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What is a Service Level Agreement (or SLA)

What is a Service Level Agreement (or SLA)
Hostman Team
Technical writer
Infrastructure

SLA is an agreement that outlines what kind (and what level) of service a certain company can provide. This term is mostly used in industries like television or Information Technology.

Unlike regular service contracts Service Level Agreement offers an exceptional amount of detail provided with descriptions of service quality, tech support response time and other indicators.

General SLA principles

The service level agreement usually follows these principles:

  • The interaction between the provider and the client must be as transparent as possible. Every process has to have a clear and reasonable purpose. No blurred terms and puzzled wordings allowed. Both sides should avoid using specific expressions that might be misunderstood.

  • The rules and rights for both sides have to be totally understandable. For instance, a company promises that all the provided services will be accessible 99.99% of the time and if the user finds out that it is not true he should have an opportunity to receive compensation.

  • Expectations management. For example, clients expect tech support to be available at any time as well as answers to the most insignificant questions. But providers can't offer such service. Accordingly a client must change provider or lower his expectations. Or the company has to make the tech support team more performant.

SLA usually contains such data as the amount of time that is needed to resolve a client's problems or what kind of compensation and in what cases the user has the right to ask for it, etc.

SLA doesn't have to be a giant pile of sheets. The most important thing for any company is to make the service level agreement as transparent and natural as possible. Look at successful and large corporations such as Amazon. SLA for their service S3 is fully described on just one page.

Here (link to Amazon) you can read about the monthly uptime of the services and about the level of compensation you'll receive if they are not achieved.

What typical SLA consists of

We peeked into Amazon SLA a couple of lines ago. That is not a standard. It is just one of the ways to design your SLA which takes into consideration the specific characteristics of the service provided by the company (and authors of SLA).

If we're talking about the IT industry, a typical SLA would contain:

  • The rules for using the product or providing some service.

  • Responsibilities of both sides. Mechanisms that help users and providers to control each other in some way.

  • Concrete procedures that might be undertaken by the provider to fix any flaws the user stumbles upon.

You can also find the exactly how long an actual service level agreement will be legitimate. Sometimes both client and provider describe ways of adding new demands to the functionality of the services if necessary.

Moreover, it is normal to list indicators that somehow refer to the actual level of service quality.

  • The reliability and availability of the service.

  • The time it takes to react to system faults and malfunctions.

  • The time it takes to resolve system faults and malfunctions.

You might want to add the way of settling the scores with the client. As an example, some companies ask for money after providing a certain level of service, some companies insist on paying for a fixed plan, etc. Don't forget to tell users about fines if they exist. If it is possible for the client to receive compensation, the job of the service provider is to explain why, how and where the customer can get it.

Key parameters of SLA

The parameters of SLA — is a set of metrics that can be measured somehow. There's no way you would write in SLA something along the lines of "We will fix any fault before you know about it". It is an example of a blurred statement that will only make it harder to achieve a level of agreement between the service provider and the customer.

Let us talk about such a metric as operation mode. It shouldn't be abstract. It must include concrete dates and periods of time when customers can count on the technical support team.

There are examples when a company divides all the customers into separate groups. One of them is allowed to access tech support any time. The second is only allowed to ask for help on workdays. The third can't call for help at all.

Such metrics are extremely important because there's no other way to clearly understand what both sides can expect from their collaboration. That's why you have to consider a few things:

  • Metrics must be published and accessible for anyone.

  • There shouldn't be any statements that can be misunderstood.

  • Any changes in metrics should not happen without warning. Customers have the right to know about any change beforehand.

When you work on establishing metrics do not overdo it. It might increase the price of services provided by the company.

Let's see. We have a problem that might be solved in about 4 hours by a mediocre specialist. An expert can solve the same problem in 2 hours. It is not a good practice to write "2 hours" in your SLA. The job done by a specialist will become much more expensive in the quickest way possible. If you write "1 hour" you will not only pay much more but also will often pay compensations to thoughtful users who believed you but were cheated on.

Operation mode and work hours are not the only metrics that you should care about. What else is important? For example, the time it takes for tech support to respond. Metrics themselves can differ because of external variables like customer status or the seriousness of the problem.

Let's say some company is outsourcing some kind of IT service. This company has a group of users that pays for the premium plan and another group that does not. The time it takes for a tech support team to respond to clients from different groups might vary because one of them is obviously more privileged. One group might get help in 15 minutes and the other in a day. If there are such differences it is extremely important to reflect it in a service level agreement.

Beside the reaction time it is important to speak about the time it takes to resolve the problem the user has run into. The logic of regulating this metric is exactly the same. Even if the customer is really important to the company his queries might be dealt with at differing speeds depending on the seriousness of the problem.

We have a client that has an extremely severe problem — the local network is down and all the inner processes are consequently stuck. Such problems must be prioritized. SLA might include the details for this kind of problem and what type of help the client can expect.

