Mist announces Mist Edge, AI-driven support and new Access Points

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Juniper Networks

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Mist, a Juniper Networks company, announced new wireless networking products and services that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to bring simplify IT operations and support. Besides expanding the Mist family with Wi-Fi 6 Access Points, Mist introduces Mist Edge for microservices to the campus and AI-driven support.

AI for AX: New Mist AP43 series

Mist Access Points stand out in the industry for their unique ability to merge Wi-Fi, virtual Bluetooth™ LE (vBLE) and IoT into a platform that is managed via the Mist cloud. Mist now expands this wireless networking family further with new 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Access Points: the AP43 Series.

Mist will apply Artificial Intelligence to the AP43. Sample “AI for AX” features include:

  • Intelligent load-balancing between radios/bands
  • Service levels that monitor and enforce OFDMA subcarrier assignments
  • BSS colouring assignments for high-density Wi-Fi environments
  • Sticky client prevention using AI-driven algorithms

Key features of the Mist AP43 include:

  • 802.11ax w/ dual 5Ghz radios
  • Dedicated dual-band 3rd radio for security, network and location-sensing
  • 802.3bz Multi-Gigabit ethernet uplinks
  • Mist patented virtual BLE antenna array
  • IoT expansion ports

The Mist Edge: Bringing Microservices to the Campus

Managing wireless in the cloud has numerous benefits, but some environments require that specific network functions be handled on-premises due to latency, performance or architecture demands (such as tunnel termination and VLAN tagging). Mist Edge bridges this gap. This new product brings select microservices to the campus while continuing to leverage the Mist cloud and its distributed software architecture for resilient and scalable operations, management, troubleshooting and analytics.

Example Mist Edge use cases:

  • Split tunnelling for guest access vs corporate traffic
  • Seamless roaming for large campus networks (via localized tunnelling)
  • Extending VLANs to distributed branches and telecommuters to replace remote VPN technology
  • Wi-Fi backhaul for IoT devices

AI-driven support for Wireless Networking

Besides AI being used to simplify IT operations, Mist applies Artificial Intelligence technology to disrupt the traditional enterprise support model in the following ways:

  • 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 required, the ticket is automatically routed to tier 3 experts in the Mist TAC. All this happens without the need for reactive customer actions.
  • In the traditional model of calling tier-1 support, users have to convince the person on the phone that an issue actually exists before getting routed to tier 2 (where the process is repeated). In contrast, when a customer or partner calls Mist for support, the Mist engineer answering the phone is already aware of the issue (thanks to Marvis, Mist's AI-driven assistant). This removes the up-front “inquisition” phase. In addition, Marvis provides insight into the problem to the TAC personnel, ensuring a tier-3 level experience from the initial interaction.

Unique Mist AI Support capabilities:

  • Dynamic Packet Capture (dPCAP) automatically collects data when detecting a major issue, minimizing onsite visits for troubleshooting
  • Event correlation using machine learning to help 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.

With the announcement, Mist emphasized that for support their ultimate goal is to 'eliminate the trouble ticket altogether with proactive notifications and self-healing'. In the announcement, Mist stated that 'if that cannot happen, problem resolution should be as fast and painless as possible'.

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