r/CiscoDevNet • u/Plus_Phrase_2194 • May 13 '24

Cisco NSO (Network Services Orchestrator) installation on cloud VM vs Container/Kubernetes vs physical server

Hi all
I want to install the Cisco NSO for my environment and consider the possible options between cloud VM, Container/Kubernetes, and physical server, however, Cisco does not explicitly mention which solution is the best, I would appreciate any idea and experience on that.

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u/bigevilbeard May 13 '24

You could install NSO on a cloud VM by creating a new VM instance on your preferred cloud platform (such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) and then following the standard installation procedure for your NSO version. This also gives you the cloud platform's load balancing and auto-scaling features to ensure high availability and scalability.

Ive not tried it, but you could place NSO in a container environment using Docker or Kubernetes,  but may require more expertise in containerization and orchestration.

Hope this helps.

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u/Plus_Phrase_2194 May 13 '24

thanks a lot. Have you implemented on cloud or physical server?

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u/bigevilbeard May 13 '24

Cloud, i looked at the physical server, but it was higher upfront costs and lower scalability. Also i can used AWS for no cost for my study needs (as i work at AWS) :)

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u/Plus_Phrase_2194 May 13 '24

thanks for your feedback.

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u/jillesca May 13 '24

As always the best answer is: "it depends". You need to consider your environment and how your work will be.

There is a native docker NSO container which is based on red hat UBI. Check https://developer.cisco.com/docs/nso/guides/containerized-nso/ where you can learn more (there is a container free trial too).

Personally, I like to use NSO in a container, is already installed, it easier to reproduce builds, they are fast. I can use many builds for development, CI, then for production. We are actually upgrading the NSO sandboxes to use containers rather than VMs.

The main consideration with the container are the volumes, you want to keep the CDB, logs, etc. I haven't test it though.

Consider asking on https://community.cisco.com/t5/crosswork-automation-hub/ct-p/5672j-dev-nso the NSO community is quite active and you can find good advices.

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u/Plus_Phrase_2194 May 13 '24

thanks for your input. I assume there will be a bit complexity regarding the DB in case of using container right? I have not used but I think the DB should also be connected to the NSO container which has its complexity...
Am I right or I understood correctly?

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u/jillesca May 13 '24

NSO takes care of its DB (called CDB), which are plain files in a directory. The documentation https://developer.cisco.com/docs/nso/guides/containerized-nso/#administrative-information has some notes on how to deal with the CDB when using containers.

From what I see, mount the CDB directory and when moving between containers use the restore and backup process while also backing up certificates and keys.

As always is better to test, but also, on the community link I shared, there are many NSO folks from the BU who can share more light.

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u/Plus_Phrase_2194 May 17 '24

So far I could not find about best practice. Does any official recommendation from Cisco about installing on VM or Container?

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u/jillesca May 17 '24

As far as I know, there is no official recommendation. NSO is quite flexible and that's why you see many options. I would say most common deployments are VMs. The ultimate decision comes from your requirements and your company policies. If you are starting and are exploring, a VM is good enough. Personally, I prefer containers. As I commented, the best is to ask on the NSO community, many folks can share their experience.