What does a Performance SLA (P SLA) define in SD-WAN, and how is it measured?

• A. P SLA defines target performance metrics (latency, jitter, loss) for paths and is measured via in-network probes and performance monitoring to drive path selection and failover.
• B. P SLA is the same as a financial SLA with cloud provider.
• C. P SLA applies only to storage performance.
• D. P SLA is optional and rarely used.

Answer: (A)

Performance SLA defines target performance metrics for each path—typically latency, jitter, and packet loss (and sometimes throughput)—and keeps those targets under continuous watch. In SD-WAN, in-network probes and performance monitoring actively measure these end-to-end metrics, providing real-time data on how each path is performing. When a path falls outside the defined thresholds, the system can steer traffic to a healthier path or trigger a failover to maintain application performance. This is about ensuring how well paths perform, not about financial terms or storage-related guarantees, and it’s a fundamental mechanism that enables dynamic path selection and reliability in SD-WAN.