Cisco and Megaport: Redefining the Edge of Modern Networking

By David Sloan, Solutions Architect

Explore four Cisco and Megaport Virtual Edge solutions that bring secure, high-performance networking closer to users and clouds.

Enterprises have quickly outgrown the constraints of legacy WAN architectures. As cloud and SaaS dominate and users grow more distributed, rigid infrastructure models—complete with backhaul-heavy designs and unpredictable internet performance—no longer work.

The integration between Cisco’s virtual networking and security portfolio and Megaport’s global private network offers the ultimate alternative: cloud-native agility with enterprise-grade performance, security, and control. With this integration, organizations place critical networking and security services closer to users, clouds, and data, without sacrificing visibility or governance.

With 96 Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) locations available worldwide, businesses can rapidly deploy Cisco-powered networking and security services exactly where performance matters most, accelerating time to value and enabling true global scale.

This blog explores four key solution pairings that transform your edge:

• Cisco Meraki vMX + Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE)
• Cisco vFTD + Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE)
• Cisco Catalyst 8000V (C8000V) + MVE
• Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN + MVE.

Meraki vMX on Megaport MVE: cloud-managed simplicity meets private performance

Megaport and Cisco Meraki vMX combine cloud-native simplicity with private, deterministic connectivity to modernize your WAN. With this joint solution, Meraki vMX, a virtualized SD-WAN and security appliance, is hosted directly on MVE – placing Meraki functionality inside Megaport’s global private fabric.

As a result, organizations can move beyond the limitations of MPLS dependency and unreliable internet-only VPNs.

The integrated architecture

• Localized hosting: MVE brings the Meraki SD-WAN gateway closer to users and cloud regions, reducing latency by eliminating unnecessary backhaul.
• Private backbone access: Once traffic reaches the vMX hosted on MVE, it traverses Megaport’s private SDN – bypassing the congestion, packet loss, and security exposure of the public internet.
• Centralized orchestration: All configuration (including security policies, Auto VPN, traffic shaping, and monitoring) remains within the familiar Meraki Dashboard, keeping the simplicity of a single pane of glass.

Use case: hybrid cloud hub

Imagine a global enterprise with global branch offices and critical workloads split between AWS and Azure. By deploying a Meraki vMX on MVE, the organization creates a regional SD-WAN hub.

Branches connect using standard internet links, but from the vMX onward, application traffic is offloaded onto Megaport’s private network. The outcome is a hybrid model that delivers predictable performance for mission-critical workloads, without the operational burden of traditional private WAN.

Cisco vFTD on MVE: distributed security without the “security tax”

The integration of Cisco Virtual Firepower Threat Defense (vFTD) and Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) delivers cloud-native security for distributed enterprises. Cisco’s next-generation firewall capabilities—deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention, and advanced malware protection—are brought directly to the edge of Megaport’s private backbone.

By hosting vFTD on MVE, organizations avoid the classic “security tax”: the performance degradation caused by backhauling traffic to centralized data center firewalls.

Securing the distributed edge

• Localized perimeter: vFTD on MVE enables teams to deploy high-performance firewall enforcement exactly where private networks meet public cloud environments.
• Unified management: All policies, threat intelligence, and controls are managed through Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) to maintain a consistent security posture across regions.
• Private transit: After inspection, traffic moves across Megaport’s private backbone, keeping sensitive data isolated from the public internet.

Use case: multicloud security gateway

Consider an enterprise operating across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Traditional architectures often force all traffic through a centralized firewall chokepoint, harming application performance.

With vFTD deployed on MVE, the organization can establish regional security hubs. Traffic flows from the branch to the nearest MVE, is inspected locally by Cisco’s firewall, and then enters each cloud environment via private Megaport connectivity. Security becomes an enabler of performance – not an obstacle.

This deployment model also eliminates the need to deploy expensive, standalone firewalls in every cloud. With MVE, a single firewall instance can secure the entire cloud and internal network ecosystem.

This setup simplifies operations while significantly reducing infrastructure and licensing costs. Security becomes a performance enabler rather than an obstacle or a budget drain.

Cisco Catalyst 8000V on MVE: enterprise routing control in a cloud-native model

Cisco Catalyst 8000V (C8000V) paired with Megaport MVE offers a powerful solution for organizations requiring deeper routing control and architectural flexibility. C8000V is Cisco’s virtual edge router, delivering advanced routing, segmentation, encryption, and SD-WAN capabilities, while MVE provides the globally distributed infrastructure to host it inside Megaport’s private backbone.

When deployed on MVE, C8000V becomes a strategic regional WAN edge. Enterprises can dynamically connect to clouds, data centers, and partners using Megaport’s on-demand connectivity while having full control over routing behavior, segmentation, and policy enforcement using Cisco technologies.

Use case: resilient regional hubs

A global enterprise standardizing on Cisco SD-WAN requires consistent connectivity across branches, multicloud environments, and external ecosystems.

By running C8000V Autonomous on MVE in key global locations, the business can establish highly available regional hubs that aggregate branch traffic and steer it across Megaport’s private network – improving performance, resilience, and architectural consistency.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN on MVE: extending the fabric into the middle mile

The integration of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN with MVE delivers a highly automated, globally scalable networking solution. By hosting Catalyst 8000V instances directly within Megaport’s private SDN, organizations effectively extend their SD-WAN fabric beyond the branch and into the middle mile of their network.

This allows application traffic to remain on private, low-latency infrastructure rather than traversing unpredictable internet paths.

Seamless procurement and operations

• Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect (SDCI): The joint solution can be orchestrated through Cisco vManage, enabling teams to provision MVE instances, manage licensing, and establish cloud connectivity from a single interface.
• Direct orderability: MVE for Catalyst SD-WAN can be ordered directly via Cisco Commerce Workspace (CCW), simplifying procurement and consolidating billing.
• Unified policy framework: Because MVE becomes part of the native SD-WAN overlay, it inherits the same segmentation, security, and application-aware routing policies used across the enterprise.

Use case: global SD-WAN fabric

A distributed enterprise connecting dozens of global branch offices to workloads in AWS and Google Cloud often struggles with performance when relying solely on internet-based VPNs.

By deploying Catalyst SD-WAN on MVE in regional hubs—such as Singapore, Frankfurt, and San Jose—the organization creates a private express lane. Branch traffic reaches the nearest MVE via a short internet on-ramp and remains on Megaport’s private backbone for the remainder of its journey. The result is reduced latency and jitter, improved application experience, and meaningful reductions in cloud egress costs.

A new model for cloud-first networking

Backed by 96 global MVE locations, the Cisco and Megaport partnership gives enterprises unmatched reach and agility, turning global infrastructure into a competitive advantage rather than an operational burden.

Across Meraki, Firepower, and Catalyst portfolios, the Cisco and Megaport partnership places intelligent networking and security services directly on a global private fabric.

For enterprises navigating multicloud complexity, global user bases, and increasing performance expectations, this approach delivers:

• better application performance
• stronger security posture
• simplified operations
• greater architectural flexibility.

The future of networking is no longer about choosing between cloud agility and enterprise control. With Cisco and Megaport, organizations can confidently design for both.