Windows Azure Service Management API Key Concepts and Operations

The Windows Azure Service Management API is a powerful tool for managing your Azure resources. It allows you to automate tasks, monitor your usage, and optimize your cloud infrastructure.

To get started with the API, you'll need to understand the key concepts and operations involved. This includes learning about service management, subscriptions, and credentials.

A subscription is the top-level entity in the API, and it represents your Azure account. You can have multiple subscriptions, each with its own set of resources.

To authenticate with the API, you'll need to obtain a management certificate or a management key. The management key is a string value that is used to authenticate with the API.

The API uses a RESTful architecture, which means you'll be using HTTP requests to interact with the API. This includes GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE requests to manage your resources.

You can use the API to create, update, and delete resources such as virtual machines, storage accounts, and networks.

APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are the backbone of the Windows Azure Service Management API, allowing developers to interact with Azure services programmatically.

The API uses REST (Representational State of Resource) architecture, which is a common way for APIs to communicate over the web. This means that API requests and responses are in a standardized format, making it easier to work with.

APIs can be used to automate tasks, such as creating and managing Azure resources, and can also be used to build custom applications that integrate with Azure services. This is done by sending HTTP requests to the API endpoints, which then return responses in a format such as JSON or XML.

API Management resources have various properties that define their behavior and configuration. A single API Management service resource is represented in List or Get responses.

An additional API Management resource location is described by the "AdditionalLocation" property. The "ApiManagementServiceIdentity" property contains identity information about the API Management service resource.

An API Management service resource has a specific SKU, which is represented by the "ApiManagementServiceSkuProperties" property. The "ApimIdentityType" property determines the type of identity used for the resource.

Certificate information is crucial for API Management services, and the "CertificateInformation" property provides details about the SSL certificate. This includes the expiration date, subject, and thumbprint of the certificate.

Here are some key definitions related to API Management resources:

The "PlatformVersion" property specifies the compute platform version running the service. The "PublicNetworkAccess" property determines whether public endpoint access is allowed for the API Management service.

API Management services can be deployed in various virtual networks, and the "VirtualNetworkType" property specifies the type of VPN in which the service needs to be configured.

APIs return responses to your requests, and understanding these responses is crucial for working with APIs.

The response status code is the first thing to check. It indicates whether the request was successful or not. For example, a 200 OK status code means the request was successful.

Here are some common response status codes you may encounter:

The response body can also contain useful information. For example, if you're retrieving a list of subscriptions, the response body will contain the list of subscriptions and their properties.

In some cases, the response body will be in JSON format. You'll need to parse this JSON to access the information you need. Most programming languages and frameworks make it easy to process the response message and return the information to your application in a typed/structured format.

You should always confirm the HTTP status code in the response header and parse the response body according to the API specification.

The Windows Azure Service Management API has a specific structure that makes it easy to work with.

The API is organized into several namespaces, each representing a different aspect of the Azure service.

The ServiceManagement namespace is the main entry point for the API, providing access to all the other namespaces.

The API's structure allows developers to easily navigate and find the resources they need.

Each namespace has its own set of classes and methods for performing specific tasks, such as managing virtual machines or deploying web applications.

By understanding the API's structure, developers can write more efficient and effective code.

REST components are the building blocks of a REST API request and response. A REST API request/response pair can be separated into five distinct components.

The request URI is a crucial part of a REST API request. It consists of the URI scheme, host, resource path, and any required query-string parameters, and is included in the request message header. Most languages or frameworks require you to pass it separately from the request message.

HTTP request message header fields are also an essential component of a REST API request. These fields provide additional information about the request, such as authentication details and request metadata.

Optional HTTP request message body fields can be included in a REST API request to support the URI and HTTP operation. For example, POST operations contain MIME-encoded objects that are passed as complex parameters, and the MIME encoding type for the body should be specified in the Content-type request header.

HTTP response message header fields are used to provide information about the response, such as the status code and response headers.

