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.
Navigating Arista CV-CUE
This article by Mohammad Ali provides an in-depth look into Arista Networks’ user interface, with a focus on AGNI, UPSK (WPA3), WIPS, and MFR. Exploring the product after Mobility Field Day, Ali covers the navigation system and the primary features, such as Wi-Fi Device Registration and Packets. With step-by-step explanations and screen shots, the author provides valuable insight into the Arista CV-CUE system, from configuring areas like CV-CUE Hierarchy, Folders and Floors, Moving Access Points to understanding the concept of “Groups”.
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.
Arista AP-W318 – What’s in a Box
Arista recently unveiled their AP-W318 hospitality wall-plate AP, and this article by Mohammad Ali provides insight into the box contents and capabilities of their hardware. With support for 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz Wi-Fi, the AP-W318 offers dependable wireless connectivity. Visit the link for more details and to engage in further discussions about this access point.
Cross Training for Career Completeness
The importance of cross-training with different technology disciplines is emphasized in a thought-provoking blog post by Tom Hollingsworth. Drawing inspiration from martial artist Bruce Lee, the author highlights the value of incorporating new skills and knowledge into one’s expertise to stay relevant in the ever-evolving tech industry. Using the example of wireless engineers understanding the bigger security picture, the article encourages professionals to embrace cross-training and see the bigger picture to have a successful and prolonged career.
Introducing FortiAIOPs 2.0 at Mobility Field Day 9
Fortinet introduced FortiAIOps 2.0 at Mobility Field Day 9, combining troubleshooting tools with network insights to simplify network management and enhance security. The solution provides various tools for quick issue resolution, network performance insights, automation of network operations, and predictive analytics to prevent potential problems. Troy Martin was impressed that it is built for different-sized customer networks, and that flexible licenses are available to match specific needs.
Meraki in the Enterprise ASTERISK
In this article, Sam Clements discusses the evolution of Meraki and its suitability for enterprise deployment. He highlights that over the years, Meraki has addressed various concerns, such as external antennas, firmware update controls, RF profiles, high gain antennas, and operating temperature. He also notes that with the integration of the Catalyst portfolio, Meraki now offers monitoring and insights for Catalyst 9800 WLCs through the dashboard, hinting at a potential future for configuration capabilities. Clements suggests that those who may have previously had reservations about Meraki should reconsider, as the platform continues to evolve and align with enterprise requirements.
MFD9 – Arista Lights Up Their Session With AGNI
At Mobility Field Day 9, Arista presented their Cognitive Campus architecture, including Arista Guardian for Network Identity (AGNI), which offers a cloud NAC solution that provides all the features of a modern architecture while maintaining scalability and security with multi-vendor support. Arista also announced UPSK, which can isolate clients or mark a shared resource, and a WIPS solution that uses different frames to force a target client to disconnect from an unauthorized WPA3 SSID using the multi-function radio integrated into all the Arista access points. Read this article by Mohammad Ali to learn more.
Cisco Introduce a Directional WIFI 6E Low Power Indoor (LPI) Access Point
Cisco introduced the Catalyst 9166D1 access point that delivers the required performance for high-density environments with its internal directional antenna feature, unlike the omnidirectional antenna access point provided by current regulation policies for Wi-Fi 6e deployment. The access point gives the same coverage pattern as previous products using a 6 dBi directional antenna but with fewer bulky cables and accessories, providing a more aesthetically pleasing solution for WLAN installations. Read this article by Mario Gingras to learn more!
Netally Introduce Cyberscope
NetAlly presented their latest product, CyberScope, at Mobility Field Day, and Mario Gingras reviewed it in this post. CyberScope is a portable security scanning tool that simplifies NMAP technology into one powerful tool, dramatically reducing the time it takes to run a scan. The product is the perfect tool for security professionals to quickly have a complete picture of their network security, with real-time data displayed on a user-friendly interface. CyberScope has a user-friendly interface and is suitable for both security professionals and non-security professionals to identify their network vulnerabilities and quickly patch anything that comes up.
