Tool / MCP server
Exposes actions and data to agents through a standard protocol (e.g. MCP).
Problem it solves: Agents need safe, typed access to systems.
Where it sits: Called by the agent.
When to use
- Agent tool use.
When not to use
- Exposing destructive actions without approval.
Failure modes
- Slow or failing tools stall agents.
- Over-broad permissions.
Metrics to watch
- Tool latency
- Tool error rate
Alternatives
- Direct API call
Configuration in Labs (illustrative defaults)
- Base service time (ms) = 150 — Processing time per request at zero load. Queueing adds to this as utilisation rises.
- Availability (0–1) = 0.995 — Probability a call to this dependency succeeds (illustrative).
- Capacity per instance (req/s) = 500 — Maximum requests one instance completes per second before it saturates.