Optional HTTP response message body fields can be included in a REST API response to provide additional information about the response.

Here's a breakdown of the five components of a REST API request/response:

A secure REST request requires the HTTPS protocol for the URI scheme, providing a secure channel for the request and response. This is because sensitive information, such as Azure AD authorization codes and access/bearer tokens, is transmitted and received during the request.

API Structure is crucial for any application, and one key aspect is the Sku Properties. The capacity of the SKU is an integer, which represents the number of deployed units of the SKU.

For Consumption SKUs, the capacity must be specified as 0. This is a specific requirement for this type of SKU.

Each Sku has a name, which is of type SkuType. This name is a crucial identifier for the SKU.

Here are the main properties of a Sku:

The Windows Azure Service Management API allows you to manage your Azure resources programmatically.

You can use the API to create and manage Azure subscriptions, including adding and removing users, and updating subscription settings. The API also supports managing Azure resources such as virtual machines, storage accounts, and networks.

To authenticate with the API, you'll need to provide a valid Azure account and a subscription ID. This can be done using a service principal or a certificate-based authentication method.

The API supports multiple programming languages, including .NET, Java, and Python, making it accessible to developers with different skill sets.

You can use the API to automate repetitive tasks, such as scaling virtual machines or updating storage account configurations. This can save you time and reduce the risk of human error.

The API also provides detailed error messages, making it easier to debug and troubleshoot issues.

Authentication and Authorization is a crucial aspect of Windows Azure Service Management API. The API Management service resource has an identity property called principalId, which is a string that represents the principal id of the identity.

To acquire an access token, you can use Azure AD's platform/language-neutral OAuth2 service endpoints or the Microsoft Authentication Libraries (MSAL). The Azure AD endpoints you'll be using are the OAuth2 /authorize and /token endpoints.

The type of identity used for the resource is determined by the ApimIdentityType, which can be 'None', 'SystemAssigned', 'SystemAssigned, UserAssigned', or 'UserAssigned'. This type includes both an implicitly created identity and a set of user assigned identities.

Identity is a crucial aspect of authentication and authorization. It's what determines who or what has access to a particular resource or system.

The ApiManagementServiceIdentity properties include the principal id, tenant id, and type of identity used for the resource. The type of identity can be one of the following: None, SystemAssigned, SystemAssigned, UserAssigned, or UserAssigned.

The type of identity used for the resource is determined by the ApimIdentityType. This can be None, which removes any identities from the service, or one of the following: SystemAssigned, SystemAssigned, UserAssigned, or UserAssigned.

To acquire an access token, you'll need to use either the Azure AD's platform/language-neutral OAuth2 service endpoints or the Microsoft Authentication Libraries (MSAL). The two Azure AD endpoints you'll be using are the OAuth2 /authorize and /token endpoints.

Here are the ApimIdentityType options:

The Legacy Portal Status is a crucial aspect of API Management service. It determines whether the Legacy Portal is enabled or disabled for the service.

The Legacy Portal Status can have two values: Disabled or Enabled. This is a straightforward status that indicates whether the Legacy Portal is available or not.

Here's a breakdown of the possible values:

Understanding the Legacy Portal Status is essential for managing API Management services effectively.

API Configuration is a crucial aspect of the Windows Azure Service Management API. You can control the legacy Configuration API through the ConfigurationApi.

The legacyApi option is available, allowing you to indicate whether the legacy Configuration API (v1) should be exposed on the API Management service. Its default value is Enabled.

To configure the legacyApi, you must specify a value of either Enabled or Disabled. If Disabled, the legacy Configuration API (v1) will not be available for self-hosted gateways.

API Management services can be deployed in multiple locations, and you can use the disableGateway property to disable the gateway in an additional location. This is especially useful when you have a service deployed in multiple locations and need to fine-tune its configuration.

The gatewayRegionalUrl property is used to specify the gateway URL of the API Management service in a particular region. This is a crucial piece of information when you're working with APIs that have a global presence.

