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Onboard Switches to Mist Cloud

Note:

Ignore the steps in this topic if your switches are already onboarded to the Mist cloud.

To configure and manage a switch through Juniper Mist cloud, you must ensure that the switch is added to the Mist cloud. To see the switch models supported by Mist, visit Juniper Mist Supported Hardware.

You can add greenfield or brownfield switches to the Mist cloud.

In this context, greenfield switches are new cloud-ready switches, while brownfield switches are the switches that are being brought into the Juniper Mist cloud architecture from a previous deployment.

Switch Onboarding Prerequisites

Before you onboard a switch:

  • Ensure that you have a Juniper Mist Wired Assurance Subscription, and login credentials for the Juniper Mist portal. To get started with Mist, follow the instructions in Quick Start: Mist.

  • Ensure that the switch is connected to a DNS server (an NTP server is also recommended), and is able to connect to the Juniper Mist cloud architecture over the Internet.

  • If there is a firewall between the cloud and the switch, allow outbound access on TCP port 2200 to the management port of the switch.

Onboard a Greenfield Switch

You can onboard a single greenfield, cloud-ready switch to the Mist cloud via the Mist AI Mobile App. However, if want to onboard multiple cloud-ready switches together, you can do that via the Juniper Mist portal, by using the activation code associated with the purchase order.

To onboard a greenfield switch, follow the instructions in Quick Start: Cloud-Ready EX and QFX Switches with Mist.

For a quick demo, watch the following video:

Onboarding a Greenfield CloudReady EX switch is simple. In your inventory page, find the Switches tab. Click on Claim Switches.

Type in your switch's unique claim code, which can be found near the QR code at the front of the switch. Alternatively, you can also enter an activation code, which pulls all your newly purchased Juniper hardware from one order, rather than adding individual switch codes. Add and check for your desired settings, such as site assignment and configuration management.

Click Claim, and the switch has been added to the site. The EX3400 has been added. In the site view, you should see the switch appropriately assigned.

Notice that red indicates the switch is offline, but will turn green once it comes online. The switch is cloud-managed and accounted for as part of the health metrics above.

Onboard a Brownfield Switch

It is important to back up your existing Junos OS configuration on the switch before activating a brownfield switch because when the switch is adopted for management from the Juniper Mist cloud, the old configuration is replaced. Back up your existing Junos OS configuration by running the request system configuration rescue save command, which saves the currently active configuration and any installation-specific parameters.

In this procedure, you will make a few configuration changes to the Juniper Mist portal, and some to the switch using the Junos OS CLI. Be sure you can log in to both systems.

To onboard a brownfield switch to the Mist cloud:

  1. Log in to your organization on the Juniper Mist cloud and then click Organization > Inventory in the menu.
  2. Select Switches at the top of the page that appears, and then click the Adopt Switch button in the upper-right corner to generate the Junos OS CLI commands needed for the interoperability. The commands create a Juniper Mist user account, and a SSH connection to the Juniper Mist cloud over TCP port 2200 (the switch connection is from a management interface and is used for configuration settings and sending telemetry data).
    Figure 1: The Switch Adoption Page The Switch Adoption Page
  3. In the page that appears, click Copy to Clipboard to get the commands from the Juniper Mist cloud.
  4. Log in to the switch via Junos OS CLI.
  5. In the CLI, type edit to start configuration mode, and then paste the commands you just copied (type top if you are not already at the base level of the hierarchy).
  6. If you want to add a system message, use the following command:
  7. You can confirm your updates on the switch by running show commands at the [system services] level of the hierarchy, and again at the [system login user juniper-mist] level of the hierarchy.
  8. Run the commit command to save the configuration.
  9. On the Juniper Mist portal, click Organization > Inventory > Switches and select the switch you just added.
  10. Click the More drop-down list at the top of the page, and then click the Assign to Site button.
  11. In the page that appears, choose which site you want to assign the switch to, and then select Manage configuration with Mist.

For a quick demo, watch the following video:

Adopting switches for brownfield environments only takes a few steps. In Organization, look for the Inventory tab and toggle to Switches. Click on Adopt Switches.

This brings up a clipboard of CLI commands to copy and paste into the console of a switch. Put in the config and commit it in the switch. Ensure that TCP port 2200 is open to the internet.

This allows for the switch to communicate with the Juniper Mist cloud. Check that it is connected properly by entering Show System Connection to see an established TCP session. Going back to the dashboard, you can see the EX switch online and fully cloud-managed.

Templates will also be inherited when you enable Configuration Management. Don't forget to save. Now you're good to go.

Adopting an EX switch to the Juniper Mist cloud from a brownfield environment is a straightforward process. Now you have the power and simplicity of a cloud-managed solution for your EX switches.