Description
Virtual MX is a virtual instance of a Meraki security & SD-WAN appliance, dedicated specifically to providing the simple configuration benefits of site-to-site Auto VPN for customers running or migrating IT services to an Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). A virtual MX is deployed on an AWS EC2 instance or an Azure VM and then configured in the Meraki dashboard, just like any other MX. It functions like a VPN concentrator. An Auto VPN tunnel to a vMX is like having a direct Ethernet connection to a private data center.
An Auto VPN to a virtual MX is like having a direct Ethernet connection to a private datacenter. The virtual MX can support up to 500 Mbps of VPN throughput, providing ample bandwidth for mission critical IT services hosted in AWS or Azure, like Active Directory, logging, or file and print services.
Secure connections built to a virtual MX benefit from the same SD-WAN capabilities as a physical MX appliance. An optimal path can be maintained using Dynamic Path Selection, for traffic destined for regular servers in a datacenter behind a physical MX, or virtual servers behind a virtual MX.
Features and functionality of the vMX appliance:
- Securely connect branch sites with a physical MX appliance to resources in public cloud environments in two clicks with Auto VPN
- Extend SD-WAN to public cloud environments for optimized access to business critical resources
- An optimal path can be maintained using Dynamic Path Selection, for traffic destined for regular servers in a data center behind a physical MX, or virtual servers behind a virtual MX
- No hardware, only a Meraki license is required
The vMX appliances are available in all major public cloud marketplaces:
| vMX Small | vMX Medium | vMX Large | Notes | |
| VPN THROUGHPUT | 200 Mbps | 500 Mbps | 1 Gbps | |
| VPN TUNNELS | 50 | 250 | 1000 | |
| Amazon Web Services | • | • | • | Amazon charges either hourly or monthly for use of EC2 instances. Learn more about AWS EC2 pricing here. |
| Microsoft Azure | • | • | • | Microsoft charges either hourly or annually for use of VM instances. Learn more about Azure VM pricing here. |
| Google Cloud Platform* | • | • | x | Google Cloud Platform (GCP) charges pay-as-you-go for use of its services. Learn more about GCP pricing here. |
| Alibaba Cloud | • | • | x | Alibaba Cloud charges either pay-as-you-go or subscription options for use of its services. Learn more about Alibaba Cloud pricing here. |
*Targeted Q2 2021
