Juniper bolsters enterprise networks with Mist AI tech

Contrail multi-cloud software also given data centre monitoring and analytics feature

Almost half a year after acquiring AI networking outfit Mist Systems for a cool $405 million, Juniper Networks has announced the next set of Mist AI integrations into the company’s network and hybrid cloud monitoring platform.

Mist’s cloud-based AI wireless service, WiFI Assurance, will be added to Juniper’s platform as a subscription offering. The service uses network data to make wireless networks more reliable, and centres around an AI-powered virtual network assistant called Marvis that uses dynamic packet capture and machine learning technology to automatically identify, adapt and fix network issues.

The main idea is that Mist’s AI WiFI networking will be spread across wired environments too, creating a single interface for network automation and root cause analysis. The assistant supports third-party switches, enabling it to identify inactive or missing VLANs and establish firmware compliance. It can also automatically resolve network issues or provide IT admins recommended courses of action, depending on the scenario.

“We didn’t acquire a wireless company, we acquired an AI company that delivers that value through wireless,” said Michael Bushong, vice president of software products and solutions for Juniper, told CRN.

Juniper has also laced its Contrail Enterprise Multicloud software, which monitors workloads and servers deployed across multiple cloud vendor’s infrastructure, with data centre analytics. The new feature, called Contrail Insights, aims to help customers better understand data centre network overlay-underlay correlation and multi-tenant resource usage, the company said. It does this with machine learning historical data, streaming analytics, diagnostics and visualisations.

“As enterprises increasingly look to automate their data center and glean insight from their networks, visibility and telemetry become key to supporting a reliable data center network,” said Alan Weckel, founder and technology analyst, 650 Group. “With Contrail Insights, Juniper is building off the momentum of Contrail Enterprise Multicloud to provide real-time telemetry and analytics across the data center network in a single pane of glass for improved network reliability and user experience.”