Meraki introduces Adaptive Policy

Cisco Meraki has introduced Adaptive Policy, a new solution where Cisco Security Group Tag (SGT) technology meets the most powerful Cisco Meraki switch hardware yet. This software feature addresses the shortcomings of traditional policy administration using Cisco SGT and the MS390. 

With Cisco SGT, numerical tags are used to profile users, devices, services and time of access. Tags can be assigned using a RADIUS server like Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). When Cisco ISE is used, the tag is transmitted to all devices in the network where every packet is tagged and decisions based on the tag are made by the MS390. 

This policy enforcement process has become scalable, effective and automatic. Adaptive Policy utilises Cisco SGT to determine traffic intent and can help scale and reinforce security for customers of any deployment size. 

With Adaptive Policy, security is agnostic to network topology, making security orchestration and mass configuration changes consistent. Furthermore, instead of using IP addresses, users can now use natural language to determine how a policy is adjusted and implemented. Instead of seeing XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX, you’ll find yourself reading “Marketing team”. 

Adaptive Policy is a new feature built with a Meraki API-first strategy that will guarantee full consumption. Together with Cisco, Meraki is able to provide interoperability with an open implementation of tagging, which means it won’t be tied to only one vendor. Thanks to Cisco SGT’s open and extensible technology, Adaptive Policy provides maximum potential across Cisco and 3rd party vendors, giving you flexibility for your networking needs. 

Customers who have Meraki MR access points (ac Wave 2 and above) but do not have the MS390 can still deploy Adaptive Policy. Under a hybrid environment, current Cisco Catalyst switch (3K to 9K series) customers with Meraki MR can implement Adaptive Policy utilizing inline-SGTs.

Adaptive Policy is available as an advanced feature on the MS390. You will need the MS390 switch along with the MS390 Advanced licensing to enable this new feature.