Service Assurance Agent

IP SLA (Internet Protocol Service Level Agreement) is an active computer network measurement technology that was initially developed by Cisco Systems. IP SLA was previously known as Service Assurance Agent (SAA) or Response Time Reporter (RTR).

Functions

Routers and switches enabled with IP SLA perform periodic network tests or measurements such as

The exact number and types of available measurements depends on the IOS version. IP SLA is very widely used in service provider networks to generate time-based performance data. It is also used together with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Netflow, which generate volume-based data.

Usage considerations

Processing and presentation of data

A software tool is required in order to plot IP SLA test results, which are available from various vendors, including ProLAN,[1] infosim,[2] Watch4Net,[3] Hewlett-Packard,[4] SevOne,[5] and NETvisor.[6]

References

  1. "Web page for the ProLAN NPM Analyst" (in Russian). ProLan. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  2. "Official website of infosim". infosim. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  3. "Official website of Watch4Net". Watch4Net Solutions Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  4. "Performance Insight Report Pack for Service Assurance 1.0". Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  5. "Application Delivery Testing". SevOne, Inc. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  6. "Web page for PerformanceVisor". NETvisor Ltd. Retrieved February 24, 2012.