As a Managed Service Supplier (MSP), you’re chargeable for serving to to make sure that buyer environments perform easily, with each seen and behind-the-scenes parts working seamlessly. Whereas community outages and web site downtime could also be attention-grabbing points, managing the licensing necessities for Meraki networks are equally vital.
Let’s discover the importance of licensing and the way MSPs can leverage the Meraki Dashboard API to effectively handle licenses at scale.
Licensing challenges confronted by MSPs
For MSPs who handle many networks, relying solely on e mail notifications from the Meraki Dashboard may be burdensome. With the Meraki Dashboard API, MSPs can automate monitoring license expiration dates, observe license utilization, and carry out different important duties. These duties embrace renewing licenses, allocating licenses to units, and assembly community compliance necessities. The API empowers MSPs to drive scale and effectivity in license administration, releasing up precious time and assets.
Advantages of API-driven license administration:
- Streamlined operations: The API permits centralized license administration, eliminating the necessity for handbook monitoring and lowering the danger of oversight or human error.
- Proactive monitoring: MSPs can obtain real-time notifications about licenses nearing expiration or another license-related points, enabling swift motion and stopping disruptions.
- Scalability and effectivity: The Meraki Dashboard API helps the administration of a number of networks, enabling MSPs to deal with licensing necessities at scale with out compromising effectivity.
- Enhanced buyer satisfaction: With automated license administration, MSPs can help uninterrupted community performance, enhancing the client expertise and stopping enterprise interruptions.
Understanding Meraki licensing fashions
Meraki presents two licensing fashions: Per-Gadget and Co-Time period. With the Per-Gadget mannequin, every system within the community is licensed individually. If a license expires, solely the related system is affected. Conversely, Co-Time period licensing teams all licenses collectively, figuring out the expiration date based mostly on the time-frame coated by all licenses. This technique simplifies license administration by aligning expiration dates.
Co-Time period licensing could be very in style with MSPs. As a result of a complete group may be shut down whether it is out of compliance, it’s vital to maintain licensing present. The next content material covers use the Meraki Dashboard API to handle this licensing mannequin.
Organizational licensing overview
To handle Co-Time period licensing, entry the getOrganizationLicensesOverview API. Doing so returns the three following objects:
1) standing:string—Present group licensing standing.
Standing is without doubt one of the following:
-
- OK: There are at the least as many license sorts as units within the group, and the license will not be inside 30 days of or previous the expiration date.
- License required: There are extra units within the group than licenses.
- License expired: Licenses have expired.
- Trial expiration: The trial license has expired.
- License expires quickly: Co-Time period license expires within the subsequent 30 days.
2) expirationDate:string—The date on which the mixed group licensing expires. (Be aware: This doesn’t embrace any grace durations which can be at present in impact for different licensing points.)
3) licensedDeviceCounts:array—Listing of utilized license sorts and counts.
Examples
Within the first instance offered under, the group is under-licensed; there are extra units than lively licenses. To appropriate this case, you should question getOrganizationDevices and examine the output to the licensedDeviceCounts array to see which units are beneath licensed. Then, you possibly can both take away the additional units or buy extra licenses. You should accumulate this knowledge day by day and log the date you first see the “License Required” standing to find out when the 30-day grace interval ends, and your units will now not perform.
{
“standing”: “License Required”,
“expirationDate”: “Mar 16, 2023 UTC”,
“licensedDeviceCounts”: {
“MS120-24P”: 6,
“MX65”: 8,
“wi-fi”: 12,
“MS120-48FP”: 1,
“MS220-24P”: 1,
“MS210-24P”: 1
}
}
Within the second instance, the license has expired, and you should buy new licenses for all units. After buy, you apply them utilizing the claimIntoOrganization API.
{
“standing”: “License Expired”,
“expirationDate”: “Oct 15, 2022 UTC”,
“licensedDeviceCounts”: {
“wi-fi”: 36,
“MS120-48LP”: 9,
“MX100”: 1,
“MS225-48FP”: 5
}
}
Within the third and final instance, your group’s licenses will expire inside 30 days. If you don’t apply new licenses by Nov 14, all of the units within the group will now not function.
{
“standing”: “License Expires Quickly”,
“expirationDate”: “Oct 15, 2023 UTC”,
“licensedDeviceCounts”: {
“wi-fi”: 36,
“MS120-48LP”: 9,
“MX100”: 1,
“MS225-48FP”: 5
}
}
Effectively managing Meraki community licenses is an important process for MSPs. Whereas vital points comparable to community downtime might create concern, neglecting license standing can have extreme penalties. By leveraging Meraki Dashboard APIs, MSPs can automate license administration, monitor expiration dates, and carry out essential duties effectively. This proactive strategy helps guarantee community compliance, enhances buyer satisfaction, and streamlines operations for MSPs managing networks at scale.
Cisco Companion Managed Companies choices and advantages
In case you are a Cisco accomplice and need to be taught extra about Meraki APIs, please register for the upcoming session of Managed Companies Voice of the Engineer. Through the October 2023, session, the Americas Companion Group (APO) will provide an summary of the Meraki Dashboard API, evaluation use it as a part of a partner-enabled managed providers providing, and discover the advantages for Cisco companions and your prospects. Every month, our workforce focuses on a special MSP-relevant matter. In case you are fascinated about turning into a Cisco Companion, you possibly can be taught extra by visiting Cisco’s Companion Program and Cisco Companion-Enabled Managed Companies.
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