.NET Architecture & System Design Interview Question #189

What is a Service Level Indicator (SLI)?

Deployment, Cloud Operations, SRE & Senior System Design Scenarios Senior Advanced

Quick Interview Answer

An SLI is a quantitative measurement of service behavior that matters to users or system reliability. Examples include request success rate, availability, or the percentage of requests below a latency threshold.

Detailed Explanation

An SLI is a quantitative measurement of service behavior that matters to users or system reliability. Examples include request success rate, availability, or the percentage of requests below a latency threshold.

A useful SLI has a precise definition, data source, and measurement window. It should represent service quality rather than merely infrastructure activity.

Code Example

Example SLI:

successful eligible requests
----------------------------  x 100
total eligible requests