NOC LIVE · 24/7/365 ⬢ MICROSOFT PARTNER · MPN 3318934 📍 NASHVILLE TN · NATIONWIDE SERVICE ⚡ EST. 2003 · 23+ YEARS NOC LIVE · 24/7/365 ⬢ MICROSOFT PARTNER · MPN 3318934 📍 NASHVILLE TN · NATIONWIDE SERVICE ⚡ EST. 2003 · 23+ YEARS
Service 04 of 09

Network Engineering.

Cisco/Meraki wired and wireless design, VLAN segmentation, firewall configuration, IPSec/SSL VPN, and SD-WAN.

Network engineering at Maverick covers the design, build, and ongoing operation of your wired and wireless infrastructure. We design with Cisco and Meraki gear, segment with VLANs, secure with next-gen firewalls, and connect remote workers with ZTNA or IPSec VPN. Every network is documented, monitored 24/7, and built so a single failure doesn't take you offline.

Design that lasts five years, not five months

Most SMB networks were built one switch and one access point at a time — never designed, just accumulated. The result is a topology nobody can draw on a whiteboard, VLAN tags that drift over time, Wi-Fi dead zones that nobody addresses because "it usually works in this corner," and a firewall configured by whoever bought it.

Maverick designs networks the way an electrician would design a panel: deliberate, documented, and built with future load in mind. We work with the office layout, count user density per room, plan PoE budgets, place access points based on actual signal modeling (not guesswork), and document every VLAN, subnet, and port assignment.

What we build

Wired switching

Cisco Catalyst or Meraki MS series, sized for your endpoint count plus 30% growth. Layer-3 capable at the core, PoE+ at the access layer for cameras, phones, and access points. Spanning Tree configured correctly so a misplugged cable doesn't take down the LAN.

Wireless

Meraki MR or Cisco access points placed by survey, not by ceiling tile geometry. Separate SSIDs for corporate, BYOD, guest, and IoT — each on its own VLAN with appropriate ACLs. Band steering, fast roaming, and DFS channels used properly. Captive portal for guest with bandwidth caps.

Firewall and perimeter

Next-gen firewall (Meraki MX, Cisco Firepower, or Fortinet) with active subscriptions: AMP, IPS, content filtering, geo-blocking. Site-to-site VPN to remote offices. SSL VPN or ZTNA for remote workers.

SD-WAN

For multi-site clients we deploy SD-WAN over multiple WAN circuits (fiber + LTE backup). Application-aware routing keeps voice and video on the best path while bulk traffic uses the bigger pipe. Sub-second failover when a circuit goes down.

What's Included

  • Network discovery + topology documentation — Visio diagrams, IP plan, port maps
  • VLAN design separating production, voice, cameras, IoT, guest, BYOD
  • Wireless site survey — heatmaps, AP placement, channel planning
  • Firewall configuration — rules, NAT, VPN, threat-prevention subscriptions
  • Switching deployment — Cisco Catalyst or Meraki MS, stacked or standalone
  • Access point deployment — Meraki MR or Cisco, ceiling-mount with PoE
  • SD-WAN for multi-site or hybrid-cloud connectivity
  • Remote access — IPSec VPN, SSL VPN, or ZTNA (Cloudflare, Twingate, ZScaler)
  • 24/7 monitoring with proactive alerts on link, AP, or switch issues
  • Firmware management — coordinated updates outside business hours

Our Tech Stack for Network Engineering

We are vendor-aligned with the platforms our engineers actually trust in production. Here is what powers this service line:

Cisco Meraki
Cloud-managed SD-WAN/Wi-Fi
Cisco Catalyst
Enterprise switching
Fortinet FortiGate
Next-gen firewall
Cloudflare ZTNA
Zero-trust remote access
Ubiquiti UniFi
Small-site option
PRTG / Auvik
Monitoring

When You Need This

You need professional network design when:

  • You're building, renovating, or expanding office space
  • Wi-Fi has dead zones, drops calls, or can't handle current device counts
  • You're adding camera systems, VoIP phones, or other PoE devices in volume
  • You're subject to compliance requirements that demand documented segmentation
  • Your current firewall is end-of-life or out of subscription
  • You can't draw your own network topology on a whiteboard
  • You're consolidating offices, opening new ones, or moving

Common Questions About Network Engineering

Cisco vs. Meraki vs. Ubiquiti — which is right for us?

Depends on size and management preference. Ubiquiti UniFi is excellent for small offices (under 30 users) where cost matters. Meraki is our default for SMB and mid-market — cloud-managed, fully featured, easy to support remotely. Cisco Catalyst is the choice for enterprise environments or specific compliance requirements. We make the call after seeing your environment.

How long does a network refresh take?

A typical SMB network refresh — new firewall, core switch, 10 to 20 access points, full VLAN redesign — runs 2 to 4 weeks from order to cutover. We pre-stage and configure equipment in our office, then deploy on-site in evening or weekend windows to minimize business disruption.

Do we need SD-WAN?

You need SD-WAN if you have multiple offices, heavy cloud usage, or applications that punish jitter (VoIP, video conferencing, real-time SaaS). Single-site clients with one decent internet connection and a fiber backup do not need SD-WAN — they need a properly configured firewall with WAN failover.

How do you handle guest Wi-Fi without exposing internal network?

Guest Wi-Fi runs on its own SSID, its own VLAN, its own DHCP scope, and gets firewall rules that block all traffic to internal subnets. Typically we add a captive portal with terms-of-use acceptance, bandwidth caps so one guest can't saturate the connection, and DNS filtering to block obvious malware and inappropriate content.

Ready to talk about Network Engineering? Call 615-274-9555 or download the free assessment form. We respond in five business days with a written report — no obligation.