SLA test configuration

This section explains how SLA tests work and provides a high-level view of the workflow for setting up and using an SLA tests.

SLA test workflow

How SLA tests work

SLA tests measure certain availability and performance metrics. The results of these tests can help you check whether Akamai is achieving the performance gains and platform availability set forth in the Service-Level Agreement included with your purchase contract.

SLA testing requires that you place an Akamai-provided HTML file and related resources on your origin server. The HTML file is the SLA test object. The tests consist of pairs of requests for that test object: one request directly to your origin server (the origin test) and one request to our content delivery network (the CDN test).

The CDN test request is much like any request from a real end user accessing your site under current conditions on the edge network. The origin test simulates availability and performance as if your property were served from your own origin instead of our CDN.

SLA tests compare measurements for each request to determine availability and performance, for example:

Did the request return the test object? (availability)
How long did it take for the object to load? (performance)

SLA test measurements

This is a brief explanation of the measurements:

Availability. If the test object is returned for both the origin test request and the CDN test request, then this indicates that our platform is available to your site. If the origin test succeeds but the CDN test fails (or times out), a failure might have occurred. Two consecutive failures in the same region indicate a possible outage.

The availability test is sent every 6 minutes, that is 10 tests per hour.

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Akamai’s commitment is that our platform will always be available to your site, not that your site will always be available to end users. Therefore, an availability test records a failure only if the CDN test fails when its corresponding origin test succeeds. If your origin is down, Akamai cannot access your site’s content, and therefore cannot serve it to your end users.
Performance. The performance test compares the load time of the origin test to the load time of the corresponding CDN test. It then determines the percentage improvement. The specific target performance varies by product and region. Refer to the SLA in your purchase contract to find the target for this metric.

Each performance test is sent once per hour. For more information, see SLA Reports.