Which report should an IS auditor check to ensure compliance with a service level agreement's uptime requirement?

The choice to check availability reports is particularly relevant when assessing compliance with a service level agreement (SLA) that includes uptime requirements. Availability reports specifically detail the operational status of systems over a given period, documenting when services were available and measuring against the agreed-upon levels outlined in the SLA. These reports provide quantifiable metrics on uptime, allowing auditors to verify if the service provider met their obligations regarding system availability.

In contrast, utilization reports generally focus on resource usage, which may not directly correlate with uptime metrics. Hardware error reports track specific malfunctions or failures, but this information does not necessarily reflect overall service availability. System logs, while useful for troubleshooting and understanding events that occurred within the system, may not systematically summarize uptime compliance with the SLA.

Thus, availability reports are the most appropriate source for validating adherence to uptime requirements, making them the best choice in this situation.