If you’re managing a network with multiple types of traffic—think VoIP, guest Wi-Fi, or critical business apps—you know how important it is to steer the right traffic through the best path. Enter Policy-Based Routing (PBR). This powerful feature lets you define routing policies based on criteria like source IP, destination, protocol, or even VLAN, making your network smarter and more efficient.
For Meraki users, implementing PBR might sound technical, but the Meraki Dashboard GUI makes it straightforward. Below, I’ll walk you through an easy-to-follow guide to set up policy-based routing using Meraki’s intuitive interface.
What is Policy-Based Routing (PBR)?
Before diving in, a quick refresher: Policy-Based Routing allows you to override the default routing behavior by applying rules or policies based on traffic attributes. For example, you can route all traffic from your guest network through a VPN, or direct your video conferencing traffic over a high-performance WAN link.
Step-by-Step Guide to Implement Policy-Based Routing in Meraki
Step 1: Log into the Meraki Dashboard
Navigate to the Meraki Dashboard and log in with your credentials.
Step 2: Select the Network
From your list of networks, pick the network where you want to implement the policy-based routing.
Step 3: Access the Security & SD-WAN Settings
- In the left-hand menu, select Security & SD-WAN.
- This is where Meraki centralizes your routing, VPN, and firewall configurations.
Step 4: Navigate to the “Addressing & VLANs” Section (If Using VLANs)
If your network uses VLANs, you may want to define VLANs here that PBR will reference.
- Go to Addressing & VLANs.
- Ensure your VLANs and their subnets are properly configured.
Step 5: Define the Traffic Shaping / Routing Policy
Meraki doesn’t have a direct “Policy-Based Routing” section named as such, but you can achieve PBR behavior via the Static Routes and Uplink Configuration combined with Traffic Shaping rules:
- Scroll down to Static Routes in Addressing & VLANs.
- Click Add a Static Route.
- Here, you can define specific routes that apply to subnets or VLANs and specify which uplink to use (e.g., VPN, Internet 1, Internet 2).
Step 6: Add Static Route to Direct Traffic
- Give your static route a name (e.g., “Voice Traffic Route”).
- Specify the subnet or IP range you want this route to apply to.
- Select the Next Hop type: could be VPN, a specific uplink, or an appliance IP.
- Save your static route.
Step 7: Configure Uplink Prioritization and Load Balancing
To complement your PBR setup, head over to:
- Security & SD-WAN > SD-WAN & Traffic Shaping
- Here, set your Uplink selection and failover rules.
- Define Traffic shaping rules to prioritize critical traffic types, ensuring your PBR works alongside quality of service (QoS).
Step 8: Verify Your Policies
Once your static routes and uplink settings are in place, test your network traffic. You can use:
- The Network-wide > Monitor > Traffic Analytics to see if traffic is following expected paths.
- The Security & SD-WAN > Appliance status page for WAN link performance.
Tips for a Smooth Policy-Based Routing Experience on Meraki
- Understand your traffic flows first: Identify which clients, VLANs, or subnets need custom routes.
- Use tagging and VLAN segmentation: This clearly delineates traffic types, making policies cleaner.
- Leverage Meraki Insights for analytics: This helps monitor latency, jitter, and routing behaviors.
- Document your static routes and policies: Always keep a record for troubleshooting.
Wrap-Up
Policy-Based Routing can transform how your network handles multiple types of traffic, especially in environments where performance and segmentation matter. With Meraki’s GUI, setting up PBR becomes a visual, stepwise process—no complex command line needed.
By following this guide, you’ll be able to customize routing behaviors to fit your organization’s unique needs, optimize WAN usage, and provide better performance for your critical applications.
Happy routing!
