Meraki MG51E Cellular Gateway External

Product Overview

The Cisco Meraki MG51E-HW is a high-performance 5G-capable cellular gateway engineered for organizations that demand fast, reliable, and resilient wireless WAN connectivity. With native support for 5G Sub-6 and Cat 20 LTE, the MG51E empowers enterprises to deploy primary or backup cellular connections without compromising speed or security.

Housed in an IP67-rated enclosure, the MG51E is built to withstand harsh outdoor conditions, including rain, dust, and extreme temperatures. This makes it ideal for rooftop installations, remote construction sites, shipping yards, and other challenging deployment scenarios.

The MG51E-HW provides Gigabit-class speeds and simplifies setup with automatic configuration via the Meraki cloud dashboard. IT teams can rapidly deploy secure cellular connectivity to distributed sites or mobile fleets while maintaining complete control and visibility.

Like all Meraki products, the MG51E is managed entirely through the Meraki dashboard. Administrators can monitor signal strength, view real-time throughput, set failover conditions, and enforce traffic policies across cellular and wired interfaces from a single pane of glass.

MG51E-HW Benefits to Your Business

Adding the MG51E to your WAN architecture ensures business continuity by enabling reliable cellular connectivity when wired circuits fail. This is especially valuable for retail locations, healthcare facilities, and critical infrastructure sites that cannot afford network downtime.

Because the MG51E connects to the network over Ethernet, it can be paired with any firewall or router, not just Meraki MX appliances. This allows businesses to modernize their WAN with 5G cellular while maintaining existing investments in SD-WAN or routing infrastructure.

The IP67-certified MG51E-HW model allows flexible installation anywhere, from rooftops to pole mounts, without requiring custom weatherproofing. This reduces deployment costs and ensures optimal signal reception for maximum throughput.

MG51E-HW Key Features and Specifications

• 5G Sub-6 and Cat 20 LTE: Ultra-fast cellular speeds for demanding WAN use cases.
  
• Outdoor-Ready Design: IP67-rated, industrial-grade housing for reliable deployment in most environments.
  
• Plug-and-Play Setup: Connects over Ethernet and automatically configures via the Meraki dashboard.
  
• Gigabit Ethernet Ports: Includes 1x 2.5G LAN port for high-speed wired uplinks.
  
• Cloud-Based Management: Full monitoring and remote configuration through the Meraki dashboard.
  
• Dual SIM Support: Two nano SIM slots for carrier redundancy or roaming configurations.
  
• Carrier Aggregation: 7x carrier aggregation for optimized performance across multiple bands.
  
• 4 External Antennas: 4 x LTE/5G SMA connectors and 1 x GPS for precision signal tuning.
  

Physical Specifications

• Dimensions: 248.6 mm × 148.8 mm × 64.3 mm (with mounting bracket)
  
• Weight: 717g
  
• Enclosure: IP67-rated
  
• Power: PoE++ (802.3bt) via included injector
  

Environmental Ratings

• Operating Temp: -40°F to 122°F (-40°C to 50°C)
  
• Humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
  

Integration with Other Meraki Products

The MG51E integrates seamlessly with the Meraki ecosystem. When paired with Meraki MX appliances, it can be configured as a primary or failover uplink with seamless traffic routing and policy enforcement. Using Meraki SD-WAN features, IT teams can enable dynamic path selection between wired and cellular interfaces to optimize application performance.

In the Meraki dashboard, administrators can view WAN health, cellular signal quality, and data usage alongside their switches, access points, and security appliances. Alerting, configuration templates, and firmware updates can all be managed centrally for multiple MG51E deployments.

The MG51E supports APIs and Meraki’s integration framework, allowing developers and partners to build custom monitoring, reporting, or orchestration workflows.

Licensing

Like all Cisco Meraki hardware, the MG51E-HW requires a valid Meraki license for operation. The license includes cloud-based management, technical support, firmware updates, and feature enhancements.

Customers can choose between 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, or 10-year license terms. Licensing is per device and must be kept active to maintain functionality and support.