API Guide

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Overview
This document is intended for a technical audience. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with REST, and programmatic interaction
with REST APIs. In reality, any programming languages can be used with these APIs, however, the code examples contained in this
guide are written in Ruby. XML is also used extensively for these examples.
ASM is intended to automate the processes involved in provisioning, conguring, and managing bare metal hardware: chassis,
servers, switches, and network storage devices. ASM supports processes such as automated discovery of hardware, automated
installation of operating systems, creation of virtual networks, and rmware management.
Two essential concepts in ASM are, ServiceTemplate and Deployment process. A ServiceTemplate describes a blueprint for
provisioning and conguring a collection of devices as a named unit, also known as a Service. Deployment is the process of utilizing a
ServiceTemplate to physically realize what service the ServiceTemplate describes. While the names Deployment and Service are
synonymous, ASM-UI uses the term Service while the REST API uses the term Deployment.
ASM is distributed as a virtual appliance running a collection of interacting web applications that communicate through the REST
interfaces. An additional web application, ASM-UI, also residing on the appliance, provides full browser-based GUI access to ASM.
This ASM-UI interacts with ASM through the same REST interfaces described in this guide.
It is possible to eectively integrate ASM with any custom UI or access it through programs for better automation experiences.
In this API guide, we have described how to use these APIs with appropriate examples.
A full reference to all of the available REST methods is explained in Appendix A.
NOTE: Most of these REST methods exchange complex data models within the HTTP requests and responses, which
can be represented as either XML or JSON depending on the preference. The structure of these models is contained in
Appendix B for further reference.
Other Documents You May Need
Go to dell.com/asmdocs for additional supporting documents such as:
Active System Manager Release 8.3 User’s Guide
Active System Manager Release 8.3 Installation Guide
Active System Manager Release 8.3 Compatibility Matrix
Active System Manager Release 8.3 Release Notes
Active System Manager Release 8.2 SDK Reference Guide
Active System Manager Integration for VMware vRealize Orchestrator User's Guide
For more information about ASM, including how-to videos, white papers, and blogs, see the Active System Manager page on Dell
TechCenter:
http://www.dell.com/asmtechcenter
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