The same customer can ask for help another day but with less critical malfunction. For example, the whole network works well but a few new devices need to be connected to it. It is ok to spend hours and days on such things.

These and a lot of other considerations should be reflected in SLA and accepted both by customer and service provider. Such an approach can help to lessen the amount of potential conflicts. Everything becomes clear and understandable for anyone.

Availability of the service

For the provider, one of the most important parameters in SLA is availability. This metric can be measured in days, hours or minutes for a certain period of time. For instance, a provider can guarantee anyone that its cloud storage will be accessible 99.99% of the time during the year.

In absolute numbers 99 and 100 seem to be quite the same thing. But the difference becomes huge if we analyze those numbers considering that this percentage refers to a period of 365 days. If we say 99% it actually means that the customers agree that the server might be not available for about 4 days per year. And when we talk about 100% there shouldn't be any stand by. But it is impossible to guarantee such reliability. It is always 99.**% with some numbers after the dot.

Considering Hostman, we guarantee 99,99% of uptime. It means that servers might not work for as long as 52 minutes per year.

You might find providers that promise uptime up to 99.9999% and swear that servers will be off for 15 minutes at most. But it's not a good idea to say such things for two important reasons:

  1. The higher the promised uptime the higher the price of the service.

  2. Not that many clients even need such uptime. In most cases 99.98% is more than enough.

The amount of 9s is less important than the actual time that is fixed in SLA. The year is the default period of time used as a metric in SLAs. That means that 99.95% of uptime is 4.5 hours of stand by per year.

But some providers might use different metrics. If there's no concrete info, the user must ask what period of time is used to evaluate the uptime. Some companies try to cheat customers and boast of 99.95% of uptime but mean results per month and not per year.

Another important point is cumulative accessibility. It is equal to the lowest indicator reflected in SLA.

Pros of SLA

Signing and observance of SLA pays off for both sides. Using SLA a company can protect itself from unexpected customer demands (like fixing a not critical problem at 3 AM) and strictly describe its own responsibilities.

There are other advantages of SLA. Providers can settle and put in order not only external processes but also inner ones. For example, with correctly composed SLA a company can implement different layers of technical support and control it in a more efficient manner.

At the same time, customers that sign an agreement will clearly understand what kind of service will be provided and how they can communicate with the company.

The difference between SLA and SLO

SLA can be used as an indication of user-satisfaction level. The highest level is 100% and the lowest is 0%.

Of course, it is impossible to achieve 100% as it is impossible to provide 100% uptime and reflect it in the company's SLA. That's why it is important to choose metrics wisely and be realistic enough about the numbers used in SLA.

If you don't have a team that is ready to work at night, don't promise your customers technical support that is available 24/7. Remember that it is possible to change SLA anytime in future when the team grows and it will be viable for the company to provide a more advanced level of support. Customers will be very happy about that.

There is another system that is used inside companies to monitor the service level. This one is called SLO. O stands for "objectives". It means that the metric is oriented at future company goals. This metric reflects what level of service the company wants to achieve in future.

Here we go again, examples based on tech support. Let's say, at the moment a company can process about 50 requests and work 5 days a week from 9 AM to 6 PM. This data should be fixed and described in SLA so the customers can see it.

At the same time a company creates a second document (service level objectives). It is a foundation of future service improvements. SLO contains current metrics and a list of tasks that should be done so the company achieves a new level of quality growth. For example, the aim to raise the amount of processed user requests from 50 to 75 during the day. The future of SLA strongly depends on a current SLO.

How to create SLA

Starting the process of SLA compiling you'd better begin with the describing part. Usually this part of SLA contains a kind of glossary, abstract system description, roles of users and tech support team, etc. In the same part you can reflect boundaries: territory where service is provided, time, functionality.

The next section — service description (what functions, features and goods a user can get by working with a certain company). In this part of SLA a company must describe in detail what the user can count on after signing the contract and on what terms.

After finishing the first part you can narrow and make further details more specific. That's the main part where the actual level of service is explained minutely. Here you would write about:

  • Metrics that reflect the quality of service provided (and they must be easy to measure).

  • The definition of every metric. That should be concrete numbers and not abstract statements so both sides can refer to this part of SLA.

It is common to put additional useful links (where another set of conditions explained in detail) in the last part of SLA.

In all the stages of preparing an SLA a company must remember that it is a regulation document that helps to control everything connected with the service. The more control a company has over all the processes the better. If SLA doesn't give a company some level of control, there's no reason for such a document to exist.

Checklist: what you should consider while compiling SLA

If you are not signing the SLA but creating your own and composing it to offer the potential clients, keep these things in mind:

  1. Customers. In large systems it is recommended to divide users into separate groups and communicate with every of them individually. This approach helps to distribute resources more effectively and do the job more effectively even in the moments of high loading.

