Service Level Assurance (SLA)
FortiAIOps calculates the SLA thresholds/baselines dynamically using the AI-ML architecture, to enable you to diagnose network issues based on accurate and latest data trends. The algorithms identify the values for each environment by clustering clients based on the connection quality using specific parameters. The thresholds are then derived based on the calculated average of the client connection data, to report variations in your network. These AI driven algorithms are designed to learn new data regularly for changes in client activity, calculate thresholds, and report statistics. You can also provide static threshold values to report network issues. You can view the impacted SLA data in the Monitor dashboards.
Wireless
The following SLAs are monitored for wireless clients.
Throughput
This SLA monitors your wireless network at the system and client level, to identify potential low throughput conditions and categorize them based on the underlying issue type, into different classifiers and sub-classifiers. Low throughput is determined based on specific network health parameters, such as, noise, retries, discards, channel utilization etc. and client health parameters, such as, MCS index, data rate.
Coverage
Network coverage issues are monitored by detecting the coverage holes and overlapping APs (crowded APs). These conditions in a network are determined by evaluating client’s RSSI (low signal strength) and presence of multiple neighbouring APs.
Roaming
Wireless clients roam from one AP to another in a multi-AP deployment area swiftly and frequently. Associating with different AP requires a process of re-authentication that can take some time to complete, impeding data connectivity especially for time sensitive applications. The Roaming SLA identifies such slow roaming connections, determines the causes for it and suggests suitable remedy for facilitating faster client roaming. To configure the thresholds. see Roaming.
Time to Connect
This SLA computes the time taken by clients to connect to the network. FortiAIOps reports those clients that take longer than certain thresholds to connect to the network. These thresholds are statically configured or FortiAIOps computes them dynamically using machine learning algorithms. The algorithms compute specific thresholds for the AP-client environment and for different connectivity phases such as association, authentication (4-way handshake) and DHCP. To configure the thresholds, see Time To Connect.
Connection Failure
This SLA determines the failed/unsuccessful client connections based on different stages of connection to a network. For example, association failures due to low RSSI, authentication failures due to unreachable RADIUS server, DHCP failure due to a DHCP server process crash, or DNS failure due to an invalid DNS domain.
AP Health and Uptime
This SLA determines the health of the FortiAPs based on the configured CPU, memory, temperature thresholds. FortiAIOps displays relevant SLAs under different sections on the monitor dashboard. To configure the thresholds. see Device Health.
Switching
The switching SLAs monitor the switch health and connection status.
Switch Health and Uptime
The Switch Health and Uptime SLA determines the health of the switches based on the configured thresholds (CPU, memory, temperature) and events such as port down, switch down and so on. FortiAIOps displays relevant SLAs under different sections on the monitor dashboard. To configure the thresholds. see Device Health.
Switch Connection Failure
The Switch Connection Failure determines the failed/unsuccessful client connections based on authentication events such as MAC authentication and 801x authentication and MAC learning limit.
SD-WAN
SD-WAN is a software-defined approach to managing Wide-Area Networks (WAN). It allows you to offload internet bound traffic, that is, private WAN services remain available for real-time and mission critical applications. This added flexibility improves traffic flow and reduces pressure on the network. SD-WAN has member interfaces and ports that are used to run traffic.
Performance
You can configure Performance SLAs to monitor member interface link quality and to detect link failures. The link quality is measured based on latency, jitter, and packet loss. FortiAIOps SD-WAN SLA can follow the performance SLAs defined on FortiGate and report the SLA breaches. Alternately, you can configure thresholds for these link quality parameters (latency, jitter and packet loss) in FortiAIOps for SLA monitoring. The thresholds can be configured statically or dynamically by FortiAIOps using machine learning algorithms, to identify optimal threshold values for the link parameters. To configure SLA, see SD-WAN.