Case Study: Auckland Grammar School achieves easy, CLI-free network and device management with Cisco Meraki

Web-based dashboard allows for easy network changes without running complex CLI

Auckland Grammar School, New Zealand’s largest all-boys secondary school with 2,500 students and 160 staff, faced growing IT overhead from manually configuring iPads and managing a campus network with a small IT team. To simplify device and network management and remove reliance on command-line skills, the school turned to Cisco Meraki, deploying Meraki Systems Manager for device control along with Meraki MS switches (and MX security/SD‑WAN) to modernize infrastructure.

Cisco Meraki’s cloud dashboard, Systems Manager and MS switches (with virtual stacking and voice VLANs) let the lean team deploy hardware over a school holiday, make bulk port and policy changes through a GUI, and manage iPads centrally. The result: only three staff now handle the Meraki network, PIN and enrollment headaches disappeared, devices can be rendered inoperable or tracked in a few clicks, and standard layouts and real-time visibility improved security and day-to-day operations.

Auckland Grammar School

Cameron Watt

Director of IT