Which statement about SLA tiers is true?

• A. SLA tiers specify the allowed IP addresses for API access.
• B. SLA tiers define the latency thresholds to be met in response times.
• C. SLA tiers determine the set of policies to apply to an API.
• D. SLA tiers govern the rate of requests by setting the allowed requests per time frame.

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that SLA tiers control how much traffic a client can send to an API by setting a limit on requests within a specific time window. This is how usage is managed and how the system prevents any one client from overwhelming the API. So, SLA tiers define the allowed requests per minute or hour, effectively governing the request rate.

Think of it as different consumption plans: one tier might allow 100 requests per minute, another 1000 per minute, and so on. The other options don’t fit because IP allowlists are about who can access, latency targets are part of separate performance commitments, and policies are distinct configurations applied to APIs rather than the tier's overall usage cap.