  2. Services. At this stage it is important to consider what group of customers need certain types of services. For example, your company might offer access to a CRM system for every e-commerce business. If they can't access it their business will fail and the clients will start to lose money. And consequently it will lead them to the service provider who failed them. That's why such services get the highest importance rating and must be prioritized over some simple tasks like changing the printer or creating a new account.

  3. Parameters of service quality. These parameters should be connected with the business targets your company follows and the desires of the users. For example, time and conditions at which any service is provided. One company may want to work 24/7 and the other only offers access to a tech support team 5 days a week from 9 AM to 9 PM.

    Any changes to SLA should be explained to every user (regardless of his status or level of privilege) before the actual changes come into force.

    SLA is an ever-changing technology. In real use cases you will see that some parameters or aims do not correlate well with the general direction the business is taking. And that's why the management team often decides to correct SLA and optimize it.

    Remember, SLA is not a marketing tool, it is a way for the company to talk to its users in the clearest, most efficient way. Everyone accepts the rules in SLA.

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Top 11 AI Video Generation Tools: Review and Feature Comparison

After OpenAI's successful debut in 2022, AI tools rapidly entered everyday life.  When we talk about text generation, ChatGPT comes to mind. When it comes to image generation, we think of Midjourney. Then there are Gemini, DALL-E, Claude, Stable Diffusion, and many other leading models in the field. But what comes to mind when it comes to video generation? Or at least, what should come to mind? That’s exactly what we’ll discuss in this article. 1. Kling Kling is a Chinese AI video generation tool developed by Kuaishou in 2024. It is one of the best video generation AI tools on the market, ideal for marketers, bloggers, and large teams who need to produce high-quality videos quickly. Kling's standout feature is its balanced blend of cinematic aesthetics and flexible settings—you can get hyper-realistic or stylized clips. The model processes both text prompts and static images, turning them into dynamic, high-quality videos—up to 10 seconds long, FullHD resolution (1080p), and 30 FPS. Naturally, the best features are available only on paid plans. The service supports complex camera behavior for expressive angles: panning, tilting, and zooming. You can also set keyframes (start and end) to generate video in between them. There's also an "extension" function to prolong an already generated video up to 3 minutes. Additionally, the model supports lip-syncing—synchronizing mouth movement with speech. The interface is intuitive, though slightly overloaded. It’s easy to get the hang of but can occasionally be confusing.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $3/month) Resolution up to 720p up to 1080p Duration up to 5 sec up to 10 sec Generations up to 6 per day from 18 per month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no up to 3 minutes Extra Features no yes Note: On the free plan, Kling allows about 10x more generations per month than the paid plan. However, those videos are shorter and lower quality. The free quota is added on top of the paid quota. 2. Hailuo AI Hailuo AI is a Chinese AI video generator developed by MiniMax in 2024. It offers a simple and flexible toolkit for creating content on the go, from marketing clips to social media stories. In just minutes, it can turn a text or static image into a high-quality, albeit short, video, significantly cutting down the time and resources needed for traditional video production. Hailuo AI focuses on quickly generating short videos (up to 6 seconds at 25 FPS) based on text descriptions or static images. The resolution maxes out at 720p. While these limitations are acceptable for fast marketing tasks, they can be a dealbreaker for serious projects. You can combine text and image inputs for more control over the video story. In addition to full camera control (angle, zoom, pan), Hailuo AI reduces random motion noise and maintains character appearance across scenes. The interface is both simple and flexible, allowing cinematic effects without a steep learning curve. It also offers an API for integration into external apps. Ideal for quick short-form videos like animated teasers and promo clips. For longer, more complex videos, you’ll need something else.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $14/month) Resolution up to 720p up to 720p Duration up to 6 sec up to 6 sec Generations up to 90/month from 130/month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no up to 2 minutes Extra Features no yes Note: There’s also progressive pricing based on generation volume. From $1 for 70 credits, enough for a couple of generations. 3. Fliki Fliki is an American AI video generator created by Fliki in 2021. It’s an all-in-one platform combining various AI modules for generating presentations, audio, and video. Fliki specializes in automatically turning any text format (article, script, website URL, PDF/PPT) into a video with realistic voiceovers (2,000+ voices, 100+ dialects) and animated avatars (70+ characters). You can even clone your voice and dub videos in 80+ languages. Fliki also gives access to millions of stock images, video clips, stickers, and music for rapid video creation. Unlike services that render each frame from scratch, Fliki assembles clips, slideshows, presets, and transitions into a cohesive video. Final length can be up to 30 minutes. Runs in-browser with no downloads needed. Just enter your text, select a voice, add media, and you’ll get a professional video with voiceover and subtitles in minutes. Its broad feature set in a simple package makes it suitable for small teams and large enterprises alike. Paired with classic editing tools, Fliki’s potential is immense.