Cisco Security Cloud Control: Secure Firewall Management

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Cisco Security Cloud Control: Secure Firewall Management

Onboard Cisco Meraki MX devices

Updated: September 24, 2026

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Learn how to onboard Cisco Meraki MX devices and templates by preparing API access, retrieving the Meraki API key, and adding networks or configuration templates to Security Cloud Control.

This chapter provides steps to onboard Cisco Meraki MX device.

Onboard Meraki MX to Security Cloud Control

MX devices can be managed by both Security Cloud Control and the Meraki dashboard. Security Cloud Control deploys configuration changes to the Meraki dashboard. The dashboard then securely deploys the configuration to the device.

Before you begin

  • For information about connecting Security Cloud Control to your managed devices, refer to Allow inbound access for direct cloud connectivity.

  • You must first register the Meraki MX in the Meraki dashboard. Without access to the Meraki dashboard, your organization will not be recognized by the Meraki cloud. As a result, you will not be able to generate an API token to onboard your device.

  • Security Cloud Control converts invalid CIDR prefix notation IP addresses and IP address ranges to valid form by setting all bits associated with the host to zero.

  • Onboarding Meraki MX devices or templates no longer requires a connection through a Secure Device Connector (SDC). If you have Meraki MX devices that were previously onboarded and connect to Security Cloud Control using an SDC, their connection will continue to work. If you remove and re-onboard the device or update its connection credentials, the connection will stop working.

  • MX devices do not need to be connected to the Meraki cloud to be managed by Security Cloud Control. If an MX device has never connected to the cloud, the device connectivity is listed as unreachable. This status is normal and does not affect your ability to manage the device or deploy policies to the device.

Procedure

  1. When you onboard a Meraki MX device, you must generate a Meraki API key. This key lets the dashboard authenticate your request so you can securely onboard the device. For more information on generating and retrieving a Meraki API key, refer to Generate and Retrieve Meraki API Key.

  2. Onboard a Meraki device to Security Cloud Control using the API key.

Generate and Retrieve Meraki API Key

Use this procedure to enable Security Cloud Control access to the Meraki dashboard with API access:

Before you begin

Review the notes and prerequisites in Onboard Meraki MX to Security Cloud Control

Procedure

  1. Log in to the Meraki dashboard.

  2. Choose Organization > Settings.

  3. In the Dashboard API Access section, check Enable access to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard API. If you do not enable this option, you cannot generate API keys to onboard MX devices to Security Cloud Control.

  4. Click Save changes.

  5. On the Meraki dashboard, click your username and then click My Profile.

  6. Locate the API access header and click Generate new API key. Copy the API key, and paste it into a note until you are ready to use it. If you close the window or tab containing the API key before pasting it, you will lose access to the copied API key.

    Note

    You only need one API key per device. You can re-onboard a Meraki device without generating a new key.

    Continue to Onboard a Meraki Device to Security Cloud Control.

Onboard an MX Device to Security Cloud Control

Use this procedure to onboard a Cisco Meraki device.

Before you begin

Generate and Retrieve Meraki API Key.

Procedure

  1. From the Security Cloud Control Home page, click Firewall.

  2. Choose Security Devices.

  3. Click the blue add button .

  4. Click the Meraki tile.

  5. Select the About Secure Device Connector that this device will communicate with. The default SDC is displayed but you can change it by clicking the blue Change link.

  6. On the Connect to Cisco Meraki page, follow these steps:

    1. Paste the API access key you copied, and click Connect.
      If the key is incomplete or incorrect, you will not be able to onboard the device.
    2. Use the drop-down list to select the correct organization. The generated list of organizations is retrieved from the Meraki dashboard and includes devices and templates. Click Select.
    3. Use the drop-down list to select the correct network. The generated list of networks is retrieved from the Meraki network. Click Select.
    4. (Optional) Add unique labels for the device. You can filter your list of devices by these labels. Click Continue.
    The device begins the onboarding process. After the process completes, you are redirected to the Security Devices page.

