Service Instance Overview

A service instance is a detailed description about a service. Typically written in the JSON or YAML format, a service instance defines the elements of a service. For example, an L3VPN service instance defines elements such as the customer name, service topology, and the sites where the L3VPN service is to be deployed. You create service instances for onboarding devices and defining network services, based on the corresponding service designs that Paragon Automation provides.

A service order is an instruction to provision a service instance in the network. Paragon Automation generates a service order when you create or modify a service instance and provision the instance. A service order is also generated for deleting or deprovisioning a service instance. Each type of service order (create, modify, and delete) has an automated workflow associated with it. A service instance can have many service orders associated with it.

When you create or modify a service instance and save it, the instance is uploaded to the Paragon Automation database. The status of the service instance is Uploaded. To generate a service order for the instance and activate the automated workflow associated with the service order, you must provision the service instance. Paragon Automation automatically provisions and monitors the service after a provisioning workflow is successfully executed. The workflow includes a series of tasks such as transforming the service order, committing device configuration, and so on, for provisioning the service.

The Service Instances page (Orchestration > Service > Instances) lists all the service instances created in an organization.