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $28/month) Resolution up to 720p up to 1080p Duration up to 5 min (8 sec scenes) up to 30 min (8 sec scenes) Generations up to 5 min/month from 180 min/month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no no Extra Features no yes Paid plans also unlock thousands of voices and dialects, millions of premium images, videos, sounds, and access to Fliki’s API. 4. Dream Machine Dream Machine is an American AI video generator created by Luma AI in 2024. It specializes in generating short videos from text prompts or static images, making it easy to produce dynamic clips with natural movement and cinematic composition—no editing expertise needed. Users can describe or show what they want, and Dream Machine generates fluid, natural videos. Default output is 5–10 seconds at 1080p and 24 FPS. You can adjust aspect ratio, animation style, motion intensity, and transition smoothness. Dream Machine supports keyframe-based generation (start and end image), has an intuitive minimalist interface, and offers an API for integration. It’s not suitable for long, complex videos. But for fast marketing and ad content, it’s a top pick.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $9/month) Resolution up to 720p up to 1080p Duration up to 10 sec up to 10 sec Generations up to 30/month from 120/month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no up to 4K Extension no up to 30 sec Extra Features no yes 5. Runway Runway is an American AI video platform developed by Runway AI in 2018. It's a full-fledged cloud platform for generating and storing high-quality cinematic media. Runway is both powerful and easy to use. It excels at quickly creating short clips, experimenting with visual styles, and automating parts of the creative process. It can generate videos with outstanding photorealism and character motion consistency. It's one of the most advanced commercial tools for video generation. You can create clips from text or images, restyle existing footage, or edit content. By default, videos are 720p, 24 FPS, and 5 or 10 seconds long. However, you can upscale to 4K and extend to 40 seconds. Runway offers several models: Gen-2, Gen-3 Alpha, Gen-3 Alpha Turbo, Gen-4. The latest (Gen-4) allows for deep control over generation: aspect ratio, camera behavior, style prompts, and more.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $9/month) Resolution up to 720p up to 720p (4K upscale) Duration 5 or 10 sec 5 or 10 sec Generations up to 5/month from 25/month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no up to 4K Extension no up to 20 sec Extra Features no yes Note: Paid plans include up to 100 GB of cloud storage, while free users get only 5 GB. 6. PixVerse PixVerse is a Chinese AI video generation model developed by AISphere in 2023. Thanks to a wide range of tools, PixVerse can transform text descriptions, images, and video clips into short but vivid videos — from anime and comics to 3D animation and hyperrealism. PixVerse wraps numerous generation parameters in an extremely user-friendly interface: source photos and videos, aspect ratio, camera movement, styling, transitions, sound effects, voiceover, and more. The output videos are 5 to 8 seconds long, with resolutions up to 1080p at 20 frames per second. Naturally, videos can be upscaled and extended. You can also upload an already finished video and additionally stylize it using the neural network — add visual effects, voiceover, or extend the duration. As expected in such a powerful service, an API is also available—any external app can perform automatic video generation. On the PixVerse homepage, you’ll find numerous examples of generated videos along with their original prompts. Anyone can use them as a base for their own projects or simply see the model’s capabilities in action.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $10/month) Resolution up to 540p up to 720p Duration 5 or 8 seconds 5 or 8 seconds Generations up to 20 per month from 40 per month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling up to 4K up to 4K Extension no no Extra Features no yes 7. Genmo Genmo is another AI model for video, launched in 2022. In essence, Genmo is the simplest possible service for turning text descriptions into short video clips with minimal configuration options. As simple as you can imagine—which is both good and bad. On one hand, Genmo’s entry barrier is extremely low—even someone with no experience can create a video. On the other hand, the service is hardly suitable for complex projects due to the lack of control over generation. The neural network is based on the open-source Mochi model and has many limitations: it only uses text descriptions, and video resolution is capped at 480p with a fixed duration of 5 seconds at 30 fps. Although generated videos contain visual artifacts (flickering or shifting geometry and colors) that reveal the use of AI, they still look coherent and interesting — good enough for visualizing ideas and concepts. The user interface is extremely minimalistic—a prompt input field on the homepage followed by the best generations from the past day with their corresponding prompts. It's important to understand that AI models that don't use images or video as input require more specificity in prompts—clear descriptions of visuals, environments, and details.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $10/month) Resolution up to 480p up to 480p Duration 5 seconds 5 seconds Generations up to 30 per month from 80 per month Faster Generation up to 2 per day from 8 per day Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no up to 12 seconds Extra Features no yes 8. Sora Sora is a neural network created by OpenAI in 2024. Based on detailed text descriptions, Sora can generate images and videos with the highest level of detail. It’s a model whose output can easily be mistaken for real photos or videos. It’s significant that Sora was developed by OpenAI, a global leader in generative AI and the company behind ChatGPT and DALL·E. Sora’s interface follows the design system used across OpenAI products—sleek black theme and minimal elements. A small sidebar is on the left, a grid of popular user-generated content in the center, and a prompt field with configuration options at the bottom. Sora-generated videos have photo-realistic detail, whether hyperrealistic or animated, almost nothing gives away the AI origin. The quality and imagination in the visuals are astounding. The videos can be up to 20 seconds long, 1080p resolution, and 30 fps—significantly more than most competitors. Sora unifies all video configuration into the prompt itself—the real power of the model lies in the quality of your description. The better the prompt, the better the result. Thus, generating video with Sora becomes a constant game of tweaking prompts, words, and phrasing. Sora can definitely be considered one of the most advanced AI models for generating images and video.