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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Cisco
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Skills this practice test covers
- Explain Meraki licensing, co-termination and renewals, and choose a deployment workflow.
- Design an Auto VPN topology with hub priorities, and plan where a vMX fits.
- Write dynamic path selection policies that steer traffic across WAN uplinks.
- Configure SVIs, routing, 802.1X access policies and traffic shaping on MX and MS devices.
- Set up Systems Manager profiles, MV camera retention and MI application thresholds.
- Troubleshoot wireless clients and Layer 2 and Layer 3 faults with Dashboard tools.
Explore related topics
500-220 exam content
4 domains · 45 topics · 266 of 274 questions sorted by domain
Cisco Meraki Cloud Management15%36 questions
This domain explains how Meraki's cloud management works. Candidates describe the cloud architecture, dashboard and device access, organizational structure and permissions, licensing with co-termination and renewals, and deployment workflows.
Skills tested
- Describe how Meraki devices connect to the cloud and are managed from it.
- Compare dashboard access with local access to a device.
- Set up organizations, networks and administrator permissions for a company.
- Work out a co-termination date and plan license renewals.
- Compare deployment workflows for adding devices to the dashboard.
Questions by topic
- Explain licensing, co-termination, and renewals9
- Explain access methods to dashboard and devices4
- Explain organizational structure, segmentation and permissions7
- Compare deployment workflows10
- Explain Cisco Meraki cloud architecture6
Design30%72 questions
Design shares the top weight with Monitoring and Troubleshooting. Its topics move from the WAN, with Auto VPN, the vMX, dynamic path selection and routing, to enterprise network services, enterprise wireless and the management of endpoint devices and applications.
Skills tested
- Choose a hub-and-spoke or full-mesh Auto VPN topology that scales.
- Decide where a vMX belongs and what it needs when it runs in a public cloud.
- Write dynamic path selection policies for voice and video traffic.
- Design QoS, layer 2 security, firewall and IPS rules, and network access control.
- Plan high-density and guest wireless with MR access points.
Questions by topic
- Design Enterprise wireless services High density wireless deployments6
- Design scalable Meraki Auto VPN architectures9
- Explain deployment consideration for the vMX5
- Compare endpoint device and application management methods Application deployment5
- Design Enterprise network services Redundant networks and high availability10
- Design Enterprise wireless services4
- Design Enterprise network services Applying security at layer 25
- Design dynamic path selection policies6
- Compare endpoint device and application management methods3
- Device enrollment such as supervised and device owner5
- Design Enterprise wireless services MR wireless networks for guest access6
- Design stable, secure, and scalable routing deployments6
- Design Enterprise network services Network access control solutions2
Implementation25%87 questions
This domain is hands-on configuration in the dashboard, one product family at a time. MX appliances get Auto VPN, routing, SD-WAN traffic shaping and threat rules, MS switches get routing, QoS and 802.1X policies, and MR access points get SSIDs, RF profiles and Air Marshal. SM, MV and MI each have their own topic.
Skills tested
- Configure SVIs, static and dynamic routes, Auto VPN and SD-WAN traffic shaping on an MX.
- Replicate one switch's settings to another MS switch, and set QoS and 802.1X access policies.
- Set up enterprise and BYOD SSIDs, RF profiles and Air Marshal on MR access points.
- Enroll devices in SM, push management profiles and security policies, and apply Sentry.
- Choose how long MV cameras keep video and when they alert, and set MI thresholds per application.
Questions by topic
- Configuring MS switches Access policies and 802.1x6
- Configuring MX security appliances Traffic shaping and SD-WAN8
- Configuring SM endpoint management Sentry for Meraki managed deployments6
- Configuring MR wireless access points SSIDs for Enterprise and BYOD deployments5
- Configuring MR wireless access points Air Marshal6
- Configuring MV security cameras Camera video and alerting6
- Configuring MS switches QoS using Meraki switching networks7
- Replicate a switch configuration5
- Configuring SM endpoint management Security policies11
- Configuring MS switches SVI, dynamic routing and static routes6
- Configuring MX security appliances Threat protection and content filtering rules5
- Configuring MS switches5
- Configuring MI application assurance5
- Compare endpoint device and application management methods Application deployment1
- Configuring MX security appliances SVI, dynamic routing and static routes4
- Design Enterprise network services Redundant networks and high availability1
Monitoring and Troubleshooting30%71 questions
This domain covers the network after deployment. Candidates read alerts, SNMP, syslog, NetFlow and reports in Dashboard, use the dashboard API, explain firmware upgrades, and troubleshoot with Dashboard tools, device local status pages, Security Center and Meraki Insight.
Skills tested
- Configure alerts and read logs and reports in Dashboard.
- Pull status and change settings through the dashboard API instead of the web pages.
- Plan firmware upgrades so that they cause the least disruption.
- Diagnose switching, routing and Wi-Fi client faults from the tools in Dashboard.
- Use Security Center to look into threats, and Meraki Insight to find why an application is slow.
Questions by topic
- Troubleshooting Enterprise networks Layer 2 technologies using Dashboard7
- Describe how to use the dashboard API to monitor and maintain networks12
- Application performance issues using Meraki Insight5
- Explain firmware upgrades5
- Wireless client connectivity issues using Dashboard15
- Device local status pages5
- Security threats using Security Center5
- Interpret information from monitoring and reporting tools10
- Troubleshooting Enterprise networks Layer 3 technologies using Dashboard5
- Explain access methods to dashboard and devices1
- Explain deployment consideration for the vMX1
Requirements
- No formal prerequisites: anyone can book the exam.
