What are the two SLI types Instana supports while configuring the service level objectives?

According to the official IBM Instana documentation, Instana supports two distinct types of Service Level Indicators (SLIs) when configuring Service Level Objectives (SLOs). These are:

1. Time-based SLIs: This type measures the performance of a service over time. It calculates the ratio of "good" time (when the service meets the defined performance criteria) to the total evaluation time.

2. Event-based SLIs: This type measures the performance based on a count of discrete events, typically calls or traces. It calculates the ratio of "good" events (e.g., successful requests, fast responses) to the total number of events.

Therefore, "Time based" and "Event count based" are the two supported SLI types.

A. Traces based: This describes a common data source for an event-based SLI, but it is not the SLI type itself. The type is "event-based," which can be derived from traces or calls.

B. Error logs based: Instana SLOs are configured using metric and trace data, not by directly parsing error logs as the primary SLI measurement.

E. Alerts based: Alerts are typically the result or consequence of an SLO breach or a configured health rule, not the indicator used to measure the service level.

1. IBM Instana Observability Documentation, "Service Level Objectives (SLOs)". In the "Configuring SLOs" section, under "SLI type", the documentation explicitly states: "Instana supports two types of SLIs: Time-based SLIs... [and] Event-based SLIs... An event-based SLI is a measurement of the ratio of 'good' events to the total number of events in an evaluation window." This directly supports options C and D.

Source: IBM Documentation, https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/instana-observability/current?topic=manage-service-level-objectives-slos (Accessed under the section: Configuring SLOs).