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.