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $20/month) Resolution – up to 1080p Duration – up to 20 seconds Generations – from 50 per month Faster Generation – yes Watermarks – no Upscaling – no Extension – no Extra Features – yes The free plan in Sora does not allow video generation at all—only image generation, limited to 3 per day. 9. Pika Pika is another AI-powered video creation service, launched in 2023. The platform is easy to use and designed for everyday users who are not experts in video editing or neural networks. Its primary use case is modifying existing video footage: adding transitions, virtual characters, changing a person’s appearance, and more. Still, Pika can also generate videos from scratch. Pika’s features are standard for AI video services: generation from text, from images, or between two frames (start and end). Maximum resolution is 1080p. Frame rate is 24 fps. Video duration is up to 10 seconds. Styles can vary—from cartoony to cinematic. In short, Pika is a simple and convenient tool for quickly creating videos from text or images without powerful hardware. It’s especially useful for prototyping, social media, marketing, and advertising.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $10/month) Resolution up to 1080p up to 1080p Duration up to 10 seconds up to 10 seconds Generations up to 16 per month from 70 per month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no no Extra Features no yes Pika’s free plan has generation limits—you can create videos, but in small quantities. The standard paid plan increases your generation limits and unlocks newer model versions, but does not remove watermarks. The professional plan removes all limitations, provides access to advanced tools, speeds up generation, and removes watermarks from final videos. 10. Veo Veo is a video generation model developed in 2024 by DeepMind, a Google-owned company. There are several ways to access the model: Via Google Labs tools — VideoFX or VertexAI Through Google AI Studio Veo can be considered a full-fledged tool for creating high-quality, hyperrealistic clips indistinguishable from real footage. Of course, it also supports animation. Veo generates videos at 720p resolution, 24 fps, and up to 8 seconds long. In private developer previews, 1080p resolution and 4K upscaling are available—but not yet public. It accepts both text prompts and still images as input. For the latter, the neural network preserves the original composition and color palette. Most importantly, Veo supports various cinematic effects: time-lapse, panorama, slow-mo, and many more—with flexible parameter control. Veo ensures excellent consistency, stability, and smooth motion. Every video generated includes a SynthID digital watermark, invisible to the human eye or ear—a tool developed by Google to help detect AI-generated media. Thus, any image, video, or audio can be scanned using SynthID to verify AI generation. Veo also pays attention to small details—hair movement, fabric fluttering, atmospheric behavior, and more. As they say, the devil is in the details.   Free Plan Paid Plans Resolution up to 720p up to 720p Duration up to 8 seconds up to 8 seconds Generations up to 30 per month from 50 per month Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no no Extra Features no yes Like most Google cloud services, Veo uses pay-as-you-go pricing—$0.50 per second or $30 per minute of generated video. So, a standard 10-second clip will cost $5—cheap for professionals, pricey for casual users. 11. Vidu Vidu is a Chinese AI model developed in 2024 by ShengShu AI in collaboration with Tsinghua University.  Vidu generates smooth, dynamic, and cohesive video clips, both realistic and animated. It can also add AI-generated audio tracks to videos. Vidu can accurately simulate the physical world, creating videos with developed characters, seamless transitions, and logical event chronology. The platform offers three main tools: generation from text, from images, and from videos. Additional tools include an AI voiceover generator and a collection of templates. Maximum video resolution is 1080p. Max duration is 8 seconds. Frame rate is up to 24 fps. The model is based on a "Universal Vision Transformer" (U-ViT) architecture, which processes text, image, and video inputs simultaneously to create coherent video sequences. This ensures object consistency throughout the video. For professionals and studios, Vidu is a powerful tool with great potential; for beginners, it’s an easy gateway into generative video.   Free Plan Paid Plans (from $8/month) Resolution up to 1080p up to 1080p Duration up to 8 seconds up to 8 seconds Generations up to 40 per month unlimited Faster Generation no yes Watermarks yes no Upscaling no no Extension no up to 16 seconds Extra Features no yes Which AI to choose? The vast majority of AI video generation services have similar video parameters: resolution from 720p to 1080p, durations of 5 to 10 seconds, and frame rates around 24 fps. Almost all can generate video based on text prompts, images, or video inputs. Differences in output results are usually minor—video styles and presence of visual artifacts revealing the AI.  The choice largely depends on your input and goals: text descriptions, images, or existing video. Some AI models offer higher detail than others. Always check the sample videos shown on service homepages. And keep in mind: video is a much more complex data format than text. Unlike LLMs, completely free AI video generation tools don’t exist as training the models and powering generation requires significant resources. That said, most services offer a low-tier paid plan that removes major limitations. Name Max Duration Max Resolution Max FPS Starting Price Kling 10 seconds 1080p 30 fps $3/month Hailuo AI 6 seconds 720p 25 fps $14/month Fliki 30 minutes 1080p 30 fps $28/month Dream Machine 10 seconds 1080p 24 fps $9/month Runway 10 seconds 720p 24 fps $15/month PixVerse 8 seconds 1080p 20 fps $10/month Genmo 5 seconds 480p 30 fps $10/month Sora 20 seconds 1080p 30 fps $20/month Pika 10 seconds 1080p 24 fps $10/month Veo 8 seconds 720p 24 fps $0.50/sec Vidu 8 seconds 1080p 24 fps $8/month
08 August 2025 · 15 min to read
Infrastructure

