Service Level Agreement
An SLA is a contractual reliability commitment to customers (e.g., 99.99% availability); breaches trigger compensation, stricter than an SLO.
Purpose
A reliability promise to customers, defining consequences of breach.
Mechanism
SLAs specify availability/latency/support-response commitments and breach penalties. Usually looser than the internal SLO (leaving headroom). E.g., 99.99% monthly availability; breaches mean refunds. Legally binding.
Use cases
- Customer commitments
- Contracts
- Breach compensation