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.
Cisco Wireless and a Common Management Strategy With Meraki Dashboard
The Meraki Dashboard provides Cisco with high levels of observability into its clients’ networks, giving the company access to data from 12 million online Meraki devices. Designed to be as automated as possible, the platform can perform sophisticated comparisons and assist in making predictive analyses while allowing the company to troubleshoot numerous networking issues easily. With its new business unit, Cisco Wireless, Cisco is focused on having a common management strategy, allowing it to deliver a more comprehensive and seamless experience across the Meraki and Catalyst wireless platforms. Read about the transition of the Meraki Dashboard through the years at Gestalt IT or watch the demo on the website.
Overcoming the Uncomfortable Aspects of Network Identity Management With Arista Networks’ CloudVision AGNI
Arista Networks presented its AI-driven NAC solution CloudVision AGNI at Mobility Field Day, hoping to achieve its potential for zero-trust security. AGNI expands Arista’s flagship CloudVision solution with features such as secure onboarding, dynamic access control, and AI-driven policy enforcement, among others. Built from scratch in the cloud, the solution embodies modern cloud-first principles, and it has a modern microservices architecture that delivers elastic scalability from tens to thousands of devices in a few clicks, self-service style onboarding for wireless with single sign-on (SSO), and reduced average deployment time from weeks to hours. Read more in this article by Sulagna Saha, and watch the entire presentation on the Tech Field Day website!
Cisco Does the “AFC Side Step” With the CW9166D1
In this post, Troy Martin discusses the new Cisco CW9166D1 access point shown at Mobility Field Day. A redesign of the CW9166i front end, the CW9166D1 features an integrated directional antenna and some new tricks related to AFC. The integrated antenna enables directional focused antennas to be implemented without additional hardware costs. The CW9166D1 is capable of running in dual 5GHz mode and waiting to enable the 6GHz radio once client support reaches critical mass.
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.
“So I Put the Directional Antenna IN the AP.”
Cisco’s Mobility Field Day 9 saw the unveiling of its 9166D1 directional antenna, which can substitute for traditional external antennas in almost any indoor application. The antenna design proves the company’s RF design skills, with additional features such as easier connectivity for Cat 6A patch cables. Fred Niehaus, TME at Cisco, highlighted the company’s 9166D1 as a simple, feasible solution for 6GHz and Wi-Fi 6 antennae, which eliminates the need for external antennae in most indoor applications and can be an affordable resource to resolve issues of connectivity, capacity and coverage. Read on for Field Day delegate John Kilpatrick’s thoughts on Cisco’s new access point design.
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.
Fortinet Takes on Even Bigger Challenges With FortiAIOps V2.0
The world has moved on from training humans to code to teaching computers to do it themselves. Fortinet’s FortiAIOps v2.0 is a fine specimen of that. Powered by more advanced AI, the new version of FortiAIOps offers broad monitoring capabilities, deep analytics, and sophisticated troubleshooting tools. Read about it on Gestalt IT or watch the demo on the website.
Analyzing Wi-Fi on Site With NetAlly CyberScope
As technology advances, network security for modern architectures must prioritize their legacy applications to support endless use cases while accommodating more dispersed and transitory users than ever with BYOD, utility management, digital signage, and the continuous expansion of new devices joining the network. NetAlly’s CyberScope offers sophisticated deep dive capabilities into device attributes, unauthorized endpoint discovery and easy-to-spot errors and failures allowing technicians to locate and analyze Wi-Fi site assessments on one all-in-one portable analyzer. Network managers can use CyberScope’s visibility to perform real-time security analysis, enabling them to stay updated and manage the network in a more efficient and secure manner with total visibility of the system. Read about it on Gestalt IT or watch NetAlly’s presentation of the solution on the website.
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.
