Cloud Field Day 18: Private Data Center as Easy as Cloud

Juniper Networks’ recent presentation at Cloud Field Day 18 showcased their vision for a secure and automated data center ecosystem, leveraging AI to propel data center networking into a new era of simplicity and efficiency. Their approach promises to make the operation of private data centers as effortless as cloud services, optimizing performance while enhancing security. To delve deeper into their cutting-edge strategies for transforming data center management, check out the insights and technological advancements discussed in this blog post.


Taking Private Cloud to the Next Level

In this LinkedIn article, Keith Townsend discusses the potential of automating private data centers to a point where they are indistinguishable from the public cloud for consumers. Using Juniper Networks Apstra’s integration with Terraform as an example, he argues the need for advanced understanding and expertise in both data center networking and automation tools to create a smooth developer experience. Townsend commends the Juniper team on their aggressive and effective demo, while urging for more of such practical integrations in the industry.


Enabling the Magic of Cloud on Premises With Juniper Apstra

As datacenters evolve and become more cutting-edge, operators find it increasingly difficult to overcome operational complexities. Juniper Asptra harnesses the power of AI/ML and intent-based networking to provide an experience that is simple and easy, much like cloud. Read the article at Gestalt IT or watch the demo on the Tech Field Day website.


Cloud Field Day 18: After-Action Perspective From the Delegates

We loved Nathan Bennett’s group Cloud Field Day after-action report video and wrote up an article to go with it at Gestalt IT. The event offered a platform for tech companies to showcase their developments and gain feedback from our delegates. Juniper Networks presenting their AI integration into Apstra, while Mezmo impressed with its telemetry capabilities and user-friendly interface. Long-standing industry player, VMware, was noted for its adaptability in the multi-cloud environment, proving that the evolving tech landscape remains exciting and innovative. Get the delegate reaction to all the presentations in this video!


Cloud Field Day 18 – After Action Report

This “after-action report” is a YouTube video featuring a group of Cloud Field Day delegates discussing the presentations and content from our recent event. Organized by Nathan Bennett, these videos give an immediate and unvarnished look at the presentations.


Juniper Networks at Cloud Field Day 18

At Cloud Field Day this week, Juniper Networks demonstrated their innovative approach towards data center and cloud networking, with an emphasis on their 2020 acquisition of Apstra. The technology presents automation solutions that reduce risk of misconfiguration and speed up the work process for network operators, using features such as intent-based networking, AI-driven insights, and application awareness. According to Eric Wright, the presentations underscored the significance of automation and data-driven optimization in achieving reliable, consistent, and resilient network management, especially in the dynamically evolving landscape of AI and ML.


Juniper Apstra at Cloud Field Day 18

Ken Nalbone reflects on Juniper Apstra’s presentation at Cloud Field Day 18, where they aimed to make the data center as easy as the cloud. He debates the premise of treating data centers and clouds as distinct entities, suggesting that a well-architected and automated infrastructure effectively qualifies as a cloud. He concludes that the use of AI capabilities, supported by integrations such as VMware, Kubernetes, and Terraform, can help meet the adaptive, user-friendly expectations of the modern enterprise.


Cloud Field Day Report: Juniper Networks Delivers Automation for the AI Era

Allyson Klein discusses the Juniper Networks presentation from Cloud Field Day, where they shared their vision for AI-era data center networking, with a focus on operations, openness, and solutions. The talk highlighted the recent acquisition of Apstra, a network automation software designed to simplify and scale network management for IT operators. With demonstrations of a cloud-native management interface and deep dives into AI cluster design and network analytics, Juniper Networks outlined its approach towards streamlining network oversight and responding to new network requirements.


Juniper Networks IaC Apstra

Nathan Bennett takes a deep dive into the challenge of automating the datacenter just like the cloud with Juniper Apstra. Leveraging a detailed demonstration of network orchestration using Terraform, Apstra showed how they can transform networking and speed up digital transformation. Bennett’s write-up gives a step-by-step account of how a fully functional spine and leaf network can be built and even migrated into AWS.


Juniper Apstra at Cloud Field Day 18

In this LinkedIn article, Ken Nalbone reviews Juniper Network’s software product, Apstra, presented at Cloud Field Day 18. Apstra is designed to automate network operations and simplify the management of data center networks. The comprehensive analysis covers the product’s capabilities in intent-based networking and overall ease of use, potentially making it a valuable addition to any organization’s network management toolkit.


Juniper – Building AI Clusters

In this short article, Nathan Bennett discusses how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has hit a bottleneck in performing tasks due to large-scale deployments, which Juniper aims to address by refocusing on compute power. It highlights that each GPU now has a 400G NIC, staggering amounts of networking capacity that were previously unthinkable. Juniper also offers online demonstrations through their cloud laboratory, allowing users to experience their cutting-edge technology without needing any additional hardware or connections.