How Perplexity AI Works

In today's article, we will take a detailed look at the Perplexity AI neural network: we'll explore how it works, how to use it, how it differs from its main competitor ChatGPT, and what opportunities it offers for everyday use. What is Perplexity AI?  Perplexity AI is an artificial intelligence-based platform that combines the functionality of a chatbot and a search engine. The service's architecture is based on the use of large language models (LLMs). When developing Perplexity AI, the creators aimed to provide an alternative to traditional search engines that could help users find accurate and meaningful answers to complex and ambiguous questions. What Does Perplexity AI Do?  As previously mentioned, Perplexity is built on large language models. The supported models include Sonar, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4.1, Gemini 1.5 Pro, Grok 3 Beta, and o1-mini. With access to multiple models, the neural network can generate accurate and comprehensive answers to user queries in real time. A key feature of Perplexity is its ability to analyze user queries while simultaneously gathering information from the internet in real time and generating responses with a list of all sources used. You can view sources not only for the entire generated text but also for individual sentences or even specific words. The Perplexity workflow includes: Query analysis: once the user submits a prompt (text request), the neural network analyzes its context and content using built-in language models. Data search: information is retrieved from the internet. The search includes not only articles and text-based data but also videos, social media posts, and user comments. Priority is given to authoritative sources. Response generation: the collected and processed information is compiled into a single response with citations and source links. Perplexity uses different data models to ensure the response is as accurate and reliable as possible. Additional functionality (if needed): in Copilot and Deep Research modes, the system refines queries further to deliver more accurate and relevant answers. Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use Perplexity AI  Let's explore how to use the neural network in practice. We'll start with the interface and its basic functions, then move on to using prompts to evaluate the results. Go to the official website of Perplexity AI. You will see the home page. By default, the interface will be in English. To view available interface languages or switch them, click on the language at the bottom of the page. The left-hand panel includes the following elements: New Thread button (plus icon) – allows you to start a new conversation or query. In Perplexity, a Thread is a separate message chain that is not connected to previous queries. Useful for asking about new topics. Home button – takes you back to the home page at any time. Discover – lets you view and customize a news blog with trending topics. Users can choose their interests and get fresh, relevant content. Spaces – used for creating and organizing workspaces to group conversations and uploaded files by topics or projects. The query interface includes: Search mode – the default mode where the AI analyzes the query and generates an answer in real time. Research mode – used for deep analysis and information gathering. It offers a more in-depth report with comprehensive source analysis. This mode takes a bit more time. Model selection – lets you choose one of eight supported AI models. In the free plan, only Auto mode is available, where Perplexity selects the best model based on the query. Source selection – you can choose from Web (all sources), Academic (scientific sources only), or Social (social media and informal sources). File attachments – Perplexity supports uploading files with your query. For example, you can upload a file with Python code to find errors. Supported formats include text files, PDFs, and images (JPEG, PNG). You can upload files from local devices, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Dictation mode – allows you to create queries via voice input. Submission is still manual. Voice mode – enables full voice interaction. You can dictate your query and receive voice responses. Unlike Dictation, Voice mode supports hands-free interaction. Using Text Prompts  Let's test how Perplexity AI handles user prompts.  