--- title: "Meraki SD-WAN Case Study: Replacing a Legacy WAN" description: "Meraki SD-WAN case study for IT leaders: how one organisation replaced its MPLS WAN with Meraki MX and Secure Connect for simpler, secure branch access." image: https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Meraki%20SD-WAN%20Case%20Study/meraki-sd-wan-case-study-square-feature.jpg --- [![IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png?width=200&height=59&name=IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png "IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)")](https://iptel.com.au) - [Home](https://iptel.com.au/) - [Solutions](https://iptel.com.au/solutions) Technologies - [Cisco Access Manager](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-access-manager) - [Cisco Catalyst Center](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-catalyst-center) - [Cisco Meraki](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-meraki) - [Cisco SDA Fabric](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-sda-fabric) - 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[Request a Quote](https://iptel.com.au/request-a-quote) - [Managed Services](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services-enquiry) Case Studies - [DP World Video](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Case%20Studies/DP%20World_Case_Study.mp4) - [DP World](https://blog.iptel.com.au/dp-world-case-study) - [Backup Assure](https://blog.iptel.com.au/backup-assure-a-disaster-recovery-case-study) [Contact Us](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## Meraki SD-WAN Case Study: Replacing a Legacy WAN Dec 5, 2025 SD-WAN has been around for years, yet plenty of organisations still run a WAN built around private circuits and a central data centre. In this blog, we'll share how we helped one customer replace a legacy MPLS WAN with Cisco Meraki SD-WAN and Cisco Secure Connect, how we rolled it out with minimal disruption, and how a network like this is run as a managed service. ![Meraki SD-WAN case study: replacing an MPLS WAN with Meraki MX and Cisco Secure Connect](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Meraki%20SD-WAN%20Case%20Study/meraki-sd-wan-case-study-hero.png?width=1792&height=960&name=meraki-sd-wan-case-study-hero.png) --- ## SD-WAN: Why Does the Move Still Take Planning? [![Managed Meraki SD-WAN: What the Service Covers](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Managed%20Meraki%20SD-WAN/managed-meraki-sd-wan-square.png?width=173&height=173&name=managed-meraki-sd-wan-square.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-sd-wan)SD-WAN promised a lot: a WAN topology independent of the underlying transport, several links with traffic steered by performance criteria, and business-critical applications that always perform at their best. It delivers on that, but moving to it still takes careful planning, because the way organisations use their networks keeps changing. It hasn't always been as easy to deploy as the early pitch suggested. Workloads have moved to public cloud, people rely on internet-facing SaaS applications, remote workers need secure access, and all of it has to stay protected. So it's an overstatement to assume every organisation has already made the move. Each of those shifts changes where traffic needs to go, and a WAN designed around one data centre wasn't built for any of them. Related reading - [Managed Meraki SD-WAN: What the Service Covers](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-sd-wan) - [Meraki MX](https://blog.iptel.com.au/meraki-mx) --- ## Customer Scenario: What Did They Need to Achieve? The customer wanted to modernise its WAN around five goals: exit its on-premises data centre, give each site direct internet access (DIA) for better SaaS performance, move away from MPLS to more cost-effective connectivity, control everything centrally from the cloud, and apply security controls consistently across the whole organisation. ### The Starting Point The existing edge routers were Cisco ISR4K (ISR 4000 series) routers on an MPLS WAN. Each one was configured through the command line interface (CLI), with no visibility of the applications crossing the network and no metrics on the health of the WAN. Internet access from every site had to go via the data centre, and there was no way to give remote workers secure access to resources. That combination called for technology that's easier to deploy, commission and manage. Cisco Meraki has exactly that set of technologies, with the added benefit of management from the cloud. Related reading - [Cisco Meraki Dashboard](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-meraki-dashboard) - [Meraki Site to Site VPN](https://blog.iptel.com.au/meraki-site-to-site-vpn) --- ## Solution: Meraki SD-WAN With Cisco Secure Connect [![Managed Security Service Edge: Umbrella and Secure Access](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Managed%20Security%20Service%20Edge/managed-security-service-edge-square.png?width=173&height=173&name=managed-security-service-edge-square.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-security-service-edge)We built the new WAN on Cisco Meraki SD-WAN using Meraki MX appliances, and used Cisco Secure Connect, Cisco's cloud-based security platform, as a central policy point for securing workers on and off the corporate network. As well as connecting sites to each other, the MX at each site connects to the Secure Connect cloud. Here's a high-level view of the deployment built on Meraki SD-WAN and Secure Connect (diagram courtesy of Cisco): ![High-level design of Cisco Meraki SD-WAN sites and remote users connecting to Cisco Secure Connect](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/SD-WAN%20(Not%20so)%20New%20Kid%20on%20the%20Block/Picture1.png?width=559&height=443&name=Picture1.png) And here's a closer look at the functions inside the Secure Connect cloud (diagram courtesy of Cisco): ![Security functions inside the Cisco Secure Connect cloud](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/SD-WAN%20(Not%20so)%20New%20Kid%20on%20the%20Block/Picture2.png?width=726&height=221&name=Picture2.png) Remote users connect by VPN to Secure Connect as well. Trusted traffic goes directly to the internet over the underlay, and all other traffic travels through secure tunnels to Secure Connect for inspection. Related reading - [Managed Security Service Edge: Umbrella and Secure Access](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-security-service-edge) - [Cisco Secure Access (SSE)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-secure-access-protect-your-hybrid-workforce-with-cloud-agile-security) --- ## Rollout: How Did We Keep Disruption to a Minimum? We pre-configured most of the solution in the Cisco Meraki dashboard before any MX appliances were delivered to the sites. Because the configuration was ready and waiting in the cloud, each cutover was a smooth transition, and disruption to the customer's service was kept to a minimum. The result was exactly what the customer set out to achieve: a modern WAN that's easy to manage and secure, supports remote workers and gives plenty of visibility into network performance. It also showed how far SD-WAN has come. With the current generation, design and commissioning are more intuitive and the overall solution costs less. Meraki's cloud-managed SD-WAN is a strong option for businesses with lots of sites, at a price point that returns the investment. **Pro-Tip:** Planning a similar move? Build and review your SD-WAN configuration in the Meraki dashboard before the hardware ships, and claim each device into its network early. Site cutovers then become a short, calm job rather than a late-night build. Related reading - [FREE Meraki Demo](https://blog.iptel.com.au/free-meraki-demo) - [Meraki Managed Services: Boost Business Efficiency](https://blog.iptel.com.au/meraki-managed-services) --- ## Managed Service: Who Runs the New WAN? [![Cisco Powered Managed Services: What It Means for You](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Cisco%20Powered%20Managed%20Services/cisco-powered-managed-services-square.png?width=173&height=173&name=cisco-powered-managed-services-square.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-powered-managed-services)A new WAN still needs looking after once the project ends. A design like this one maps onto two domains of our [managed services](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services): [Meraki Security and SD-WAN](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meraki-sd-wan) for the MX firewall, AutoVPN and path control, and [Security Service Edge](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/security-service-edge) for Secure Connect. Both can sit in one agreement. We're an audited Cisco Powered Managed Services provider, and Cisco independently audits our tools, processes, engineering practice and customer outcomes every year. Highlight gives you a live dashboard of device health, performance and open incidents, and the service is co-managed, so your team keeps full access to the Meraki dashboard. For a closer look at what each side includes, read [Managed Meraki SD-WAN: What the Service Covers](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-sd-wan) and [Managed Meraki Security: Firewall and Threat Protection](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-security). Related reading - [Managed Meraki Security: Firewall and Threat Protection](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-security) - [Cisco Powered Managed Services: What It Means for You](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-powered-managed-services) --- ## Meraki SD-WAN Case Study: FAQs ### What Is Meraki SD-WAN? Meraki SD-WAN uses Meraki MX appliances to connect sites over internet and other links, with AutoVPN tunnels between them and policies that steer each application over the best available path, all managed from the Meraki dashboard. ### Why Replace a Legacy WAN With SD-WAN? SD-WAN lets you use more cost-effective internet links instead of relying only on private circuits, adds automatic failover between links and gives you one dashboard for every site. Direct internet access also improves SaaS performance. ### Can Meraki SD-WAN Use Two Internet Links at Once? Yes. MX appliances support multiple uplinks, including cellular, and can load-balance traffic or fail over automatically when one link has problems. ### Is Meraki SD-WAN Secure? Traffic between sites travels in encrypted IPsec tunnels, and the MX provides firewalling plus features such as intrusion prevention and content filtering, depending on licence. In this project, Secure Connect added cloud-based inspection for users on and off the network. --- ## Meraki SD-WAN Case Study: Summary This customer moved from CLI-managed ISR routers on MPLS, with all internet traffic backhauled through a data centre, to Meraki SD-WAN with direct internet access at each site and Secure Connect protecting users on and off the network. Pre-staging in the dashboard kept disruption low, and the result is a WAN that's simpler to manage, more secure and far more visible. ### Need Help With Meraki SD-WAN? If your WAN looks like this customer's starting point, we're happy to talk it through. Book a [free Meraki demo](https://iptel.com.au/free-meraki-demo), or take our free 10-minute [Build Your Business Case assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/managed-network-services) to see the recommended service tier and the value at stake for running it as a managed service. You can also read more about [managed Meraki Security and SD-WAN](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meraki-sd-wan). If that's useful, [make an enquiry](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services-enquiry) or email [sales@iptel.com.au](mailto:sales@iptel.com.au) and we'll take it from there. #### Related Articles ###### [Managed Meraki SD-WAN: What the Service Covers](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-sd-wan) Jan 14, 2026 ###### [Managed Meraki Access: Switching, Wi-Fi and WAN](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-access) Jan 14, 2026 ###### [Managed Meraki Security: Firewall and Threat Protection](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-security) Dec 17, 2025 ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Mark McSherry", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/author/mark-mcsherry" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-03T07:43:28.634Z", "datePublished" : "2025-12-05T05:23:35.000Z", "headline" : "Meraki SD-WAN Case Study: Replacing a Legacy WAN", "image" : [ "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Meraki%20SD-WAN%20Case%20Study/meraki-sd-wan-case-study-square-feature.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/meraki-sd-wan-customer-case-study", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/IPTel_Solutions_February2020%20-%20Header%20SiteMap/Images/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2.png" }, "name" : "IPTel Solutions Pty Ltd" } } ```