API Management

Use the API Manager user interface to define APIs and securely manage your API environment. You can also analyze your API usage by using the analytics that is provided and socialize your APIs in a developer portal.

The API Manager user interface provides a solution for companies to manage APIs for private, internal APIs, public, and external APIs. This on-premises offering provides the capabilities that are required so that you can externalize and manage your services as REST or SOAP APIs.

Depending on your role, you can complete different tasks that are outlined in the documentation. Each task is covered in the order that they are executed.

Each task introduces new features of the API Manager user interface as they become relevant to the environment that you are building.

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Before you start, check that the browser you are using is supported and meets the required minimum levels:

• Google Chrome 30
• Mozilla Firefox 24
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 9
• Safari 5.1.10, 6.1, or 7.0

An API is a set of functions that provide some business or technical capability and can be called by applications using a defined protocol. In the context of API Manager, applications are typically mobile or web applications, and they use the HTTP protocol. You can create either SOAP or REST APIs.

A REST API is a defined set of interactions that use the HTTP protocol, typically by using JSON or XML as the data format that is exchanged. For example, a data request might use an HTTP GET method, and a data record might use an HTTP POST method. The choice of data format depends on the type of application that is calling the API. JSON is commonly used for web pages or mobile applications that present a user interface (by using JavaScript or HTML), whereas XML is often used for machine-to-machine scenarios.

You can create SOAP APIs that are based on an existing Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file. You can use this facility to benefit from the capabilities that are provided by API Management, which include analytics. You can also publicize the API by using the Developer Portal for any existing SOAP services in your organization, including any SOAP services that are part of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) or Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) infrastructure.

To create an API revision, complete the following steps, depending on the version of IBM® API Management you are using:

• In the navigation section of API Manager, click the APIs icon .
• Expand the required API, and click the API revision that you want to work with.
• Click Save > Save as a new revision.
• Enter a Version string. If you download the Swagger file for the API, the value of the version string is written to the version field.
• Optionally, enter a description for the new API revision, then click Save as a new revision.
• Optional: To delete a revision, click the Delete icon.

To test an API, complete the following steps.

• In the navigation section of API Manager, click the APIs icon . The APIs page opens.
• Click the name of the API that you want to test.
• Choose the operation that you want to test and click the Edit icon.
• Click the Test tab.
• Complete the following test fields:
  • Environment
    Choose an environment from the list provided.
  • Plan
    Choose a Plan from the list provided.
• Optional: For PUT or POST HTTPS methods, you can provide a request by populating the Request Body field.
• Click the Invoke icon. The test result is displayed in the Response section. You can continue to test different field values as necessary.

You can manage service levels, set quotas, establish controls, set up security policies, manage communities, and analyze trends by using the metrics provided.

There are three forms of tagging in API Management.

• You can create tags in an API that are visible in its Swagger definition and can be used to filter operations in the Advanced Developer Portal.
• You can tag items in the Advanced Developer Portal so that they can be searched for.
• You can assign categories to APIs in the API Manager user interface, which are not visible in the Advanced Developer Portal.

You configure security for an API by creating one or more security schemes that define various aspects of security configuration. You then select which schemes you want to apply to your API, and to the operations in your API.