since I have 3 devices, it would shorten the term. The one unusual issue with the way Cisco decided to do that, is that for the firewall/UTM devices (MX series devices) have 2 different license types, the enterprise and the advanced security license. I'm not sure of the math they use to determine the extension date. But it's still kind of fun having $2500-3000 worth of hardware/licenses running my home network. Wait until I have an issue connecting my Xbox/PlayStation to the wifi and open a ticket with Cisco support over it. LOL On Tuesday, October 18, 2016, Kenneth Seefried via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
From: Joseph Oprysko <joprysko1@gmail.com <javascript:;>>
I have a Cisco Meraki MX64, AP18, and MS220-8P for my home network. The Meraki product line is all cloud based (which means once the license expires, they become doorstops).
Not entirely. The AP18 can be flashed with OpenWRT (https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/meraki/mr18) at least. I've done similar with my MR12 and it runs fine.
The license extension from Meraki is pretty cheap as well.
KJ
-- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
But it's still kind of fun having $2500-3000 worth of hardware/licenses running my home network.
Yup! It's a nice way to get into Cisco stuff, even if you're doing a Cisco program like the CCNA. Nothing beats real-world hands on experience, solving problems that aren't in textbooks. I've got a writeup coming soon on bludgeoning IOS into letting you use non-native, non-default VLANs for the management interface on some of the older IOS-based Aironet APs -- it works, but it's not in the manual, and no one online seems to really have it 100% right. Plus, IOS 15 lies to you about how the hardware is actually configured, sometimes. Even with the switch to licensed-locked firmware features in IOS 15, the base image is usually covered under the device's permanent license, so you can get a lot of practical experience on hardware cheap enough to buy for fun without having a service agreement. I have no experience with the Meraki stuff, but in general I have no interest in cloud-managed anything. I'm with Dave on IOS, it's not *that* difficult, and with the current Cisco open education initiatives, any motivated person can sit down and learn how to interact with IOS. I do highly recommend the CCNA if you're interested and have the time, I learned more practical networking from the CCNA at the vo-tech in high school than in college at Virginia Tech. Thanks, Jonathan
participants (3)
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Joseph Oprysko -
Kenneth Seefried -
Systems Glitch