Global Wide Area Network designs have evolved substantially in the last five years along with the growth and maturity of cloud-based applications. In effort to provide the best possible applications performance for their users, IT teams are relying less on MPLS and are procuring more net throughput by sourcing multiple internet links across the real estate footprint of the enterprises that they support.
Many Tier 1 ISPs have a solid global reach, but it is very important to know where their points of presence (PoPs) are in relation to your sites and the applications that your users depend on. Doing so will help you to select the right ISP for as your primary provider, and the right mix of ISPs to add redundancy and to fill gaps.
The team at Macronet Services represents over 300 suppliers of network services, including the leading global ISPs. We guide our clients through a proven design and sourcing process, which includes a thorough evaluation of carrier Service Level Agreements so that clients know what to expect from the suppliers and how to plan operationally to manage carriers throughout the relationship lifecycle. You can get a free WAN RFP Template here.
It is important to understand that the SLAs credits are typically very small but by analyzing how the Service Schedule is written and metrics included, you can typically see how the supplier may perform and how their internal operations might be aligned with the objectives. This level of knowledge might not help to negotiate better SLAs, but rather can assist with pricing negotiations and for planning the governance stage of the relationship.
The typical carrier contract includes a Master Services Agreement (MSA), and Service Schedules for each of the services that are ordered under the MSA. In this article, we are focusing specifically on the typical Dedicated Internet Access Service Schedule and what it means for IT teams. The areas of focus include:
- Service Delivery Objective
- Service Availability Objective
- Mean Time to Restore (MTTR)
- Core Network Latency Objectives
- Packet Delivery Objectives
- Service Outage Reporting and Response Time Objectives
- Chronic Service Outage
Tier 1 ISP Service Delivery Objectives
Completed order entry for a carrier requires a data set that will ensure that the delivery teams can successfully move the order through various internal and partner systems to completion, so it is important to quickly provide accurate and through information at the start.
Once an order is processed, the carrier will return a Firm Order Commitment Date (FOC) which notifies the client of the target date for Service Activation. The Service Schedule will include some detail around requirements for client readiness, etc. for a Service Delivery credit to apply, but the below table is a sample carrier Service Delivery Delay Credit schedule:
As you can see, the typical credit is small, but it is worth negotiating. Service Delivery performance is also an excellent area to focus on in the Implementation and even the governance phase (i.e. Business Reviews) if you have ongoing moves, adds, changes throughout the term.
Tier 1 ISP Service Availability Objective (Uptime)
Some ISPs will offer an uptime SLA. The structure of the SLA is typically determined by whether they provide managed edge services for the site, or if they are simply delivering multiple or single circuits. The below table represents an uptime SLA that is specific to the carrier-managed configuration at the site.
As you will see, a site with full physical access diversity on the circuits, High Availability CPE, and Ethernet (not broadband) service has a 100% Availability Objective and a threshold time of 00:00:00 to start the clock on the credit calculation.
Mean Time to Restore For Tier 1 ISPs
Mean Time to Restore (Repair) typically comes into focus when the network is installed, and an outage occurs. It is important to understand what the carrier’s objectives are and how the NOC and the NOC notification systems respond to outages and if/how the client can see real time updates and communications about the event.
As you can see, carrier credits are typically very minimal. In this example, the carrier agrees to credit the customer 5% of the Monthly Recurring Revenue of the impacted circuit. The agreement also states that the customer can only claim one event per month. Additional important terms apply if the carrier is providing managed equipment, which could require shipping and dispatches. Therefore, it is important to understand how the carrier reacts in all use cases across your Wide Area Network.
Core Network Latency Objectives With Tier 1 ISPs
Latency Objectives are probably the most misinterpreted of carrier SLAs, but also one of the most important to understand thoroughly since they can have a certain impact on applications performance. Carriers typically post their core network diagrams, which include details on their PoPs where internet edge routers are provisioned. Additionally, they typically also provide looking glass tools that enable you to drill down into network performance using BGP Route Lookup, Ping, and Traceroute. An example can be found at:
Using the looking glad tools, IT buyers can get a very realistic estimate of actual latency and what they should expect once service is installed. It’s important to note that you must have a good understanding of how access circuits are designed and estimate latency across the access media to the customer edge. Macronet Services has tools to calculate end-to-end latency.
