The Rise of the API Economy

The rise of cloud services is changing the API (Application Program Interface) landscape.  Historically, APIs have been used to connect one application or appliance to another. Server virtualization served as the precursor for the virtualization of network functions (NFV) and in environments leveraging this technology, the ability to achieve high levels of automation and orchestration are key.  With NFV and a highly tuned automation framework for Layer 4-7 services - such as ADCs and WAFs, innovation possibilities expand exponentially.

APIs have worked well at the application level because developers have been making their APIs available to one another for over a decade.  However, during the same time period, when developers needed load balancing, they had to request it from the network infrastructure team since the network administrators typically owned procurement of load balancing hardware.  Now that hardware-based load balancers are increasingly being superseded by software-based load balancers, load balancing is now a function that developers can call as needed into the application traffic flow process using APIs. 

Kemp REST API (representational state transfer – typically architected to run over HTTP and read XML files) provides access to intelligent load balancing and application delivery services.  Using the API, developers can monitor application traffic and server health from a workload perspective, optimize an application’s behavior through caching, compression and content switching, and limit service access based on configured policies.  [JD1] 

In the context of SDN (software defined networking), many technology leaders are working on developing new and innovative ways to communicate with SDN controllers via programmatic interfaces. Due to the abundance of interfaces that exist across the vast array of controllers, there is a large incentive for the standardization of the various SDN controller northbound interfaces along with a way to address layer 4-7 services. Kemp is contributing to these efforts in various venues. This will provide for increased adoption of SDN and related protocols and technologies resulting in new business opportunities for network service vendors, application developers and providers of orchestration and automation solutions.  In the future, integrating Layer 4-7 APIs that provide load balancing and other network functionality will be as commonplace as the use of APIs themselves, especially as mobile devices become the consumption point of choice for API services.

Programmable APIs and Open Source Policy Data Models

Network infrastructure in the SDN context will include an open data model and open API’s, allowing a myriad of custom policy-based orchestration tools to further automate application and network tasks, as well as automating the optimization and remediation of the network and application resources through the integration of analytic tools and programs.

For the first time, these open APIs will enable non-network operations teams, such as DevOps, to rapidly provision and manage connectivity, security and service levels across the entire data center.  With SDN, the application requirements define the network through an open policy model, and open APIs. 

Kemp RESTful API v.2.0

Kemp’s LoadMaster API (LM-API) provides a REST-based interface designed to allow remote applications and services access to the LoadMaster in a simple and consistent manner. A PowerShell wrapper is also available to allow the instrumentation of LoadMaster instances via the API using PowerShell syntax, for those familiar with the language. REST (a successor to SOAP in a service-oriented architecture context) is a style of software architecture for distributed systems and is one of the predominant web service design models.

How the LoadMaster RESTful API Works

LM-API allows a user or application to pass HTTP requests to the LoadMaster. The LoadMaster answers the request with an XML formatted response with a request for some data interaction.

Administrators can gain programmatic control of LoadMaster to allow integration with external software platforms and custom 3rd party scripts, which are enabled via the Kemp LM-API. This support is seen as an essential step of Kemp’s long term plans for integration with external orchestration, automation and operations tools.

Modern computing is continuing to advance, as evidenced by an explosion in the number of devices connected to the internet, an increasing dependency on web-delivered services and cloud computing becoming mainstream. As a result, APIs are increasing in relevance as an integral part of any product or service. The use of APIs continues to enable many scenarios ranging from B2B product and service integration to the automation of workflow tasks and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

When Kemp rolled out LM-API for the LoadMaster family of products, it opened up endless possibilities for the automation of application delivery services critical to modern private and hybrid cloud application deployments.

The rise of cloud services is changing the API (Application Program Interface) landscape.  Historically, APIs have been used to connect one application or appliance to another. Server virtualization served as the precursor for the virtualization of network functions (NFV) and in environments leveraging this technology, the ability to achieve high levels of automation and orchestration are key.  With NFV and a highly tuned automation framework for Layer 4-7 services - such as ADCs and WAFs, innovation possibilities expand exponentially.

APIs have worked well at the application level because developers have been making their APIs available to one another for over a decade.  However, during the same time period, when developers needed load balancing, they had to request it from the network infrastructure team since the network administrators typically owned procurement of load balancing hardware.  Now that hardware-based load balancers are increasingly being superseded by software-based load balancers, load balancing is now a function that developers can call as needed into the application traffic flow process using APIs. 

Kemp REST API (representational state transfer – typically architected to run over HTTP and read XML files) provides access to intelligent load balancing and application delivery services.  Using the API, developers can monitor application traffic and server health from a workload perspective, optimize an application’s behavior through caching, compression and content switching, and limit service access based on configured policies.

In the context of SDN (software defined networking), many technology leaders are working on developing new and innovative ways to communicate with SDN controllers via programmatic interfaces. Due to the abundance of interfaces that exist across the vast array of controllers, there is a large incentive for the standardization of the various SDN controller northbound interfaces along with a way to address layer 4-7 services. Kemp is contributing to these efforts in various venues. This will provide for increased adoption of SDN and related protocols and technologies resulting in new business opportunities for network service vendors, application developers and providers of orchestration and automation solutions.  In the future, integrating Layer 4-7 APIs that provide load balancing and other network functionality will be as commonplace as the use of APIs themselves, especially as mobile devices become the consumption point of choice for API services.

Programmable APIs and Open Source Policy Data Models

Network infrastructure in the SDN context will include an open data model and open API’s, allowing a myriad of custom policy-based orchestration tools to further automate application and network tasks, as well as automating the optimization and remediation of the network and application resources through the integration of analytic tools and programs.

For the first time, these open APIs will enable non-network operations teams, such as DevOps, to rapidly provision and manage connectivity, security and service levels across the entire data center.  With SDN, the application requirements define the network through an open policy model, and open APIs. 

Kemp RESTful API v.2.0

Kemp’s LoadMaster API (LM-API) provides a REST-based interface designed to allow remote applications and services access to the LoadMaster in a simple and consistent manner. A PowerShell wrapper is also available to allow the instrumentation of LoadMaster instances via the API using PowerShell syntax, for those familiar with the language. REST (a successor to SOAP in a service-oriented architecture context) is a style of software architecture for distributed systems and is one of the predominant web service design models.

How the LoadMaster RESTful API Works

LM-API allows a user or application to pass HTTP requests to the LoadMaster. The LoadMaster answers the request with an XML formatted response with a request for some data interaction.

Administrators can gain programmatic control of LoadMaster to allow integration with external software platforms and custom 3rd party scripts, which are enabled via the Kemp LM-API. This support is seen as an essential step of Kemp’s long term plans for integration with external orchestration, automation and operations tools.

Modern computing is continuing to advance, as evidenced by an explosion in the number of devices connected to the internet, an increasing dependency on web-delivered services and cloud computing becoming mainstream. As a result, APIs are increasing in relevance as an integral part of any product or service. The use of APIs continues to enable many scenarios ranging from B2B product and service integration to the automation of workflow tasks and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

When Kemp rolled out LM-API for the LoadMaster family of products, it opened up endless possibilities for the automation of application delivery services critical to modern private and hybrid cloud application deployments.