- Recommended: networking knowledge at the level of CCNA.
- Recommended: active work designing, deploying, scaling, configuring and managing enterprise networks.
- Recommended: experience with IPsec and related VPN technologies.
About the 500-220 exam
Cisco's 500-220 exam measures whether an engineer can design, deploy, monitor and troubleshoot networks built on Cisco Meraki and run from the Meraki cloud dashboard. Its full title is Engineering Cisco Meraki Solutions (ECMS). Besides MX security appliances, MS switches and MR wireless access points, it covers MV security cameras, SM endpoint management and MI application assurance. A pass leads to the Cisco Meraki Solutions Specialist certification.
Implementation has the most questions in the PlanetCert practice test, with settings for every Meraki product line. Each explanation ties the answer to the Dashboard setting behind it, such as an Auto VPN hub priority or an RF profile. Timed Mode suits Monitoring and Troubleshooting, where a question describes a fault and asks for the next step. Brainy AI Assistant can walk through co-termination licensing or explain how dynamic path selection picks an uplink.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- Cisco Meraki Solutions SpecialistSpecialist
The specialist certification stays valid for three years.
- Before
- 200-301 Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
Recommended. Meraki design questions assume CCNA-level routing, switching and VPN knowledge.
- 200-301 Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
- After
- 350-401 Implementing and Operating Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies (ENCOR)
Cisco's enterprise core exam and the next step for engineers aiming at CCNP Enterprise.
- 350-401 Implementing and Operating Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies (ENCOR)
How to prepare for 500-220
- 1
Get hands-on dashboard time
Work in a Meraki dashboard with real or demo networks. Claim devices, build an organization with networks and administrators, and note how licensing and co-termination appear.
- 2
Design Auto VPN on paper first
Sketch hub-and-spoke and full-mesh Auto VPN layouts with hub priorities, place a vMX in a cloud provider's network, and write the dynamic path selection rules for voice and video.
- 3
Configure each product family once
Every Meraki product family has an Implementation topic. Configure at least one named feature in each, such as RF profiles, switch configuration replication or MV retention.
- 4
Troubleshoot from Dashboard only
Monitoring and Troubleshooting shares the top weight. Solve client, Layer 2 and Layer 3 problems using Dashboard tools, local status pages, Security Center and Meraki Insight.
- 5
Time the full practice test
Take the 500-220 practice test in Timed Mode after each domain has had a Study Mode pass. Ask Brainy AI Assistant to explain any missed Auto VPN or licensing question.
Start a timed 500-220run
The two official courses are Engineering Cisco Meraki Solutions Part 1 and Part 2.
Who 500-220 is for
- Network engineers who deploy and run Meraki networks for a company or its customers.
- Wireless and security engineers responsible for MR access points and MX appliances.
- Technical consultants who plan Meraki rollouts, from licensing through handover.
Typical job titles: Network engineer · Systems engineer · Wireless network engineer · Security engineer · Solutions architect · Technical consultant
500-220 glossary
18 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- 802.1X
- Port- or SSID-based access control in which a RADIUS server checks each client before it gets on the network.
- Air Marshal
- Meraki's wireless intrusion system on MR access points, which finds rogue access points and can block clients from joining them.
- Auto VPN
- Meraki site-to-site VPN that the cloud sets up between MX appliances, with no manual tunnel or key settings.
- Band steering
- An MR setting that nudges clients able to use both bands toward 5 GHz, which usually has more room.
- Co-termination
- A Meraki licensing model that gives every license in an organization the same expiry date.
- Content filtering
- MX rules that block chosen web categories or sites.
- Dashboard API
- A REST interface to the Meraki dashboard, so scripts can read and change organization and network settings.
- Device local status pages
- Status pages that a Meraki device serves on the LAN, so it can be checked even when it has no cloud connection.
- Dynamic path selection
- MX SD-WAN policies that send each kind of traffic over the uplink that meets its performance needs.
- Group policies
- Named sets of rules, such as bandwidth limits or firewall rules, that apply to chosen clients or devices.
- Hub priorities
- The order in which a spoke MX prefers its Auto VPN hubs, used for routing and failover.
- Meraki Insight
- The MI product that measures application and WAN performance and flags slow applications.
- RF profiles
- Reusable radio settings for groups of MR access points, such as which bands to use and how wide each channel is.
- Security Center
- The dashboard page that lists threats detected by MX appliances, such as intrusion and malware events.
- Sentry
- Meraki features that link Systems Manager enrollment with MX and MR settings, for example to give enrolled devices Wi-Fi or VPN access.
- Systems Manager
- Meraki's endpoint management product, shown in the exam topics as SM.
- Traffic shaping
- Rules that limit bandwidth or set the priority of applications on MX appliances and MR access points.
- vMX
- The software version of an MX, run as a virtual machine in AWS or Azure, so that cloud workloads can join the Auto VPN.
Related practice tests
- 300-535Automating and Programming Cisco Service Provider Solutions (SPAUTO)
- 200-901CCNA Automation (DevNet Associate)
- 200-201CCNA Cybersecurity (CyberOps Associate)
- 200-301Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
- 300-420Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks (ENSLD)