We'll start with text-based queries and create several different prompts. The first one will test how the neural network handles a complex scientific topic. First prompt: I'm writing a scientific paper. Write a text on 'Differential Equations.' The text should cover basic first-order differential equations and partial differential equations. The style should be academic. As shown in the screenshot, the AI began by explaining what differential equations are. Then, following the prompt structure, it provided a breakdown of first-order and partial differential equations, complete with equations. Perplexity provides a list of sources used, which are shown in the Sources tab.  If the query includes a practical task (e.g., solving a math problem, writing a program), the AI uses technical sources and lists them in the Tasks section. The text is accompanied by numbered source links. Clicking a number opens the relevant page. On the right, a context menu appears, breaking down the highlighted text and showing each part's source.  You can reuse the AI's response to create a new query. Select a paragraph, sentence, or word, and click Add to follow-up. The selected fragment will be added to the new prompt field. Second prompt: What is a passive source? Give real-world examples and advice for beginners. This prompt tests how the AI provides practical advice.  As per the prompt, the AI also generated a block of beginner tips. As shown in the screenshots, Perplexity provided detailed examples and actionable advice, completing the task effectively. Using Files in Queries Next, we'll test file handling. We create a text file with Python code containing an intentional error (printed instead of print): print("\nNumbers from 1 to 5:") for i in range(1, 6):   printed(i, end=" ") We save the file as .txt (other extensions like .py or .js aren't supported due to security policies). Now we ask the AI to find and fix the error.  Image Search  Perplexity AI can both generate and search for images online using text prompts. Let’s search for an image online.  Prompt: Find an image of rainy London. There should be a telephone booth in the foreground and Big Ben in the background. As shown in the screenshot, the AI found a bunch of relevant images. To view more results, go to the Images tab. Comparing Perplexity AI vs ChatGPT  Perplexity AI's main competitor is ChatGPT. Below is a comparison table of their key features: Feature Perplexity AI ChatGPT Primary Purpose General-purpose tool for various tasks. Suitable for text creation, math problems, academic and educational content. Same as Perplexity: versatile use including text generation, coding, etc. Built-in Modes Search, Research Search, Reason, Deep Research Free Access Yes, but limited: auto model selection only; max 3 file uploads/day Yes, with limits: restricted use of GPT-4o, o4-mini, and deep research mode Paid Plans One plan: Pro at $20/month Four plans: Plus ($20/mo), Pro ($200/mo), Team ($25/mo billed annually), Enterprise (custom pricing) Mobile App Yes (iOS and Android) Yes (iOS and Android) Desktop App Yes (Windows and macOS) Yes (Windows and macOS) Hidden Features of Perplexity AI  Although it may appear similar to competitors, Perplexity has unique features that enhance the user experience: Financial Data Analysis: built-in tools for viewing stock quotes and financial reports, with data from Financial Modeling Prep. YouTube Video Summaries: the AI can summarize videos, regardless of language. Focus Mode: restricts search to academic papers or specific websites for faster, more targeted results. Advantages  Key strengths of Perplexity AI include: Real-time data sourcing for up-to-date answers. Convenient source tracking and citation. File upload support in queries. Built-in financial data analysis tools. Two work modes: Search and Research. The Research mode provides deeper, more detailed answers. Integrated voice assistant for prompts and conversations. Image generation and image search features. Built-in YouTube video summarization. Disadvantages  Like any neural network, Perplexity AI has its drawbacks: Free plan limitations. Prompt-dependent accuracy: for complex scientific/technical topics, even with many sources, it can sometimes give inaccurate responses. Conclusion  In this review, we examined Perplexity AI—a powerful tool built on large language models. It is well-suited for a wide range of tasks and stands out due to its advanced source-handling features and personalized approach.
07 August 2025 · 8 min to read
Infrastructure

