Patent ID: 6701342
Filing Date: 2004-03-02
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
An apparatus for determining compliance with a Service Level Agreement (SLA), each SLA including at least one Service Level Objective (SLO), said at least one SLO being combined in a logical expression of the SLA, the apparatus comprising:first logic, the first logic retrieving measurement data from a data source, the measurement data being associated with said at least one SLO; second logic, the second logic evaluating the measurement data associated with said at least one SLO to determine whether said at least one SLO has been violated, said second logic generating SLO compliance results based on the evaluation of the measurement data; and third logic, the third logic using the SLO compliance results to evaluate the logical expression of the SLA, the third logic determining whether or not the SLA has been complied with based on the evaluation of the logical expression, wherein said at least one SLO comprises: a measurement identification identifying a particular measurement with which said at least one SLO is associated; a condition specification identifying a condition that the particular measurement must meet to prevent said at least one SLO from being violated; a time specification identifying a time period over which said at least one SLO is to be evaluated to determine whether or not said at least one SLO has been violated, wherein the time specification includes an exclusion time, the exclusion time designating a time period during which the corresponding SLO is not to be evaluated for compliance; and a grace period corresponding to an interval of time over which said condition may be violated without resulting in a violation of said at least one SLO.