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Table Of Contents
- vCloud Air Platform Programmer's Guide
- Contents
- About this Programmer's Guide
- About the vCloud Air Platform APIs
- The VMware APIs for Cloud Automation
- XML Namespace Identifiers
- Overview of Object Types
- Link Relationships in the Object Types
- API Versioning
- Roles for the APIs for Cloud Automation
- Authentication and Authorization
- vCloud Air Platform APIs Schema Reference
- Java Code Samples for Cloud Automation
- About the Examples in this Programmer's Guide
- Hello vCloud Air : A RESTful Workflow
- Index
About the vCloud Air Platform APIs 1
The vCloud Air Platform APIs provide support for developers who are building interactive clients of
vCloud Air using a RESTful application development style.
vCloud Air clients and vCloud Air servers communicate over HTTP, exchanging representations of
vCloud Air objects. These representations take the form of XML elements. vCloud Air clients make HTTP
requests to the server and retrieve the information the clients need from the server's responses.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“The VMware APIs for Cloud Automation,” on page 7
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“XML Namespace Identifiers,” on page 8
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“Overview of Object Types,” on page 8
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“Link Relationships in the Object Types,” on page 9
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“API Versioning,” on page 10
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“Roles for the APIs for Cloud Automation,” on page 11
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“Authentication and Authorization,” on page 11
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“vCloud Air Platform APIs Schema Reference,” on page 12
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“Java Code Samples for Cloud Automation,” on page 12
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“About the Examples in this Programmer's Guide,” on page 13
The VMware APIs for Cloud Automation
Programmatic access to the subscription services of vCloud Air consists of consuming the vCloud Air
Platform APIs and Compute Service accessed through the vCloud API. The combination of these two APIs
provides a single, logical API endpoint for automation of cloud interactions.
The vCloud Air includes calls to log in and get the details of available virtual data centers. The responses to
these calls include vCloud endpoints and the vCloud session token. With those credentials, customers can
call the vCloud API without needing to provide the credentials again. Customers can automate their
workflows without having to store their credentials on disk or in memory.
The obtained vCloud endpoints and session token allow customers to access the vCloud API across all
functional boundaries of the subscribed services in vCloud Air. Subscribed services include compute
resources, such as Dedicated Cloud and Virtual Private Cloud. The API calls return links to virtual data
center objects, which customers can use for virtual machine lifecycle operations and network service
operations.
VMware, Inc.
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