Juniper Mist WLAN Architecture and Deployment
Juniper Mist WLAN Architecture and Deployment
This domain tests the split between the Mist cloud control/management plane and the data plane, plus the practical steps to bring APs and Mist Edge into service.
Control plane versus data plane
Mist is a microservices cloud. APs run a Mist agent, pull configuration from the cloud, and stream telemetry (statistics, SLE inputs, location data, on-demand packet captures) back to it. Management traffic is outbound HTTPS to Mist endpoints; no on-premises controller is required. Mist Edge is an on-premises or cloud-hosted VM/appliance that terminates the AP data tunnel for L2 extension, cross-subnet roaming, guest portal, and local-breakout designs.
Deployment sequence
- Claim the AP in the organization inventory with its claim code and assign it to a site.
- Set the site country code before APs boot, then apply RF and WLAN templates.
- Provide DHCP, DNS, NTP, and outbound HTTPS/443 reachability to Mist.
- WLANs are organization objects, assigned to sites directly or through WLAN templates; templates scale many sites and are edited at the template level.
Worked example
A retail chain wants one guest SSID tunneled to a DMZ but corporate traffic to stay local. Set the site to bridged (local breakout), create the guest WLAN with Mist Edge enabled, leave the corporate WLAN untunneled, and place both in a WLAN template applied to all stores. Mist Edge carries only the guest data path; AP management still goes to the cloud.
Traps
Mist Edge is not a management controller and must not sit in the management path. A wrong or unset country code leaves radios down. Editing a template changes every site it touches. Also remember that tunneled SSIDs need Mist Edge HA sizing, while bridged SSIDs do not.