Most ISP SLAs are specific to PoP-to-PoP metrics as measure in Round Trip Times. Often larger ISPs will group some routers into “regions” and offer SLAs that they feel comfortable with based on their historical performance metrics.
Below is a sale of Core Network Round Trip Latency Objectives for a Tier 1 ISP:
Packet Delivery Objectives For Tier 1 ISPs
Like how network latency is measured, carriers measure Packet Delivery as the proportion of packets successfully sent and received between designated pairs of core routers across their network, represented as a percentage. Packet Delivery is computed as the average of carrier Packet Delivery samples over the course of a month.
Most Tier 1 ISPs will commit to packet delivery objectives of 99.9% packet delivery and many will post their ongoing network performance for client viewing. Below is some sample verbiage specific to a Packet Delivery SLA:
“If, at any time, the Service experiences Packet Delivery below ninety percent (90%) for a continuous period of three (3) hours or more, the time for which that reduced Packet Delivery is experienced shall be considered a period of Service Unavailability, i.e., the Client shall be entitled to claim Service credits of five percent (5%) of the MRR charge for the affected Service for the affected month.”
Service Outage Reporting and Response Time Objectives are another example of a SLA that need to be discussed with senior management of the NOC when considering an ISP for a global WAN project. Its important to see the client portal, how communications flow, and how to escalate tickets to ensure that you are comfortable with the process, people, and tools. Below is a sample of a terms from a Tier 1 ISP service schedule:
“Except for events affecting a Service which result in Emergency Maintenance, Carrier NOC will respond to Client within thirty (30) minutes of Carroer’s receipt of an automated systems notification or within thirty (30) minutes of receiving notice from Client of a Service Outage. Carrier will make reasonable attempts to notify and inform the Client by submitting such notification via the contact details listed in the Order Form or Master Services Agreement. To facilitate such notification, it is the Client’s responsibility to ensure that Carrier and Carrier NOC have any and all updated contact information for the Client, namely, all telephone and email addresses for all Client notifications regarding disruption of Service.”
Tier 1 ISP Chronic Service Outage
Sites that have recurring issues can be very frustrating for all parties and can quickly gain senior executive level visibility. “Chronics”, as they are sometimes called, are carefully defined by the service providers since clients often think that they are an easy path to a cancellation of service. The path is clearly laid out in the SLA, but it’s not simple. Below is sample language defining a Chronic Service Outage:
“A Chronic Service Outage at a Client Site will be deemed to have occurred only if the Client experiences either a single continuous Service Outage at the said Client Site lasting seventy two (72) or more hours or four (4) or more related Service Outages resulting in loss of Service at the said Client Site for at least one (1) hour each within any calendar month period.”
Its important to note that the outages must be clearly documented via carrier trouble tickets since a chronic designation cannot be based on here say or client internal documentation. Once an issue meets the criteria of a Chronic Service Outage, the carrier can remedy (cure) the issue. Below is some sample language specific to a Dedicated Internet Access circuit for which the carrier uses a third party for the last mile access circuit:
“Carrier will have thirty (30) days following receipt of Client’s written notification of the Chronic Service Outage with respect to a Third Party Service through the Carrier NOC trouble ticket system to evaluate and implement resolution (“Cure Period”). If Carrier is unable to resolve the Chronic Service Outage within the Cure Period, Client shall have the right to terminate the affected Service if Client provides written notice with respect to such termination to GTT within thirty (30) days following the Cure Period. In case of such termination, Carrier shall obtain and pass-through any cancelation rights to which it is entitled from its underlying vendor for any Chronic Service Outage affecting a Third Party Service.”
IT teams need to understand the Chronic language included in the carrier proposal. Doing so will ensure that they know how to react, document, and communicate the path to resolution to all parties.
Tier 1 ISP SLA Conclusion
Digging into SLAs for each of your carrier services is an important exercise for IT teams. Understanding them thoroughly and building internal processes will help your team to avoid pitfalls and to communicate professionally to internal and carrier stakeholders. And, if you stay on top of your SLAs you might be able to recover some of your monthly spend in the form of credits.
The team at Macronet Services has extensive experience with carrier service level agreements across all carrier products for enterprise. In fact, our team members have been instrumental in crafting leading SLAs for certain carriers that have become published after successful negotiations on behalf of our clients. Here is a report on ISPs that are easiest to do business with.
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