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Advanced Topic 35 of 50 DevOps & Tooling

SLIs, SLOs and SLAs

Measures and targets for service reliability.

How it works

An SLI measures behavior (e.g. successful requests/total), an SLO sets a target (99.9% over 30 days), and an SLA is a contract with penalties; the gap yields an error budget.

Where it is used

Reliability management.

Common pitfall

Setting SLOs tighter than users need wastes effort.

Where it fits in the course

SLIs, SLOs and SLAs is topic 35 of 50 in DevOps & Tooling, rated Advanced. It follows Postmortems. The next topic is Capacity Planning.

Practice and explore

How to study this topic

  1. Read the explanation above and restate the definition in your own words.
  2. Open the interactive lesson and answer its mini quiz.
  3. Read the common pitfall, then write a short example that avoids it.
  4. Check your understanding in the DevOps & Tooling quiz, and revisit the topic if you miss a question.

Frequently asked questions

What is SLIs, SLOs and SLAs?
Measures and targets for service reliability. It belongs to DevOps & Tooling and is an advanced-level topic.
Where do people use SLIs, SLOs and SLAs?
Reliability management.
What is the most common mistake with SLIs, SLOs and SLAs?
Setting SLOs tighter than users need wastes effort.
What should I learn before this topic?
Start with Postmortems, the topic just before it in DevOps & Tooling.
How can I practice it?
Answer the mini quiz in the interactive lesson, then take the DevOps & Tooling quiz.
Is SLIs, SLOs and SLAs hard to learn?
It is an Advanced topic. Expect to read the explanation more than once and to connect it with earlier topics. Working through a small example by hand helps most.
How long does it take to learn SLIs, SLOs and SLAs?
Most learners can read the explanation and finish the interactive lesson in under an hour. Fluency comes from applying the idea, so plan a few short practice sessions with the quiz.
Which topics are related to SLIs, SLOs and SLAs?
Postmortems, Capacity Planning, Incident Response are closely connected. The full list is in the related topics section of this page.
What should I study after SLIs, SLOs and SLAs?
Continue with Capacity Planning, the next topic in DevOps & Tooling.

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