In today’s hyper-connected world, ensuring that your network prioritizes critical applications is more important than ever. Whether you’re managing a busy office or a sprawling campus, traffic shaping and Quality of Service (QoS) are essential tools to keep networks running smoothly by controlling bandwidth and prioritizing key traffic. If you’re using Cisco Meraki devices, the good news is that configuring these features is straightforward thanks to the intuitive Meraki dashboard.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how to implement Traffic Shaping and QoS using the Meraki GUI, making your network faster and smarter — without having to dive into complicated command lines.
What Are Traffic Shaping and QoS?
Before we dive into the how, here’s a quick refresher:
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Traffic Shaping is the practice of prioritizing or limiting bandwidth for specific types of traffic. For example, you might want to give video conferencing traffic higher priority than file downloads.
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Quality of Service (QoS) involves managing and guaranteeing network performance by controlling traffic priorities to reduce latency, jitter, and packet loss for essential services.
Why Use the Meraki GUI for Traffic Shaping and QoS?
The Meraki dashboard is cloud-based, user-friendly, and designed for network administrators of all skill levels. You can apply traffic shaping policies network-wide or down to specific SSIDs or clients — all with just a few clicks.
Step-by-Step Guide to Implement Traffic Shaping & QoS on Meraki
Step 1: Log into the Meraki Dashboard
Head over to dashboard.meraki.com and log in with your credentials. Once inside, select the network where you want to configure traffic shaping.
Step 2: Navigate to Traffic Shaping Settings
In the left-hand menu, go to:
Security & SD-WAN (for MX appliances) orWireless (for MR access points) > then select Traffic Shaping
Step 3: Enable and Configure Traffic Shaping Rules
- Create new rules: Click on Add a shaping rule.
- Application or traffic type: Choose from a predefined list like VoIP, video streaming, gaming, or specify custom TCP/UDP ports or IP ranges.
- Set priorities: Choose from options such as
Have priority,Give best effort, orThrottle toa specific bandwidth limit. - Upload/Download options: Customize shaping policies separately for inbound (upload) and outbound (download) traffic.
Pro tip: Use application categories like Microsoft Teams or Zoom to prioritize real-time communications effortlessly.
Step 4: Configure Per-Client or Per-SSID Policies (Optional)
If you want to shape traffic for specific SSIDs or clients:
- Go to
Wireless>SSIDsand select the SSID you want to edit. - Scroll to Traffic shaping and apply the desired policies.
- To shape traffic per client, go to
Clientstab and apply bandwidth limits or priority settings specifically for that device’s IP or MAC address.
Step 5: Set QoS Tagging (Optional but Recommended)
Meraki lets you assign DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) tags to traffic for advanced QoS:
- Under the same Traffic Shaping page, enable layer 3 QoS tagging.
- Assign the appropriate DSCP values to prioritize traffic in your wider network infrastructure.
Step 6: Save and Monitor
After setting your rules, hit Save changes. The dashboard will start enforcing these policies immediately.
Keep an eye on your Network-wide > Traffic Analytics and Clients pages to monitor how your new traffic shaping rules impact bandwidth usage and latency.
Best Practices for Effective Traffic Shaping on Meraki
- Prioritize critical apps like VoIP, video conferencing, and business apps to ensure seamless user experience.
- Throttle less-important traffic like peer-to-peer file sharing during business hours.
- Test policies gradually to assess network impact before applying wide-scale changes.
- Leverage Meraki’s analytics to iterate and fine-tune rules based on real-time usage.
- Always keep your firmware updated to benefit from the latest traffic management features and security patches.
Final Thoughts
Implementing traffic shaping and QoS with the Meraki dashboard isn’t just about controlling bandwidth — it’s about empowering your network to work smarter by ensuring critical applications get the priority they deserve. With the GUI’s straightforward controls, you don’t need to be a networking expert to optimize your organization’s connectivity and keep frustration low.
Taking control of your network traffic can dramatically improve productivity and user satisfaction — and Meraki makes it easier than ever.
Ready to get your Meraki traffic shaping and QoS setup just right? Follow these steps and watch your network performance soar!