Onboard Meraki templates to Security Cloud Control

Meraki templates help manage multiple locations or networks using a single policy. You can manage these templates using both Security Cloud Control and the Meraki dashboard. Security Cloud Control deploys configuration changes to the Meraki dashboard, and the dashboard then securely deploys the configuration to the template. For more information about how Security Cloud Control communicates with Meraki.

Note

To onboard a template to Security Cloud Control, you must first create a template in the Meraki dashboard. Without access to the Meraki dashboard, the Meraki cloud will not recognize your organization, and you will not be able to generate an API token for your device. In the Meraki dashboard, click Organization > Configuration templates. For more information, refer to Managing Multiple Networks with Configuration Templates.

You must complete these three steps to onboard a Meraki template.

Procedure

  1. Create a template network in the Meraki dashboard. For more information about Meraki template best practices, refer to Meraki Templates Best Practices.

  2. Generate and Retrieve Meraki API Key. When you onboard a Meraki template, you must generate a Meraki API key. Use the key to authenticate the dashboard and securely onboard a device.

  3. Onboard a Meraki Template to Security Cloud Control using the key.

Generate and Retrieve Meraki API Key

Use this procedure to enable Security Cloud Control access to the Meraki dashboard with API access:

Procedure

  1. Log in to the Meraki dashboard.

  2. Choose Organization > Settings.

  3. In the Dashboard API Access section, check Enable access to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard API. If you do not enable this option, you cannot generate API keys to onboard MX devices to Security Cloud Control.

  4. Click Save changes.

  5. On the Meraki dashboard, click your username and then click My Profile.

  6. Locate the API access header and click Generate new API key. Copy the API key, and paste it into a note until you are ready to use it. If you close the window or tab containing the API key before pasting it, you will lose access to the copied API key.

    Note

    You only need one API key per template. You can re-onboard a template without generating a new key.

Onboard an Meraki Template to Security Cloud Control

Use this procedure to onboard a Meraki template.

Procedure

  1. From the Security Cloud Control Home page, click Firewall.

  2. Choose Security Devices.

  3. Click the blue add button .

  4. Click Connect to Cisco Meraki.

  5. Paste the API access key you copied. If the key is incomplete or incorrect, you will not be able to onboard the device. Click Connect.

  6. Use the drop-down list to select the template name as an Organization. The generated list of organizations is retrieved from the Meraki dashboard and includes devices and templates. Select the desired template and click Select.

  7. (Optional) You can add unique labels for the device. You can filter your list of devices by these labels.

  8. Click Continue.

    The device begins the onboarding process. Once completed, Security Cloud Control redirects you to Security Devices. Once the template is synched to Security Cloud Control, the Security Devices page displays the names of the devices associated with the template and the Device Details window of displays the number of networks bound to the template.

Update Meraki MX connection credentials

If you generate a new API key from the Meraki dashboard, you must update the connection credentials in Security Cloud Control Firewall Management.

Security Cloud Control Firewall Management does not allow you to update the connection credentials for the device itself. If necessary, manually refresh the API key in the Meraki dashboard. You must manually update the API key in the Security Cloud Control Firewall Management UI to update the credentials and restore communication.

Note

If Security Cloud Control fails to sync the device, the connectivity status in Security Cloud Control may show "Invalid Credentials." In this situation, you may have tried to use an API key. Confirm the API key for the selected Meraki MX is correct.

Use this procedure to update the credentials for a Meraki MX device:

Procedure

  1. From the Security Cloud Control Home page, click Firewall.

  2. Choose Security Devices.

  3. Click the Devices tab and then click the Meraki tab.

  4. Select the Meraki MX whose connection credentials you want to update.

  5. In the Device Actions pane, click Update Credentials.

  6. Enter the API key Security Cloud Control Firewall Management uses to log into the device, and click Update. This API key matches the credential that you used to onboard the Meraki MX unless you changed it. These changes do not require deployment to the device.