SLO annotations

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SLO annotations are the notes added to your SLO charts when an outstanding event related to the monitored resource occurs.

You can find SLO annotations on SLO charts, in SLO History reports that include annotated SLOs, and in the Events app section under the Annotations tab.

SLO annotations can be autogenerated by Nobl9, created by users, or generated by Nobl9 and available for editing by users.

User annotations

The User annotation type applies to more than just manually created annotations. It also covers:

• Annotations created programmatically using API keys.
• Annotations generated by Nobl9 as a result of user action, such as editing an SLO or updating its review status. These annotations are editable and attributed to the user who initiated the action.

You can manage SLO annotations using the Nobl9 Web interface, sloctl, or Nobl9 API.

Annotation types

Annotations are grouped into the following types:

• User
  These annotations are created either manually by a user or automatically generated in response to a user's action. Users can edit any annotation they created, whether it was manually added or automatically generated by their actions.

  • Comments are created solely by a user.
  • Review notes are auto-generated, editable annotations, indicating changes in SLO's review status.
  • SLO edits are auto-generated, editable annotations that indicate modifications to SLO's configuration.

• Alert
  Alert annotations are created when alert policies trigger alerts. The annotation is pinned to the time range of the alerting event, based on the metric's timestamp.

  • For metrics that arrive with a delay, the annotation correctly marks the past time period when the issue occurred, even though the notification is sent only after the data is processed.
  • If an alert is active and not yet resolved, the annotation appears as a single pin on the chart, marking its startTime.
  Annotations and alert silencing

  Annotations for alerts are created even when the alert is silenced. Silenced alerts will still appear on the SLO charts.

• Data event
  Nobl9 generates Data event annotations in response to events affecting your SLO data. These annotations serve as event records, helping you understand the context of your data.

  • Budget adjustments are created when a budget adjustment event begins. The annotation's duration matches the event's duration.
  • Data anomalies are generated when Nobl9 detects a data anomaly.
    • It spans the time from when the anomaly is first detected until it is resolved.
    • It includes the ~anomaly-rule label indicating its origin: manual for user-configured rules or auto for the Nobl9 default configuration.
  Data point timestamps vs. anomaly annotation duration

  Data anomaly annotations may not perfectly align with the timestamps of the data points in your source. This is because Nobl9's detection time depends on your data source's configured query interval and delay, in addition to the anomaly's waiting time.

  For example, if a query delay is set, Nobl9 waits before fetching data. As a result, the SLO chart will show data points with timestamps from the source, while the annotation reflects when Nobl9 detected the issue after receiving the delayed data. The annotation is closed after a data stream resumes.

Annotation visuals

Annotation origin is indicated by its icon. Annotations that share the same start date but have different start times are grouped. Annotations with identical start dates and times (up to the second) are treated as a single annotation.

Annotation type	Visual
User
Alert
Data event

RBAC

• Annotation authors can edit and delete annotations they've added
• Organization admins can delete any—user and system—annotations in their organization

Useful links

Check out these related guides and references:

Global annotations listNobl9 featuresProject-level rolesAccess managementOrganization-level rolesAccess managementKind: AnnotationYAML guideAnnotations APIAPI referenceService Level ObjectivesService Level ObjectivesOverview of SLO calculationsSLO guidesAlerting in Nobl9Nobl9 featuresSLO troubleshootingFAQ & troubleshooting