You can use the location property to specify the location name of the additional region among Azure Data center regions. This helps you keep track of where your API Management service is deployed.

NAT Gateway can be enabled for your API Management service using the natGatewayState property. This property can be set to Enabled to enable NAT Gateway or Disabled to disable it.

Here's a summary of the properties related to Additional Location:

The platformVersion property is used to specify the Compute Platform Version running the service. This is an important piece of information when you're troubleshooting issues with your API Management service.

API Management services deployed in an Internal Virtual Network in a particular additional location have private static load-balanced IP addresses, which can be accessed using the privateIPAddresses property.

To register a client that accesses an Azure Resource Manager REST API, you'll need to follow a few steps. First, register the client application with Microsoft Entra ID.

You'll also need to set permission requests to allow the client to access the Azure Resource Manager API. This is crucial for authentication and authorization purposes.

To configure Azure Resource Manager Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) settings for authorizing the client, you'll need to register an application with the Microsoft identity platform.

Here's a summary of the steps you'll need to take:

Once you've completed these steps, you can move on to creating the REST request and handling the response.

The Configuration API is a crucial part of the API Management service, allowing you to manage and configure your APIs with ease.

You can control whether the legacy Configuration API (v1) is exposed on the API Management service by setting the 'legacyApi' property to 'Enabled' or 'Disabled'. If you disable it, the legacy API will not be available for self-hosted gateways.

The default value for 'legacyApi' is 'Enabled', so you'll need to explicitly set it to 'Disabled' if you don't want to use the legacy API.

To configure a virtual network for your API Management service, you'll need to specify the subnet resource ID, subnet name, and virtual network ID.

Here's a breakdown of the required configuration settings for a virtual network:

Version Constraint is a crucial aspect of API Configuration that ensures compatibility and stability of your API Management service. The ApiVersionConstraint is responsible for this.

The minApiVersion parameter is a string that limits control plane API calls to API Management service versions equal to or newer than this value. This means you can set a minimum version requirement for your API to ensure it only interacts with compatible versions of the service.

By setting a minimum API version, you can prevent older versions of the service from accessing your API, which helps maintain security and prevents potential issues.

The Certificate Source is a crucial setting in API configuration. It determines the type of identity that created the resource.

There are four types of Certificate Source: BuiltIn, Custom, KeyVault, and Managed. Each of these options serves a specific purpose.

The BuiltIn Certificate Source is a default option that uses a built-in certificate. This is a straightforward option that doesn't require any additional configuration.

The Custom Certificate Source allows you to specify a custom certificate. This option is useful when you need to use a certificate that's not provided by the built-in option.

The KeyVault Certificate Source uses a certificate stored in Azure Key Vault. This option provides an additional layer of security and flexibility.

The Managed Certificate Source is used when the certificate is managed by a third-party service. This option is useful when you need to integrate with external services.

Here is a summary of the Certificate Source options:

A Remote Private Endpoint Connection is a resource that allows you to connect a private endpoint to a service. This connection is represented by the RemotePrivateEndpointConnectionWrapper resource.

The id of a Remote Private Endpoint Connection is a unique string that identifies the resource. The name of the connection is also a string that can be used to identify it. A connection can have multiple group ids associated with it.

The private endpoint of a connection is represented by an ArmIdWrapper, which is a resource that contains the ID of the private endpoint. The provisioning state of a connection is a string that indicates whether the connection is being provisioned or not.

A connection has a private link service connection state, which is a collection of information about the state of the connection between the service consumer and provider. This state includes a message indicating if changes on the service provider require any updates on the consumer, the reason for approval/rejection of the connection, and the status of the connection.

Here is a breakdown of the properties of a Remote Private Endpoint Connection:

To set up an alert rule, you can receive alerts based on metrics and activity logs in Azure Monitor. You can configure an alert rule to perform an action when it triggers.

Common actions include sending an email notification, calling a webhook, or invoking an Azure Logic App. These actions can be configured to notify users about the alert and take an action.

