New API: Cligs Integrates 3scale Networks

A hot topic on the internet at the moment is how to monitor API usage. Here on Cligs, API tracking is built into the Cligs service, and when I introduced the Cligs Ubiquity Command, I updated the API keys page to show API key usage data. But I’m always looking for ways to open up Cligs for more users and this is what I want to talk to you about today.

A hot new startup in this space is 3scale Networks, which bills itself as an online marketplace for APIs. As Techcrunch puts it:

3scale features an online marketplace where resources are provided for developers who use Web Services to discover relevant services and set up usage agreements with providers. 3scale’s Quality of Service monitoring keeps track of actual uptime and quality of the contracted Web Service.

As a marketplace and relationship manager, I see 3scale providing an extra level of service (3rd party monitoring) that some Cligs users might need. For example, I imagine corporate users having a single 3scale account through which they manage their usage of many APIs, of which Cligs is one.

The Integration

So as of now, the Cligs API has new support for monitoring through the 3scale Networks service. This means that if you are a 3scale account holder, you can use this new Cligs API and track it usage in your 3scale account. Just sign up at the Cligs API page on 3scale.

To emphasize this point: The Cligs API is getting an additional feature and the current API will remain the same and is not being discontinued. This is an extra level of service to open up Cligs to more users that require the kind of monitoring that 3scale provides. Neither is better or worse: if you want the 3scale monitoring, using the Cligs 3scale API; otherwise, use the Cligs API.

To use the 3scale monitoring, you need to have a Cligs account as well as the 3scale account, both of which are free. When you login to Cligs, visit the updated API Keys page and at the bottom you’ll find the 3scale section. There are two forms: one to enter your 3scale user key and one to remove your 3scale API key. When you use the new 3scale Cligs API, two things happen:

• The cligs you create will be added to your Cligs account, just like the current API.
• The API usage is reported to 3scale which logs it and displays it in your account.

Technical Details

The new API is almost identical to the current one. The are two differences:

• Slightly different API endpoint.
• Using your 3scale API key instead of a Cligs API key.

More details and documentation at the Cligs page on 3scale.

Update: To get your 3scale User API Key, login to 3scale, and then sign up to the Cligs contract (only one now, which is the free service) at http://www.3scale.net/cligs/cligs#contracts. Once you sign up, in the left navigation menu you’ll see My Bought Services. Click the Cligs link and you’ll see your API key on the Summary tab.

This entry was posted on Montag, Dezember 8th, 2008 at 9:14 am and is filed under Cligs News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.