Private Data Centers vs. Public Cloud: Can Apstra Automation Bridge the Gap?

In this post, Keith Townsend discusses the ongoing debate between private data centers and public clouds, highlighting the role Juniper Apstra Automation could play in bridging the gap. The article underscores Apstra’s ability to create a unified approach to IT operations, reducing operational overhead, and creating a more seamless technology ecosystem. Keith advocates for Apstra Automation as a potential solution to enhance data center efficiency in both private and public cloud environments.


Juniper – Being an Operations Superhero

Navigating through the realms of network automation and AI cluster creation, Juniper Networks delved operations analytics in, focusing on Apstra’s role in facilitating operational understanding. Apstra aids in identifying data sources, running commands to discover network errors, and using a graph database to validate and leverage data for a comprehensive understanding of the entire solution. The data then finds its way to a visually appetizing dashboard, paving the way for s-flow and net-flow data consumption, making Apstra’s data analytics solution an essential tool in comprehending, validating, and visualizing network operations.


Automation, Analytics, and More at Cloud Field Day 18

Announcing Cloud Field Day, streaming live next week! This event is broadcast live on LinkedIn and the Tech Field Day website, and includes presentations from Juniper Networks, Mezmo, Prosimo, and AMD on Wednesday and VMware, WEKA, and Fortinet on Thursday, focusing on automation, data center analytics, and telemetry. Join the conversation about cloud-native networking, application migration, and monitoring strategies during the sessions on October 18th and 19th!


Mist Access Assurance – Mist Cloud NAC Configuration

Writing at ArtofRF, Mohammad Ali discusses Juniper’s cloud NAC solution providing Access Assurance usability without assistance or hand-holding. The article guides the reader through configuring the system with Okta Directory, using EAP-TTLS, and provided visuals on how the flow process works. Ali concluded by sharing his successful experience with setting up EAP-TTLS and EAP-TLS SSIDs in about 4 hours, venerating the cloud NAC solution’s integration with the Mist Dashboard, Geo-redundancy, and resiliency.


Should NAC Services Move to the Cloud?

The enterprise WLAN industry is rapidly moving towards cloud-managed wireless networks, but what about Network Access Control (NAC)? At Mobility Field 9, the shift towards cloud-based NAC solutions was a key topic of discussion. Juniper Networks, after acquiring WiteSand, announced their cloud-native NAC solution called Juniper Mist Access Assurance, which integrates NAC into their Mist cloud platform. The ease of configuration and integration with popular identity providers, such as Microsoft Azure AD, make Mist NAC an attractive option for enterprises looking to streamline their network access control. Read more in this article by Peter Mackenzie.


My Take on Juniper Network Presentation at Mobility Field Day 9

Juniper Networks’ presentation at Mobility Field Day 9 featured improvements and new features in Mist AI that caught Mario Gingras’ attention. Marvis has been upgraded to ingest user experience data from third-party apps like Zoom, which enables it to make predictions and raise alerts for issues with video calls. Next, Juniper Networks introduced a Tri-radio, Tri-band, dual band concurrent AP24 access point, which uses 100% recyclable materials. Finally, Juniper presented Mist Access Assurance (NAC), a feature that integrates network access control in the cloud, which could be a good alternative for a serverless environment with apps in private or public clouds.


Elevating the Zoom Experience With Juniper Networks’ Marvis

Juniper Networks has updated its AI assistant, Marvis, to include Zoom data and ChatGPT to improve its ability to respond to complex networking queries. Marvis combines AI, ML, and data science to expedite operations and optimize user experience. The AI-powered predictive observability offered by Marvis allows users to solve technical errors efficiently, as AI algorithms are trained on billions of datasets, enabling them to magnify nuances long before a problem becomes an anomaly that affects the user experience. Read about it at Gestalt IT or watch the demo on the website.


Cloud NAC?

John Kilpatrick is skeptical of cloud NAC or “RADIUS in the cloud” solutions presented by Juniper and Arista at Mobility Field Day 9. These solutions aim to simplify RADIUS authentication, which has traditionally been complex. Kilpatrick wonders why anyone would adopt cloud NAC, as it involves placing a low-level resource farther from the user and reducing the control of platform dependencies, while also complicating learning and retaining one’s environment’s complexity.


Juniper Unveils Cloud-Native NAC

Mohammad Ali discusses Juniper Networks’ Mist Access Assurance, which was unveiled during Mobility Field Day 9, addressing the complexities associated with NAC solutions by moving it to the cloud, where organizations can simplify the creation and management of authentication policies. The solution also offers prompt identification of issues, allowing helpdesk teams to troubleshoot problems quickly. In addition, the Mist AP24 low-cost access point, which supports tri-band and is small-form-factor, has been added to Juniper Mist’s AP portfolio.