To configure an example alert rule based on a request metric, you'll need to navigate to your API Management instance in the Azure portal. Then, select Monitoring > Alerts from the left menu.

Select + Create > Alert rule, and on the Condition tab, configure the alert rule based on a request metric. On the Actions tab, select or create one or more action groups to notify users about the alert and take an action.

You can create a new action group to send a notification email to a specific email address, such as [email protected]. For detailed steps, see Create and manage action groups in the Azure portal.

On the Details tab of Create an alert rule, enter a name and description of the alert rule and select the severity level. Optionally, configure the remaining settings and then select Create on the Review + create tab.

Once the alert rule is created, you can test it by using an HTTP client to simulate a request that triggers the alert. This can be done by running a command in a terminal, substituting the API Management hostname with the hostname of your API Management instance.

Here are some common actions you can take when an alert triggers:

Public Access is a crucial aspect of API Management services. It determines whether public endpoints are accessible for the service.

If public endpoint access is allowed, it means that users can access the API Management service from anywhere. However, if it's disabled, private endpoints are the exclusive access method.

The default value for Public Network Access is Enabled. This allows public endpoint access by default. If you want to disable public endpoint access, you can set it to Disabled.

Here's a summary of Public Network Access options:

In summary, Public Network Access is a key feature of API Management services that determines whether public endpoints are accessible. By setting it to Disabled, you can ensure that only private endpoints are used.

API Management emits metrics every minute, giving you near real-time visibility into the state and health of your APIs. The most frequently used metrics include Capacity and Requests.

To view metrics, navigate to your API Management instance in the Azure portal, select Monitoring > Metrics from the left menu, and then select the metrics you're interested in. For example, the Requests metric reports the number of gateway requests with dimensions.

To investigate metrics in detail, you can filter the chart using the dimensions of the Requests metric. For example, selecting Backend Response Code Category and entering 500 as the value shows the number of requests failed in the API backend.

The following metrics have been retired: Total Gateway Requests, Successful Gateway Requests, Unauthorized Gateway Requests, Failed Gateway Requests, and Other Gateway Requests. Please migrate to the Requests metric which provides closely similar functionality.

Viewing logs and metrics in Azure Monitor is a straightforward process. You can access logs and metrics for your API Management instance by navigating to the API Management instance in the Azure portal.

To view logs, select Logs from the left menu, and run queries to view the data. You can use sample queries or create your own, such as the query that retrieves the most recent 24 hours of data from the ApiManagementGatewayLogs table.

For more information about using resource logs for API Management, you can check out the Log Analytics tutorial, Overview of log queries in Azure Monitor, or API Management resource log schema reference.

API Management emits metrics every minute, providing near real-time visibility into the state and health of your APIs. The most frequently used metrics include Capacity and Requests.

The Capacity metric helps you make decisions about upgrading or downgrading your API Management services, while the Requests metric helps you analyze API traffic going through your API Management services. You can filter requests by response codes, location, hostname, and errors.

Here are the steps to access metrics:

Private Endpoint Connection Status is a crucial aspect of API Monitoring and Logging, allowing you to track the state of connections between service consumers and providers.

The status of a private endpoint connection can be one of three states: Approved, Rejected, or Removed. This is indicated by the status field in the PrivateLinkServiceConnectionState, which is a collection of information about the state of the connection.

The provisioning state of a private endpoint connection resource is also important, as it indicates whether the connection is being provisioned or not. This is shown in the properties.provisioningState field of the RemotePrivateEndpointConnectionWrapper.

Here are the possible statuses of a private endpoint connection:

The actionsRequired field in the PrivateLinkServiceConnectionState provides a message indicating if changes on the service provider require any updates on the consumer. This is essential for ensuring that the connection remains stable and secure.

In some cases, a private endpoint connection may require updates on the consumer side. This is indicated by the actionsRequired field, which provides a message explaining the required actions.