That said, it's hard to negotiate meaningful throughput and latency measures regarding the Internet itself, and these are probably largely irrelevant anyway, unless the dedicated Internet connection is for a do-it-yourself, point-to-point VPN connection or is serving as a hub for remote users. For end-to-end services over the public Internet--think managed point-to-point VPN connections--the customer should look for SLA measures and associated metrics similar to those available for their functional equivalent in private network services. Thus, if a point-to-point VPN link is to replace a frame relay connection, seek service levels and remedies comparable to those for a frame relay connection. If the carrier won't provide comparable performance assurances for the VPN link (and until recently few carriers would), consider that fact in assessing whether the cost savings associated with the Internet service are adequate compensation for the difference in service guarantees.
Network Computing's article, "How SLAs Are Used," offers a practitioner's view of SLAs.
InformationWeek offers some helpful tips as well. For more information on avoiding SLA pitfalls, read "SLA Pitfalls--And How To Avoid Them". If you're interested in SLAs for managing outsourcing relationships, read "Smart Advice: Consider Using SLAs To Manage Outsourcing Vendors' Performance".
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