Connect an AP32 to the Network and Power It On

When you power on an AP and connect it to the network, the AP is automatically onboarded to the Juniper Mist cloud. The AP onboarding process involves the following steps:

When you power on an AP, the AP obtains an IP address from the DHCP server on the untagged VLAN.
The AP performs a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup to resolve the Juniper Mist cloud URL. See Firewall Configuration for the specific cloud URLs.
The AP establishes an HTTPS session with the Juniper Mist cloud for management.
The Mist cloud then provisions the AP by pushing the required configuration once the AP is assigned to a site.

To ensure that your AP has access to the Juniper Mist cloud, ensure that the required ports on your Internet firewall are open. See Firewall Configuration.

To connect the AP to the network:

Connect an Ethernet cable from a switch to the Eth0+PoE port on the AP.

For information on power requirements, see PoE Requirements for Juniper Mist APs.

Note:
If you are setting up the AP in a home setup where you have a modem and a wireless router, do not connect the AP directly to your modem. Connect the Eth0+PoE port on the AP to one of the LAN ports on the wireless router. The router provides DHCP services, which enables wired and wireless devices on your local LAN to get IP addresses and connect to the Juniper Mist cloud. An AP connected to a modem port connects to the Juniper Mist cloud but does not provide any services.

The same guideline applies if you have a modem/router combo. Connect the Eth0+PoE port on the AP to one of the LAN ports.
If the switch or router that you connect to the AP does not support PoE, use an 802.3at or 802.3bt power injector.
- Connect an Ethernet cable from the switch to the data in port on the power injector.
- Connect an Ethernet cable from the data out port on the power injector to the Eth0+PoE port on the AP.
Wait for a few minutes for the AP to boot completely.
When the AP connects to the Juniper Mist portal, the LED on the AP turns green, which indicates that the AP is connected and onboarded to the Juniper Mist cloud.
After you've onboarded the AP, you can configure the AP according to your network requirements. See the Juniper Mist Wireless Configuration Guide.

Note:
If the AP is unable to connect to the Juniper Mist cloud, you can use the status LED to troubleshoot. See Troubleshoot a Juniper Access Point.

A few things to keep in mind about your AP:
- When an AP boots for the first time, it sends a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) request on the trunk port or native VLAN. You can reconfigure the AP to assign it to a different VLAN after you've onboarded the AP (that is, the AP state shows as Connected in the Juniper Mist portal. Ensure that you reassign the AP to a valid VLAN because, on rebooting, the AP sends DHCP requests only on that VLAN. If you connect the AP to a port on which the VLAN doesn't exist, Mist displays a No IP address found error.
- We recommend that you avoid using a static IP address on an AP. The AP uses the configured static information whenever it reboots, and you cannot reconfigure the AP until it connects to the network. If you need to correct the IP address, you'll need to reset the AP to the factory-default configuration.
  
  If you must use a static IP address, we recommend that you use a DHCP IP address during the initial setup. Before assigning a static IP address, ensure that:
  - You've reserved the static IP address for the AP.
  - The switch port can reach the static IP address.