Mist Systems, a Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) company, announced new products and services that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to bring simplicity, flexibility, and scale to IT operations and support. These additions, which include new 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Access Points (APs), the new Mist Edge and the industry’s first AI-driven support model for IT, advance the company’s goal of building AI-driven enterprises that leverage automation and insight to lower IT costs, maximize end-user experiences and ensure network infrastructure as a key enabler for strategic business initiatives.
The Mist platform is a cornerstone of Juniper’s strategy for delivering the AI-driven enterprise. By leveraging several core architectural advantages, including a microservices cloud architecture with abstracted control, automated workflows, an integrated AI engine and a robust product portfolio that spans the wireless LAN, wired LAN, WAN and security domains, Juniper is bringing simplicity and scale to IT while delivering the best possible end-user experiences. The company is expanding on these pillars to bring even more value to the AI-driven enterprise with the following new Mist products and services:
AI for AX
The company is expanding its family of APs with the new Mist AP43, the first cloud-managed 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) access point with integrated AI-driven automation and insight.†
The 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard introduces several new innovations to wireless networking that expand the throughput, performance, and capacity of traditional WLANs. However, expanding networks can also create new complexity. The Mist AP43 (coupled with the Mist AI-driven cloud) simplifies 802.11ax operations through automation and maximizes the value of these environments with proactive resources and client management.
Unique Mist “AI for AX” features include:
- Intelligent load balancing between radios/bands
- Service levels that monitor and enforce orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) subcarrier assignments
- Basic Service Set (BSS) coloring assignments for high-density Wi-Fi environments
- Sticky client prevention using AI-driven algorithms
“Since inception, the Mist family of access points has stood out in the industry for its unique ability to merge Wi-Fi, virtual Bluetooth LE (vBLE) and the Internet of Things (IoT) into a cost-effective and scalable platform that is managed via the Mist cloud,” said Sudheer Matta, Vice President of Products at Mist. “In addition, Mist has led the industry in the usage of AI to deliver mobile user experiences. As the industry transitions to 802.11ax, these same architectural advantages will continue to differentiate Mist from the competition and drive enhanced value to our customers.”†
Pricing for the AP43 lists at $1585.
Mist Edge: Extending Microservices to the Campus
Mist Edge extends Juniper’s microservices architecture on-premises, bringing the agility of a distributed software architecture to campus environments that require network functions to be delivered locally for high-bandwidth, low-latency applications.
Sample use cases for Mist Edge include:
- Split tunneling for guest access and corporate traffic
- Seamless roaming for large campus networks through on-premises tunnel termination of traffic to/from access points
- Extending virtual LANs (VLANs) to distributed branches and telecommuters to replace remote virtual private network (VPN) technology
- Dynamic traffic segmentation for IoT devices
“Connecting APs directly to the cloud is perfect for our retail stores, but we needed a hybrid approach for our corporate campus,” said the network manager of a global telecommunications provider. “Mist Edge is the perfect solution as it allows us to take advantage of the software agility of a microservices architecture without disrupting our existing network design, delivering the best of both worlds.”
Mist Edge is currently available as a standalone appliance with multiple form factors, supporting various ranges of APs, respectively. Virtual machine and third-party hosted instances of Mist Edge will be available soon.
AI-Driven Support
In addition to leveraging AI to simplify IT operations, Mist is also using AI to disrupt the traditional enterprise support model with proactive notifications, automation, AI-driven insight, and streamlined help-desk processes. AI-driven support is a networking industry-first. Mist customer support teams utilize the Mist AI engine to proactively reduce time-to-problem resolution to create a satisfying customer experience. These customer support cases are then fed back into the Mist AI engine to continually enhance its capability and functionality.
Mist customers and partners all benefit from the following unique capabilities:†
- Dynamic Packet Capture (dPCAP) automatically collects information when detecting an anomaly, minimizing onsite visits for troubleshooting
- A rich AI toolbox helps to identify the root cause of problems quickly (across wireless, wired and device domains)
- Service Level Expectations (SLEs) for key wired/wireless criteria can be set, monitored and enforced by customers and partners, and automated workflows quickly address issues
- Marvis Virtual Network Assistant (VNA) provides trending insight, recommendations on how to fix problems and other integrated help-desk functions using natural language queries and AI-driven intelligence †
Leveraging the above, Mist is able to notify customers and partners proactively when issues are detected, enabling rapid problem resolution. If the issue persists and live support is needed, the trouble ticket is automatically routed to tier 3 experts in the Mist TAC. This allows customers and partners to bypass the inefficiencies of traditional IT support models and immediately escalate their issues to the necessary individuals.
“It is absolutely incredible, and quite refreshing, to work with a networking vendor that actually notifies you proactively when something doesn’t look right,” said Daniel Weissman, Director of IT at Casino M8trix. “This Mist support model is a beacon for the industry and a must-have for organizations that are responsible for 24-hour operations with streamlined staff.”
“Red River is always looking for opportunities to enhance and automate our support services offerings to ensure the best possible customer experience,” said Alan Dumas, CRO at Red River. “Mist’s novel use of AI for proactive first-level support is a key element upon which solution providers like Red River can build a robust wireless service offering.”
AI-driven support comes standard with Mist cloud service subscriptions, which include Wi-Fi Assurance, Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, User Engagement and Asset Visibility.