How to Host an ARK Server: Detailed Guide

Have you ever wondered why ARK: Survival Evolved is so popular among the masses? The question is simple - the world is massive, the challenges are tough, and teaming up with friends brings it all to life. But what if you're tired of lag, trolls, or losing progress on shared public servers? This is why you need to host your own ARK dedicated server. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to host an ARK server on your own machine or through a cloud provider like Hostman. We'll walk through everything you need—from setup to launch. Ark: Survival Evolved servers list Key Takeaways A dedicated ARK server gives you full control over settings, players, mods, and performance. You can host your own ARK server on Windows or Linux using SteamCMD. ARK servers require solid hardware—at least 16 GB RAM and a fast CPU are recommended. Hosting through cloud providers like Hostman can simplify setup and improve uptime. With the right configuration, your ARK server can run smoothly, even with custom maps and mods. What Is an ARK Dedicated Server? An ARK dedicated server is a private environment where your game world runs independently of the default multiplayer options. Instead of relying on Studio Wildcard’s shared servers, you run your own—from your PC or a remote cloud instance. That means you can control the experience all by yourself, only limited by your own morals. You can host PvE or PvP sessions, manage mods, control who joins, and set your own rules. For groups that want a consistent, customizable experience, it’s the best way to play. Benefits of Playing ARK: Survival Evolved Online While ARK is a good game for solo leveling experience, the game truly shines in multiplayer. Building a base, taming dinosaurs, and exploring tropical maps becomes even more rewarding with others. Here’s why: Shared workload: More fun when you play with your friends. Faster progression: Gather resources, craft tools, and level up faster in cooperation with friends. Social connection: It's more fun to build, battle, and explore. PvP opportunities: Challenge others in combat or form alliances. Knowledge sharing: Let the new players learn quickly from experienced survivors. Multiplayer isn't just about more people—it's about better gameplay, deeper strategy, and shared stories that keep you coming back. Why Do You Need an ARK Dedicated Server? It’s not always useful to rely on public servers since they can lead to a traumatizing experience in ARK: Survival Evolved. A lot of external factors can ruin your game session, among them—lags, cheaters, trolls, server wipes. If you choose to run your own ARK server you become more worry-free of these problems if you have a desire to play peacefully. You can set your own rules, choose who gets access, and configure performance settings based on your needs. Want to tame dinos faster? Adjust the multipliers. Prefer PvE over PvP? You decide. Plus, your game world will stay active even when you’re not logged in. Hosting your own server (especially with Hostman’s VPS Server) helps you to stop relying on your own (or someone elses) hardware, which is often the case in peer-hosted multiplayer games. It can be frustrating when the host logs out or their machine crashes, meaning that session ends for everyone. A dedicated setup avoids this entirely. An example of how to setup your own rule on Ark dedicated server How To Setup an ARK Game Server: Detailed Guide Setting up an ARK dedicated server is pretty simple. Let’s show you some useful steps. Step 1: Prepare Your Server Before anything else, make sure your system meets the recommended ark server requirements: CPU: Quad-core, 3.5 GHz or higher RAM: At least 16 GB (more if using mods) Storage: 50 GB SSD minimum Upload Bandwidth: 20 Mbps+ You can use Windows or Linux, but many prefer Linux for its stability and lower resource consumption. Make sure your OS is 64-bit and kept up to date. Step 2: Install SteamCMD SteamCMD is the command-line tool used to install game server files. To install SteamCMD on Linux: sudo apt update && sudo apt install steamcmd On Windows: Download SteamCMD from the official site. Extract it to C:\steamcmd. Run steamcmd.exe. Step 3: Install ARK Server Files Create a folder for the ARK server installation: mkdir ark-server && cd ark-server Launch SteamCMD and download the ARK server using the anonymous login: steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir ./ark-server +app_update 376030 validate +quit Use 2430930 if you want to install ARK: Survival Ascended instead of the classic version. Step 4: Configure the Server Once installed, navigate to: cd ark-server/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ Or on Windows: C:\ark-server\ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\ Create and edit these two files: GameUserSettings.ini Game.ini Basic settings to add: [ServerSettings] ServerAdminPassword=YourAdminPass ServerPassword=OptionalPlayerPass SessionName=HostmanARKServer Add any gameplay tweaks here as needed (e.g., dino taming speed, resource multipliers). Step 5: Open Required Ports Make sure your firewall and hosting provider allow traffic through these ports: UDP 7777 – Game port UDP 27015 – Query port UDP 27020 – RCON port (optional) On Linux: sudo ufw allow 7777/udp sudo ufw allow 27015/udp sudo ufw allow 27020/udp Step 6: Start the ARK Server You can launch the server using a startup script.  For Linux: ./ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer TheIsland?SessionName=HostmanARKServer?ServerPassword=MyPass?ServerAdminPassword=MyAdminPass?listen -server -log For Windows, create a batch file like this: start ShooterGameServer.exe TheIsland?SessionName=HostmanARKServer?ServerPassword=MyPass?ServerAdminPassword=MyAdminPass?QueryPort=27015?Port=7777?listen Double-click the .bat file to start your server. Step 7: Join Your ARK Server To connect: Launch ARK: Survival Evolved Click Join ARK Set filter to Unofficial Search your server name or IP address If your server doesn’t appear, go to Steam → View → Servers → Favorites and manually add: your.server.ip:27015 Now you’re ready to enter your world! Conclusion Running your own ark dedicated server gives you full control over your ARK: Survival Evolved experience. This is way better if you want to dedicate your precious time to your beloved game, where you want to build a small and warm community of players. If you're just getting started, consider launching your ARK server on a reliable cloud provider. A VPS from Hostman, for example, allows you to scale resources as your community grows, while enjoying a simplified deployment process and responsive support. FAQ What are the minimum ARK server requirements? For smooth gameplay, your server should have at least a quad-core CPU (3.5 GHz or higher), 16 GB of RAM, and an SSD with 50 GB or more of free space. A stable internet connection with at least 20 Mbps upload speed is also essential. Can I host an ARK server on my own PC? Yes, you can self-host an ARK server from your own machine, but this works best for small groups and limited sessions.  How many players can join my ARK dedicated server? The player limit depends on your hardware and internet bandwidth. With proper specs (16 GB RAM and above), you can comfortably support 10–30 players. Is hosting an ARK server free? You can host it for free on your own hardware, but you’ll cover electricity, bandwidth, and maintenance costs.
31 July 2025 · 6 min to read

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