Service Level Agreements

Overview

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) define CSP commitments for availability, performance, and security, forming a critical part of cloud contracts.

Learning Objectives

• Understand SLA components
• Define appropriate service levels
• Implement SLA monitoring
• Manage SLA violations
• Apply ISO 27017 SLA requirements

SLA Components

Core Elements

Availability SLA

Uptime Calculations

SLA Level    Downtime/Year  Downtime/Month  Downtime/Week
99%          3.65 days      7.2 hours       1.68 hours
99.5%        1.83 days      3.6 hours       50.4 minutes
99.9%        8.76 hours     43.2 minutes    10.1 minutes
99.95%       4.38 hours     21.6 minutes    5.04 minutes
99.99%       52.6 minutes   4.32 minutes    1.01 minutes
99.999%      5.26 minutes   25.9 seconds    6.05 seconds

ISO 27017 Control A.17.2.1

Availability of Information Processing Facilities

CSP Requirements:

• Define clear availability targets
• Implement redundancy
• Monitor availability continuously
• Report SLA compliance
• Provide compensation for violations

SLA Monitoring

Key Metrics

Performance Dashboard

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Current Month SLA: 99.97%      │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│  Uptime: 99.97% ✓               │
│  API Latency: 145ms avg ✓       │
│  Error Rate: 0.01% ✓            │
│  Support Response: 45min avg ✓  │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

SLA Remedies

Service Credits Table

Key Takeaways

1. SLAs define clear service expectations
2. Availability targets must be realistic
3. Monitoring validates SLA compliance
4. Remedies compensate for violations
5. Transparency builds trust

Self-Assessment

1. What is the difference between 99.9% and 99.99% uptime?
2. What should an SLA include?
3. How are service credits typically calculated?
4. What ISO 27017 control addresses availability?
5. Why is SLA monitoring important?