Cloud Service API

A Cloud Service API is an application programming interface that provides programmatic access (to cloud computing services and cloud resources).

• AKA: Cloud API, Cloud Platform API, Cloud Provider API.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) manage cloud resource through API endpoints.
  • It can (typically) handle cloud authentication via authentication protocols.
  • It can (typically) enforce cloud authorization using access control policys.
  • It can (typically) support cloud monitoring through monitoring services.
  • It can (typically) enable resource provisioning via API operations.
  • It can (often) implement rate limiting for resource protection.
  • It can (often) provide service discovery through API registry.
  • It can (often) support API versioning via version control.
  • It can (often) enable usage tracking through metrics collection.
  • It can (often) handle error reporting via logging services.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Basic Cloud API to being an Enterprise Cloud API, depending on its service tier.
  • It can range from being a Regional Cloud API to being a Global Cloud API, depending on its geographical scope.
  • It can range from being a Single Service API to being a Multi-Service API, depending on its service coverage.
  • It can range from being a Synchronous Cloud API to being an Asynchronous Cloud API, depending on its interaction pattern.
  • ...
  • It can integrate with API gateway for traffic management.
  • It can utilize service mesh for service communication.
  • It can implement cloud security through security controls.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Public Cloud APIs, such as:
    • Infrastructure APIs, such as:
      • AWS EC2 API for virtual machine management (as of 2024).
      • Azure Virtual Machines API for VM resource control (as of 2024).
      • Google Compute Engine API for compute resource management (as of 2024).
    • Storage APIs, such as:
      • AWS S3 API for object storage access (as of 2024).
      • Azure Blob Storage API for blob management (as of 2024).
      • Google Cloud Storage API for cloud storage control (as of 2024).
  • Platform Service APIs, such as:
    • Database APIs, such as:
      • AWS RDS API for relational database management (as of 2024).
      • Azure SQL API for SQL database control (as of 2024).
      • Google Cloud SQL API for managed database service (as of 2024).
    • Container APIs, such as:
      • AWS EKS API for kubernetes management (as of 2024).
      • Azure AKS API for container orchestration (as of 2024).
      • Google GKE API for container cluster control (as of 2024).
  • Cloud Management APIs, such as:
    • Identity APIs, such as:
      • AWS IAM API for access management (as of 2024).
      • Azure AD API for identity control (as of 2024).
      • Google Cloud IAM API for permission management (as of 2024).
    • Monitoring APIs, such as:
      • AWS CloudWatch API for resource monitoring (as of 2024).
      • Azure Monitor API for performance tracking (as of 2024).
      • Google Cloud Monitoring API for metric collection (as of 2024).
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • On-Premises API, which provides access to local resources rather than cloud resources.
  • Edge Computing API, which manages edge devices rather than cloud services.
  • Internal Service API, which controls internal systems rather than cloud platforms.
• See: Cloud Computing, Cloud Platform, Cloud Resource, Cloud Service, API Management, Cloud Security, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure.

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