Understand CSO Versions (On-Premises and Software as a Service)

Juniper Networks offers Contrail Service Orchestration (CSO) software in two versions: on-premises and as a Software as a Service (SaaS). At a high-level, the difference between the two versions is as follows:

CSO on-premises: The on-premises version of CSO enables you (the customer) to install CSO on your own hardware infrastructure. Therefore, you are responsible for the maintenance and administration of CSO and the underlying hardware infrastructure. In addition, you handle the upgrades to the CSO software versions, if applicable. Users access the CSO GUI by using the URL provided by your CSO administrator. An example of a CSO on-premises version is CSO Release 5.1.2.
CSO SaaS: In the SaaS version of CSO, Juniper Networks handles the installation, upgrade, and maintenance and administration of CSO. Users access the CSO GUI by using the URL provided by Juniper. An example of a CSO SaaS version is CSO Release 5.4.0.

Table 1 displays the differences between the on-premises and SaaS versions of CSO with respect to installation and upgrade tasks or requirements.

Table 2 displays the differences in features between the on-premises and SaaS versions.

Table 1: Installation and Upgrade Differences Between CSO Versions
Task or Requirement	On-Premises	SaaS
Installed by	Installed by service provider or customer	Installed by Juniper Networks
Upgraded by	Upgraded by service provider or customer	Upgraded by Juniper Networks
Hardware Required	A minimum of three servers is needed	Not needed because CSO is hosted on public cloud infrastructure and managed by Juniper Networks
Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) Hubs	OAM hubs must be added to the CSO infrastructure by the service provider or customer	Not needed because Juniper adds the OAM hubs
Integration with local operations support system (OSS) or business support systems (BSS)	Can be done using CSO’s REST APIs. Juniper Professional Services (PS) can assist with integration with third‐party systems such as Service Now.
Instance type	Private data center/ Dedicated AWS	Shared on public AWS

Table 2: Feature Differences Between CSO Versions
Feature	On-Premises	SaaS
Multitenancy	Available at three levels: Service provider Operating Company (OpCo) Tenant	Available at two levels: OpCo Tenant
Juniper Identity Management System (JIMS)	Supported	Not qualified by Juniper
Customization of Administration and Customer Portals	Display preferences, e-mail templates, and terms of use	E-mail templates and terms of use
Download of Signature Database	Supported at the service provider level	Periodically downloaded by Juniper Networks