How much of vendor AI is just marketing hype versus real AI

Ever since AI became popular, everyone seems to claim they have AI or ML capabilities. I’m starting to cringe at phrases like AIOps and AI-Native. It feels like everything is labeled as AI. After a while, vendor marketing starts to sound the same. But when you try out these solutions, it often becomes clear that much of it is just smoke and mirrors.

I’m really tired of all the marketing buzzwords.

Did you also get that Juniper email?

It used to be all about 5G. Before that, it was 3D. I wonder what the next marketing trend will be with just two characters lol

Wren said:
Did you also get that Juniper email?

It used to be all about 5G. Before that, it was 3D. I wonder what the next marketing trend will be with just two characters lol

I worked at Juniper and was skeptical about the ML claims after we acquired Mist. Surprisingly, the claims were somewhat valid. It’s not perfect, but it does help with troubleshooting. For example, if it detects DNS request latency spikes, it alerts you that user experience could be suffering.

I’ve seen many real-world examples where it helped narrow down issues quickly.

Currently, it won’t do anything magical for your network, but it can assist a lot with troubleshooting if it’s implemented well.

@Noel
My concern is whether this is truly ML. Aruba was already doing similar detection for DNS, DHCP, and ARP with Clarity back in 2016/17. They all provide alerts differently, but to me, it seems more scripted than actual ML.

@Kemper
I have a guarantee from the CEO that we’re using twice as many if statements.

Dallas said:
@Kemper
I have a guarantee from the CEO that we’re using twice as many if statements.

LOL!

@Kemper
Yes, for instance, Aruba’s Clarity module works on raw event counts while Mist uses ARIMA modeling to filter out trends from the data to detect anomalies.

@Noel
Mist AI feels magical. When I worked at Cisco, everyone was worried because Meraki couldn’t compare to the simplicity of Mist AP.

Toryn said:
@Noel
Mist AI feels magical. When I worked at Cisco, everyone was worried because Meraki couldn’t compare to the simplicity of Mist AP.

That’s just good UX design. You could say the same for Ubiquiti, and there‘s no AI magic, just Apple-inspired locked-down UX.

@Ira
Are you a wireless engineer? Mist was a game-changer. It uses machine learning and analytics to optimize network performance and troubleshoot issues. Its Virtual Network Assistant (VNA) proactively identifies and resolves problems, making it efficient and self-healing compared to traditional Wi-Fi solutions. No one else uses AI in troubleshooting to the extent Mist does, and the interface is well-designed. I’ve tried UniFi, and in comparison, it feels inferior for enterprise solutions.

@Toryn
Can you share real-world examples where Mist’s magic was genuinely AI?

I’m not saying it’s ineffective; I just pointed out that both have solid UX design (even Meraki, before Cisco changed it).

Yes, I’m a wireless engineer, and my job is essentially to promote AI for my company.

@Ira
Actually AI? I guess all this Marvis Documentation

You can debate about true AI all you want.

@Toryn
Juniper is an enterprise solution, and UniFi is consumer-level stuff.

@Noel
Yes, Mist is impressive. HPE invested billions into it.

Wren said:
Did you also get that Juniper email?

It used to be all about 5G. Before that, it was 3D. I wonder what the next marketing trend will be with just two characters lol

Let’s not forget about 4GL programming, cloud computing, quantum computing, blockchain, and VR/AR. All were real and had potential, but none matched the hype.

@Darwin
And don’t forget blockchain.

@Darwin
I’m talking specifically about Juniper’s marketing, but generally, yes. Just lots of buzzword nonsense.

@Darwin
It took a while to emerge, but Ekahau’s Autopilot and Just Go features use AR and are quite clever. Not revolutionary, but not vaporware either.

Jesse said:
@Darwin
It took a while to emerge, but Ekahau’s Autopilot and Just Go features use AR and are quite clever. Not revolutionary, but not vaporware either.

Ekahau’s auto survey really helped me. I was skeptical until I had to survey a busy retail space. Continuous surveying wasn’t an option! The auto survey worked surprisingly well.

@Eli
Right, just ensure the area is well-lit and show your iPad where the walls are. It can get lost in large, open areas.