C8355-G2-MX Installation Guide

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This document describes how to install and set up the C8355-G2-MX security appliance. Additional reference documents are available online at: www.meraki.com/library/products.

C8355-G2-MX Overview

The Meraki C8355-G2-MX is an enterprise security appliance designed for distributed networks that require remote administration. It is ideal for network administrators who demand both ease of deployment and a state-of-the-art feature set. The C8355-G2-MX appliance provides the following features:

4 x 10 Gbps SFP+ Ports

4 x 5 Gbps mGig LAN (RJ45) UPoE+

2 x 1 Gbps LAN (RJ45)

Dedicated management port

Front panel rack mounts

Dedicated console port for factory reset functionality

IMPORTANT NOTE: When troubleshooting link connectivity for the C8355-G2-MX please consider the use of Forward Error Correction (FEC). Configuration of FEC on the SFP+ interfaces is available via the local status page.

Package Contents

In addition to the C8355-G2-MX, the following are provided:

Rack mount kit (including screws)

Grounding kit

Serial number/Cloud ID of the C8355-G2-MX is located on the product label on the bottom of the device or on the pullout tab located on the front of the device.

C8355-G2-MX Front Panel

C8355-G2-MX Back Panel

Ports and Status Indicators

The C8355-G2-MX uses LEDs to inform the user of the device's status. When the device powers on, all the Internet LEDs flash twice. Additional functions are described below.

Power button

The C8355-G2-MX features a power button on the left-most side of the front panel. When depressed, the button can be used to power on and off the device while connected to power.

Front Panel LED Table

Alarm functions are currently not supported. All alerts are currently present within the Cisco Networking Cloud Dashboard.

Item	Function	LED Status	Meaning
1	PSU	Off	System is off
		Orange	A Power Supply in the system is not functioning correctly
		Flashing orange	All installed PSUs are operating correctly
2	Status	Off	System is off
		Rainbow colors	Unit is attempting to contact the Cloud
		Flashing white	Operation is in progress
		Solid white	Fully operational
3	Minor Alarm	Off	No minor alarm
		Amber	Minor alarm raised
4	Major Alarm	Off	No major alarm
		Amber	Major alarm raised
5	Critical Alarm	Off	No critical alarm
		Amber	Critical alarm raised
6	USB CON	Off	No USB Connectivity
		Green	USB Connectivity active
7	Serial CON	Off	No serial connectivity
		Green	Serial connectivity active

Ethernet LED Behavior

Item	Function	LED Status	Meaning
1	SFP LEDs	Off	Not present or not configured
		Yellow	Loss of signal
		Green	Link established
2	RJ45 Ethernet Link Management LED	Off	No link
		Green	Link established
3	RJ45 Ethernet Speed Management LED	Off	No link
		Blink frequency (1)	10 Mbps Link
		Blink frequency (2)	100 Mbps Link
		Blink frequency (3)	1000 Mbps Link

Mounting Hardware

The mounting hardware includes four sets of standard slot-head rack screws and nuts. The additional screws and nuts are different screw standards meant to accommodate the most common rack mounts. When installing the appliance, make sure that there is sufficient space between the rear of the rack and other obstacles to ensure adequate airflow. Ventilation is from side to side not from front to back. This MX security appliance requires a minimum of 10mm clearance between the venting holes and any obstruction.

Safety Guidelines

Warning: The system must be disconnected from all sources of power and the power cord removed from the power supply module(s) before accessing, installing, or removing system components.

Caution: The Optical Transceiver product should use UL listed, and Rated Laser Class I, 3.3Vdc.

Performing a Factory Reset

Serial Connectivity Setup

Connectivity is achieved via a RJ45 Console port OR via Micro USB. A console cable will be required to connect to the security appliance. Below are steps to access the device via serial:

RJ45 Console is currently the recommended method for serial access.

Windows

Identify the port assigned to the serial interface

Typically this is available within the device manager's Ports (COM & LPT) section

Via terminal emulator assign the following settings to the serial connection

Relevant port, identified above

Speed (baud): 115200

Data bits: 8

Stop bits: 1

Parity: Off

Flow control: Off

CLI Prompt Input

Only the factory reset function is available via serial access.
Serial access is unauthenticated by default, matching previous hardware reset functions.

Should authentication be desired, please contact Meraki support in order to enable authentication. Authentication will match the local status page credentials configured once enabled.

If the authentication credentials are lost after enabling, and the device is unable to contact the Meraki dashboard, an RMA will be required. As a result, it is strongly advised that these credentials are securely documented when enabling or modifying them.

Once at the Meraki prompt, input the command 'reset_shell'. If authentication is not configured you will be greeted by a help menu as detailed below.

<Meraki> reset_shell
In reset shell
Online Documentation: https://documentation.meraki.com/General_Administration/Support/Resetting_Cisco_Meraki_Devices_to_Factory_Defaults

Warning: any reset command will reset LSP credentials until synced with Dashboard

Commands:
reset_factory : recommended for recovery
reset_soft
logout
<Meraki Reset Shell> reset_factory

WAN Setup

All Meraki MX devices must have an IP address on the WAN interface to connect to Dashboard. This section describes how to configure your local area network before you deploy it. A local management web service, running on the appliance, is accessed through a browser running on a client PC. This web service is used for configuring and monitoring basic ISP/WAN connectivity.

Note: From factory only Port 9 (0/0/9) works for connectivity to the Dashboard. Once the device has connected to the Dashboard and downloaded its configuration both ports 8 and 9 will be operational.

Setting up a DHCP IP Address

By default all MX devices are configured to DHCP from upstream WAN / ISP servers. Simply plug the MX's WAN / Internet port to your upstream circuit and wait a few minutes for the unit to negotiate a DHCP address.

When the WAN connection is fully enabled, Internet LED will turn green.

Setting up a Static IP Address

To ensure that the client PC is redirected to the local web service in the following step, you must disable all other network services (ex: wi-fi) on your client machine.

Do the following to configure basic connectivity and other networking parameters:

Using a client machine such as a laptop, connect to the management port of the MX.

Using a browser on the client machine, access the appliance's built-in web service by browsing to http://setup.meraki.com. (You do not have to be connected to the Internet to reach this address)

Click Uplink configuration under the Local status tab. (Refer to Local Status Page KB for accessing the page/tab.)

Choose Static for the IP Assignment option.

Enter the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway IP and DNS server information.

Additional Settings

All of the settings below are available only through the local management console.

Setting VLANs

If your WAN uplink is on a trunk port, choose VLAN tagging > Use VLAN tagging and enter the appropriate value for VLAN ID for your network.

Setting PPPoE

PPPoE authentication may be required if you are connecting MX device to a DSL circuit. You need to know your authentication option and credentials (supplied by your ISP) in order to complete these steps.

Choose Connection Type > PPPoE.

Select your Authentication option.

If you select Use authentication, enter appropriate values for Username and Password.

Web Proxy Settings

These settings take effect if the MX device has to fall back to using HTTP to contact the Cloud Controller. By default, web proxy is disabled. To enable web proxy, do the following:

Choose Web proxy > Yes.

Enter values as appropriate for Hostname or IP and Port.

If you require authentication, choose Authentication > Use authentication, and enter appropriate values for Username and Password.

To apply all configuration settings to the appliance, be sure to click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.

Configuring Physical link settings

To configure physical link settings on the Ethernet ports, click Local status > Ethernet configuration. You can enable half duplex, full duplex, and auto negotiation, as well as set 10 or 100-Mbps data rates.