In the fast-paced world of network management, automation has become a game-changer. Cisco Meraki, a leader in cloud-managed IT, offers a powerful RESTful API that lets you automate and streamline your network operations effortlessly. If you’ve been wanting to harness the power of the Meraki API but don’t know where to start, this guide will walk you through the process using the Meraki Dashboard GUI. Let’s dive in!
What is the Meraki RESTful API?
The Meraki API is a RESTful interface that allows you to programmatically interact with your Meraki network—retrieving device information, configuring settings, monitoring network health, and much more. It’s perfect for network admins who want to automate repetitive tasks, integrate with IT workflows, or build custom dashboards.
Step 1: Access the Meraki Dashboard
Before you can start automating, log in to your Meraki Dashboard:
- Open your web browser and visit dashboard.meraki.com.
- Enter your username and password to sign in.
- Navigate to the organization you’d like to manage if you have access to multiple.
Step 2: Generate Your API Key
To access the RESTful API, you need an API key tied to your Meraki account. Here’s how to generate it:
- In the Meraki Dashboard, click on your profile icon in the top-right corner.
- Select My profile from the dropdown menu.
- Scroll down to the API access section.
- Click Generate new API key.
- Copy your API key and keep it secure—it functions like a password!
Pro Tip: Treat your API key like a secret token. Avoid sharing it or embedding it in public code repositories.
Step 3: Understand Common API Call Structures
The API is RESTful, meaning it uses standard HTTP methods:
- GET retrieves data (e.g., list networks, get device status).
- POST creates resources or triggers actions.
- PUT/PATCH updates configurations.
- DELETE removes resources.
And URI endpoints follow this pattern:
https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/networks
Where you replace {organizationId} with your actual organization ID.
Step 4: Identify Your Organization and Network IDs via the GUI
To make meaningful API requests, you need your organization ID and network ID:
- From the Meraki Dashboard, click Organization in the left sidebar.
- Select Overview.
- Look at the URL in your browser; something like:
https://dashboard.meraki.com/o/1234567890/overview
The number after /o/ is your organization ID (1234567890 here).
- To find your network ID, go to Networks from the menu.
- Click on a network and observe the URL:
https://dashboard.meraki.com/o/1234567890/n/9876543210/devices
The number after /n/ is the network ID (9876543210 here).
Step 5: Test Your First API Call Using the GUI’s Built-in API Tester
Meraki provides an API explorer embedded in the dashboard to test endpoints easily:
- In the Dashboard, navigate to Help > API Documentation.
- Click Try It Out under any API endpoint.
- Enter required parameters (organization ID, network ID).
- Click Send to see the API response.
This GUI-based tool helps you understand the API output without needing external software.
Step 6: Automate with Postman or Your Preferred Tool
While the GUI allows for initial exploration, real automation happens in external scripts or applications.
To try a simple GET request, use a tool like Postman:
- Open Postman.
- Set the request type to GET.
- Enter the URL:
https://api.meraki.com/api/v1/organizations/{organizationId}/networks
- Add a header:
X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Keywith your API key as the value. - Hit Send and review the JSON response listing your networks.
Step 7: Build Your Automation Workflow
With your access and test environment ready, start planning automation workflows such as:
- Automatically provisioning new devices.
- Bulk updating SSIDs.
- Scheduled network health reports.
- Dynamic alerting based on network conditions.
The Meraki API documentation hosted at the Dashboard enables deep diving into specific endpoints for these tasks.
Best Practices for Using the Meraki API
- Keep your API key secure.
- Use rate limiting to avoid hitting API request limits.
- Always test in staging or lower environments before applying changes on production networks.
- Log API responses and errors for troubleshooting.
- Monitor updates in Meraki’s API versioning to ensure compatibility.
Wrapping Up
Implementing network automation with the Meraki RESTful API through the GUI is straightforward once you understand the key steps: accessing your dashboard, generating your API key, identifying IDs, testing endpoints, and designing your scripts. This approach frees you from manual configurations and harnesses the true power of cloud-managed networking.
Remember, taking the time to explore the GUI-based tools coupled with programmatic API usage helps you become a more effective, efficient network administrator.
Happy automating!
