.NET Architecture & System Design Interview Question #191

What is an SLA?

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

Quick Interview Answer

A Service Level Agreement is a formal agreement describing expected service levels and may include contractual consequences when commitments are not met.

Detailed Explanation

A Service Level Agreement is a formal agreement describing expected service levels and may include contractual consequences when commitments are not met.

An SLA is different from an internal SLO. Organizations often operate to stricter internal objectives than their external contractual commitments to leave operational safety margin.

Code Example

SLI = measurement
SLO = internal reliability target
SLA = formal commitment/agreement