Version 9.5 SP1
 —  Virtualizing APIs Using the CentraSite Business UI  —

Requesting an API for Consumption

CentraSite does not begin generating an API key unless a consumer requests an API for consumption.


Prerequisites

To enable guest users (i.e. users without a valid CentraSite user account) to access and register as consumers of APIs, you must do the following:

Top of page

General

When requesting an API for consumption, keep the following points in mind:

Top of page

Request an API for Consumption

Use the following procedure to request an API for consumption.

Start of instruction setTo request an API for consumption

  1. In CentraSite Business UI, display the details page for the API that you want to consume. For procedures, see the section Viewing Details for an API.

  2. On the API detail page, click Consume API (graphics/consume.png).

  3. In the Consume API dialog, do one of the following:

    If you are accessing the API as logged on user:

    1. Enable the Email me checkbox so as to receive auto-generated workflow notifications.

    2. Enter a valid reason to request the API for consumption.

    3. Specify a precise identifier token by which messages from you will be recognized at runtime. See Using Consumer Evaluators for details.

    4. Click the Consume button.

      An API key request is sent to the designated approvers of API consumption for approval. On approval, a request for consumption of the selected API will be sent to the provider of the API who will generate the API Key for consumption.

      Once approved, the API consumption request will be processed and notification sent to you at specified email address.

      However, if an approval workflow is not defined for the API, the key is generated immediately.

    If you are accessing the API as a guest user, and you have a valid CentraSite user account:

    1. In the Login to Your Account panel, do the following:

      1. Enter your username and password.

      2. Click the Next button.

    2. Enable the Email me checkbox so as to receive auto-generated workflow notifications.

    3. Enter a valid reason to request the API for consumption.

    4. Specify a precise identifier token by which messages from you will be recognized at runtime. See Using Consumer Evaluators for details.

    5. Click the Consume button.

      An API key request is sent to the designated approvers of API consumption for approval. On approval, a request for consumption of the selected API will be sent to the provider of the API who will generate the API Key for consumption.

      Once approved, the API consumption request will be processed and notification sent to you at specified email address.

      However, if an approval workflow is not defined for the API, the key is generated immediately.

    If you are accessing the API as a guest user, and you do not have a valid CentraSite user account:

    1. In the Request an Account panel, specify the following:

      1. Enter your First Name, Last Name and Email address.

      2. Type in your password in the Password field.

      3. Retype the password in the Confirm Password field.

      4. Enter the Organization you want to join

        If the Organization field is left blank, CentraSite will automatically register the user as a consumer in the organization that was configured in the Global Onboarding Policy.

      5. Click the Next button.

    2. Enable the Email me checkbox so as to receive auto-generated workflow notifications.

    3. Enter a valid reason to request the API for consumption.

    4. Specify a precise identifier token by which messages from you will be recognized at runtime. See Using Consumer Evaluators for details.

    5. Click the Consume button.

      A consumer registration request is sent to the organization’s administrator for approval. On successful registration of the consumer, a request for consumption of the selected API will be sent to the provider of the API who will generate the API Key for consumption.

      However, if an approval workflow is not defined for the API key, the key is generated immediately.

Top of page

Using Consumer Evaluators

When you request API key for consumption of an API that requires additional runtime actions validation as configured by the provider, CentraSite requires you to specify additional identifiers.

In this field... Do the following...
IPv4 Address

Specify a range of IPv4 addresses. Type the lowest IP address in the From field and the highest IP address in the To field.

This will identify only those requests originating from any IP address that lies between the specified range.

Example:

192.168.0.0 and 192.168.0.10

If you need to specify additional IP addresses, use the plus button to add more rows.

IPv6 Address

Specify a IPv6 address.

This will identify only those requests that originate from the specified IP address.

Example:

fdda:5cc1:23:4::1f

If you need to specify additional IP addresses, use the plus button to add more rows.

Hostname

Specify the hostname. This will identify only those requests that originate from the specified hostname.

Example:

pcmachine.ab.com

If you need to specify additional hostnames, use the plus button to add more rows.

HTTP Authentication Token

Specify one or more HTTP user names. This will identify only those requests that contain the specified user names encoded and passed in the HTTP authentication user token.

Example:

SAGUser123

If you need to specify additional tokens, use the plus button to add more rows.

WS-Security Authentication Token

Specify the WSS username token. This will identify only those requests that contain the specified user name passed in the SOAP or XML message header.

Example:

userwss

If you need to specify additional tokens, use the plus button to add more rows.

XPath Token

Specify one or more XPath expressions. This will identify only those requests that contain the specified XPath in the SOAP or XML message or request.

Example:

//*[local-name()='Envelope']/*[local-name()='Body']/*[local-name()='echoInt']/*[local-name()='echoIntInput='][.='2']

If you need to specify additional tokens, use the plus button to add more rows.

Consumer Certificate

Specify the X.509 certificates that help the API owner to identify requests from you.

Click Upload to locate and select the certificate (.cer) file.

Top of page