A Closer Looks at Meraki Cloud RADIUS vs. Portnox Cloud

Does Meraki cloud RADIUS provide full network access control?

Not really—it’s authentication without enforcement. Meraki’s RADIUS integration enables basic user authentication (via 802.1X) for Wi-Fi and wired ports, but once a device connects, there’s no native support for posture checks, continuous compliance, or dynamic policy enforcement. The access decision is binary: allow or deny. Beyond that, enforcement is static and role-based, often using pre-defined VLANs without real-time CoA or device risk scoring.

Portnox provides true access control—not just authentication. It dynamically adjusts network access based on identity, device health, and risk, with built-in features like CoA, dynamic VLANs, device quarantine, and posture-aware policies. It evaluates endpoints before, during, and after access—not just at the authentication moment.

Access Control Capabilities

Is the Meraki RADIUS stack cloud-native and easy to manage at scale?

It’s cloud-managed—but not cloud-native NAC. Meraki’s dashboard makes it easy to configure Wi-Fi and wired access, and its RADIUS integrations offer cloud-hosted credential checks. But policy enforcement logic is limited, and posture assessments are completely absent. To extend access logic, you need manual scripting, NAC-lite workarounds, or other third-party tools. And Meraki switches/APs must be used—no support for multi-vendor environments.

Portnox is cloud-native from the ground up. It includes full NAC logic—RADIUS, policy engine, posture checking, enforcement—all as a SaaS platform. No hardware. No CLI. No Meraki lock-in. Whether you manage 1 or 1,000 sites, Portnox offers consistent enforcement across them all, with no custom integrations or dashboards needed.

Cloud Architecture & Management

How well does the Meraki RADIUS combo support BYOD, remote workers, or hybrid environments?

Poorly. This setup is network-centric, meaning it only enforces policy when users are connected to Meraki-managed infrastructure. For remote users (on home or public Wi-Fi), there’s no NAC capability at all unless you’re routing traffic through VPNs. And there’s no BYOD onboarding portal or logic to handle unmanaged endpoints with unique risk profiles.

Portnox excels in hybrid and BYOD scenarios. It supports agentless or agent-based posture enforcement for remote users, with real-time compliance checks. It includes built-in onboarding workflows for unmanaged devices and can enforce access policies regardless of network location. No VPNs. No local appliances. Just continuous compliance.

Scalability & Remote User Support

Does Meraki RADIUS offer any posture assessment or device health checks?

Not natively. Meraki can show MAC addresses, device types (based on DHCP fingerprinting), and signal strength—but it cannot assess endpoint posture, like AV status, disk encryption, OS patch level, or compliance with security policies. RADIUS is used for identity assertion, but not risk-based policy enforcement.

Portnox evaluates the full security posture of each endpoint—whether managed or unmanaged. It monitors device health continuously and can trigger enforcement actions in real time if a device falls out of compliance. This enables Zero Trust-style policies that evolve dynamically based on actual risk, not static VLAN mappings.

Posture, Compliance & Enforcement