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article

Overview

In the 4.25 release (May 2021), we are introducing the API Management - Design First feature that, when combined with the existing API Policy Manager, provides API management capabilities from development to monitoring. You can create APIs in SnapLogic using your own API specifications. When you import or reference an API specification to the new /apim space, a new API asset is created. The new API comprises a Pipeline that is the scaffolding for the API and the Task used to call it. You can then create versions, add API policies, set permissions, and modify the underlying SnapLogic assets to build the business logic for your API.

Key Features

SnapLogic API Management (APIM) is a fully integrated solution on your Snaplex. You can create APIs from your SnapLogic Pipelines and Assets within SnapLogic or from Open API Specifications (OAS). You can also integrate with third-party APIs by creating API Proxies.

To make your APIs available to users outside SnapLogic, you can publish those APIs in a Developer Portal that is customized with your own branding. The API policy manager offers a suite of controls for authentication, authorization, validation, security, traffic shaping, and transformation.

The APIM solution is enabled via a Feature Subscription. Once your environment (Org) has the APIM feature enabled, you do not have to install any additional software. You can take advantage of your existing SnapLogic ecosystem to develop and expose APIs to your clients.

Snaplex Gateway Architecture

In SnapLogic’s APIM solution, the API gateway is your Snaplex node. This architecture differentiates SnapLogic APIM from other APIM vendors in that you do not have to build a separate physical gateway - the Snaplex resides in your infrastructure and you manage the node resources. All API logic resides on the Snaplex.

You can take advantage of your load balancers to direct the API requests from your client and manage the firewall settings. Data between the client and server never traverses the Control Plane. Dependencies on the Control Plane are limited to fetching metadata for accounts. You can use existing Ultra and Triggered Tasks as your API endpoints. APIs that use Triggered Tasks cannot be called with the Cloud URL because APIM does not support calls to the Control Plane.

The following diagram describes both the network architecture and the data flow for how SnapLogic handles an API call with APIM.

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Key Features and Components

SnapLogic provides API Management features and components to help you develop APIs, manage their lifecycles, and monitor their performance.

Features include:

• Support for Pipeline-First. APIM supports building APIs from your existing SnapLogic Assets:

  • Pipelines. A representation of the API specification and its child Pipelines, if any. Provides the scaffolding of the API’s implementation in the SnapLogic platform.

  • Tasks. The URI endpoints that are used to trigger Pipeline execution.

  • Files. The specification file and other files that are associated with the API.

  • Accounts. Accounts that are used by Pipelines in the API.

• Support for Design First. API Management supports the creation of APIs from the Open API Specification (OAS) 3.0 or 2.0. You can design an API based on your specification

  and

  , then upload a file

  of it

  or reference a URL

  with the

  containing your specification.

  Versioning: The ability to create multiple versions of an API based using an OAS 2.0 specification

  Both JSON and YAML file formats are supported.

• API Lifecycle Management. You can manage the entire lifecycle of an API or API version from creation to publication to deprecation to retirement.

• Multiple API Versions. You can modify the initial specification

  for

  of your

  initial

  API, then create and publish a new

  versions

  version from

  those

  the modified specification

  versions

  .

• Hierarchy Permissions: A comprehensive set of permission types that provides an Org admins the ability to define permissions at every level of the hierarchy. As an API developer, you can set permissions on your versions.
Suite of API Policies: The Manage API Policy wizard that enables you to enable various

Components include:

• API Manager. The console where you manage your APIs.

• Portal Manager. The console where you set up and manage your custom Developer Portal.

• Developer Portal. The custom site where you publish your APIs for consumption. In this site, API consumers can search and browse through your API Catalog and try out your APIs. Each API provides basic documentation and its specification. Users with a SnapLogic platform login can open the Developer Portal with one click from the Resources section of the Apps menu:

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• Subscription Manager. The console where you can approve and manage subscriptions to published APIs.

• API Policies. A suite of security policies that handle authorization, authentication, and traffic control to manage access to your APIs. You can apply these policies at

the /apim space, API, and Version levels

• various levels, such as the Org, the API, the API version, the shared folder of the Project Space, and Projects. Org Administrators can define permissions at very level of the hierarchy; API developers can set permissions on their own API versions.

• API Dashboard

: The dashboard displays

• . The API tab in Dashboard where you can view the usage and traffic metrics of your APIs.

As an Org admin or Pipeline Designer, you

• You can track the popularity of an API or analyze target and response errors to understand how to enhance the API consumer experience

. 

• .

• APIM tab in the Activity Log: The APIM tab allows you to track changes to APIs published to the Developer Portal in addition to changes to the Developer Portal membership and subscription request status.

• Support for Git integration. You can now effectively manage your API versions by associating them to source control repositories like Git and other Git hosting options supported by SnapLogic. You can create APIs from Git repositories, reusing existing SnapLogic Assets tracked in Git. Your Org must have Git integration set up. With Git integration, you can track, update, and manage versions of SnapLogic project files, pipelines, tasks, and accounts, using either the SnapLogic graphical interface or the SnapLogic Public APIs. When you create API Versions using SnapLogic Assets, the APIM console displays the Git operations available to you.