Cisco Umbrella adds a security layer that most firewalls can’t touch—it stops malicious activity before it ever reaches your network. When paired with Meraki’s cloud-managed infrastructure, the result is smarter, faster, and safer connectivity across every branch and remote site.

This guide breaks down how to integrate Cisco Meraki with Umbrella, from setup prerequisites to advanced DNS configuration. You’ll see exactly what to prepare, how to connect the systems, and how to keep your protection running tight over time.

Why Integrate Cisco Meraki With Umbrella?

Meraki already delivers cloud-managed visibility and policy control, but it stops at the network edge. Umbrella extends that security to every DNS request, blocking threats before connections form. Together, they create a layered defense—Meraki enforces what devices can do on the LAN, while Umbrella decides where those devices can go online.

For IT teams, this combo means a single dashboard, unified policy control, and protection that travels with users whether they’re on-site, remote, or roaming between branches. It’s built for speed and simplicity—no extra appliances, no tunnel gymnastics, and no waiting for signature updates.

Integration Models and Deployment Options

Meraki and Umbrella can integrate in several ways, depending on how deep you want visibility and inspection to go. The right model depends on your organization’s scale, compliance needs, and appetite for detailed traffic analysis.

Smaller environments often start with DNS-layer protection through the MX or MR. Larger deployments may combine tunnels, roaming clients, or virtual appliances for granular reporting and attribution.

Basic DNS-Layer Integration with MX and MR

This is the quickest setup. The Meraki MX firewall or MR access point sends all DNS traffic to Cisco Umbrella’s resolvers. It’s ideal for branch offices and SMB networks that want instant domain-level protection without adding complexity.

SIG Tunnel Integration for Full Traffic Inspection

For deeper visibility, a Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) tunnel routes all outbound traffic through Umbrella for inspection. This enables URL filtering, SSL inspection, and advanced threat detection at the packet level—a must for organizations under strict compliance.

Hybrid Model with Roaming Clients for Remote Endpoints

In distributed teams, Umbrella Roaming Clients extend DNS-layer protection to laptops and mobile devices outside the Meraki network. Policies remain consistent even when users connect from home or a coffee shop.

Using Umbrella Virtual Appliances for Internal User Attribution

Virtual Appliances (VAs) map internal IPs to user identities, giving admins full visibility into who triggered specific DNS queries. This setup best suits multi-site or large branch deployments that require detailed forensics.

Compatibility and Setup Prerequisites

A smooth integration starts with checking a few critical boxes. These aren’t suggestions—skip one, and the deployment will break. Confirm each before moving forward.

Each requirement aligns with Cisco’s official documentation and ensures your Umbrella and Meraki organizations can talk to each other without policy or connection gaps.

You’ll want to check several critical items before proceeding. Missing any one may cause failure or limited functionality.

Also note licensing & automatic/manual integration behavior:

• Automatic Umbrella integration for MR allowed limited DNS filtering via MR, but was deprecated on April 26, 2025. New Meraki organizations must use manual integration.

• With automatic mode, Meraki users don’t get access to the Umbrella dashboard—management and monitoring are limited to Meraki’s dashboard. 
  

• Manual integration allows full policy control via Umbrella, but requires an Umbrella license on that side.

Step-by-Step Setup for Meraki Umbrella Integration

Once prerequisites are in place, you can configure integration directly from the Meraki Dashboard. The process is straightforward, but every step must be verified before moving on.

If you manage multiple networks under one org, perform these steps once, then clone settings with templates.

1. Enable / Select Umbrella Integration in Meraki Dashboard

Go to Organization › Configure › Settings (or Network-wide › General) and find the Cisco Umbrella integration toggle or section. If Meraki and Umbrella aren’t yet linked, configure API key and secret as prompted.

Be sure that the Meraki organization name matches what Umbrella expects—mismatches can break mapping.

