Service level objectives widgets

Service level objectives and Service level objectives widgets (legacy) are separate capabilities.

SLO widgets

Instana enables users to create custom dashboard widgets for their SLOs to display and analyze the performance of their services over time. The widget can be either an Error budget chart or an Indicator chart. The time span over which the widget displays the data can be set to either the time window of the selected SLO or the time that is selected by the user in the time picker located in the UI.

The following image illustrates an example of an error budget SLO widget that is called Demo Widget and is configured by using an application SLO called Example Application SLO and an SLO target value of 99%. The time span that is selected by the user is set to 6 hours. The widget is set to display the data over the time span selected by the user. The SLO in the example has a latency indicator blueprint of event count type and a threshold value of 75 milliseconds. The example SLO was not achieved in the selected time frame because the remaining error budget was less than 0.

SLO widget

Configuration

Adding SLO widgets

You can set up an SLO widget for any of your SLOs. To add an SLO widget, go to one of your custom dashboards to open the dialog for Adding a Widget. Next, complete the following steps:

  1. In the dialog sidebar, click SLO > Next. The dialog opens the configuration section to set up an SLO widget.
  2. Select whether you want to create an SLO widget for your application or website SLO.
  3. Select the Service Level Objective for the particular SLO type from the list. If desired, you can create an SLO by clicking Add new SLO and following the instructions described in the Creating an SLO.
  4. Select the chart type from either Error budget chart or Indicator chart.
  5. Enter a title for the widget.
  6. Verify your widget in the preview. If no preview is displayed, click Highlight missing configuration to immediately see what is missing.
  7. To create the SLO widget configuration, click Create.
  8. To save the SLO widget configuration on your custom dashboard, click Save changes.

Using SLO widgets

With SLO widgets, you can pick the time frame for which data is displayed. Use the available controls on the widget to select either Selected time or SLO time window to display the data.

  • The Selected time option displays data for the time period that is chosen in the time picker. For example, if the time picker is set to display data for the last 6 hours, the widget displays data for the last 6 hours. If the selected time spans multiple windows, they are depicted in unique colors in the corresponding charts. The status and error budget values are from the most recent SLO time window in the selected range.
  • The SLO time window option displays data for the time window that is configured for the selected SLO. If the selected time spans multiple windows, the data is displayed from the most recent SLO time window in the selected range.

SLO status and error budget values that are displayed in the widget summary are always calculated against the entire SLO time window. Dynamically recalculating the SLO status or error budget based on the time-picker is not supported.

SLO widgets can display an Error budget chart or an Indicator chart. The type of chart is selected during the creation of the widget. The widget can display only one type of the chart. If both charts are required, a second widget must be created and the other chart type selected.

Editing SLO widgets

When the configuration of an SLO widget needs to be changed, the SLO widget can be edited by completing the following steps:

  1. Go to the custom dashboard where the SLO widget in question is added.
  2. Find the SLO widget that needs editing.
  3. Click the ellipsis button.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. Change the value of the fields as needed.

Copying SLO widgets

The SLO widget can be copied by completing the following steps:

  1. Go to the custom dashboard where the SLO widget in question is added.
  2. Find the SLO widget that needs copying.
  3. Click the ellipsis button.
  4. Click Copy.
  5. Change the value of the fields as needed.