2. Link Meraki Org and Umbrella Org

In Umbrella: navigate to Deployments › Core Identities › Network Devices (or similar), choose Meraki Integration, and paste the token from Meraki.

This establishes trust—Meraki networks begin appearing in Umbrella for policy assignment. If you use templates or cloning in Meraki, do this at the parent level so downstream networks inherit the linkage.

3. Map & Assign Umbrella Policies to Meraki Networks or VLANs

In Umbrella: go to Policies › Management / DNS Policies, create or edit policies (block categories, allow lists, content filters).

Assign those policies to Meraki networks or group policies. Meraki will forward DNS traffic automatically per assignment. Meraki handles DNS forwarding in the background—you don’t need manual DHCP edits typically.

4. Validate DNS Redirection & Enforcement

From a client behind Meraki, try browsing allowed and blocked domains. You should see Umbrella’s block page when policy prohibits a site.

Then in Umbrella: go to Reports › Activity Search or Dashboard › Events / Logs and confirm DNS queries, blocked items, and originating network identity. If no logs appear, check API linkage, network mapping, and that DNS traffic is indeed forwarded.

5. Scale Across Networks

Once validated in one network, replicate using Meraki templates or cloning. Use the same API linkage and policy configuration so new sites inherit the integration automatically.

Managing Policies and Making Sense of Reports

Umbrella centralizes reporting for every DNS query across your Meraki environment. Administrators can quickly identify which domains were blocked, which users triggered queries, and where anomalies appear.

In the Meraki dashboard, you’ll also see Umbrella event summaries directly under the Security & SD-WAN > Threat Protection tab. This gives IT teams fast, visual insight without logging in to multiple consoles.

Key reporting features:

• Blocked domain reports: View lists of malicious or risky destinations stopped by Umbrella.

• DNS logs: Track query timestamps, originating clients, and response codes for full traceability.

• Threat visibility: Correlate events across Meraki MX firewalls and Umbrella analytics for incident response.

Fixing Common Hurdles After Integration

Even well-planned integrations hit bumps. Here’s what to check when something doesn’t behave as expected.

• DNS queries not resolving: Verify Umbrella resolvers (208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220) are applied correctly and ports 53/443 are open.

• Policies not applying: Recheck org linking and ensure your networks are assigned to active policies.

• Reporting delays or missing logs: Confirm devices are online and the API token hasn’t expired.

• Dynamic IP mismatches: Update or re-register your network’s public IPs in Umbrella.

• Endpoints bypassing Umbrella: Ensure roaming clients are installed on laptops used off-network.

• SSL or proxy conflicts: Disable conflicting proxy DNS interception or SSL decryption on external devices.

Smart Maintenance Tips to Keep Security Tight

Integrations aren’t “set and forget.” Keep your Meraki-Umbrella setup sharp with these ongoing best practices:

• Review Umbrella reports regularly: Spot anomalies early and validate policy coverage.

• Update security and content policies: Adjust filtering as new categories and domains appear.

• Use Meraki templates: Apply identical settings across branch networks for consistency.

• Keep firmware and software current: Firmware updates often improve Umbrella communication and bug handling.

• Test DNS filtering periodically: Confirm that blocked domains still trigger expected actions.

• Document key configurations: Record API tokens, policy mappings, and exclusion lists for continuity.

• Align with endpoint security tools: Ensure your DNS-layer protection complements device-level defenses.

Fortify Your Network’s Edge with Meraki Umbrella Integration

Integrating Cisco Meraki with Umbrella turns your DNS layer into an active defense zone—fast to deploy, easy to manage, and backed by Cisco Talos threat intelligence. For IT leaders, it means fewer unknowns, faster troubleshooting, and security that scales with every new site.

When your network and DNS protection work in sync, you’re not just reacting to threats—you’re staying ahead of them.

Take the next step toward stronger network protection. Contact us today to start integrating Meraki with Umbrella and secure your DNS layer with confidence.