5.5

Table Of Contents
Table 13. HTTP Status Codes that the vCloud API Returns (Continued)
Status Code Status Description
406 Not Acceptable The resource identified by the request is not capable of
generating a response of the type specified in the request's
Accept header.
409 Conflict The object state is not compatible with the requested
operation.
415 Unsupported Media Type The resource identified by the request does not support a
request of the specified Content-Type and HTTP method.
500 Internal Server Error The request was received but could not be completed
because of an internal error at the server.
504 Gateway Timeout The server, while acting as a gateway or proxy, did not
receive a timely response from the upstream server
specified by the request URL.
Using the vCloud API with vCloud Director
VMware vCloud Director 5.5 supports version 5.5 of the vCloud API. You can use a browser or other HTTP
client program to send requests and receive responses.
The vCloud Director REST API Reference documentation includes HTML reference material for all XML
elements and complex types defined by the vCloud API. It also includes example XML representations. See
“About the Schema Reference,” on page 22. For information about HTTP client programs to use with
vCloud Director, see “REST Client Programs,” on page 21.
Procedure
1 Configure the vCloud Director REST API base URL.
a Log in to the vCloud Director Web Console as a system administrator.
b In the vCloud Director Web Console, open System Settings > Public Addresses
c Type the URL in the VCD public REST API base URL text box.
2 (Optional) If you want to use the vSphere Web Client to access vCloud API objects on a vSphere server,
verify that the vSphere Web Client URL is enabled for all vCenter servers from which you want to
retrieve the vSphere URL of an object.
You can manage this feature on the General tab of the vSphere Properties page of the vCloud Director
Web console.
What to do next
Decide on an HTTP client program to use. See “REST Client Programs,” on page 21.
REST Client Programs
Any client application that can send HTTPS requests can be an appropriate tool for developing RESTful
applications with the vCloud API.
REST client plug-ins are available for most browsers and many IDEs. The examples in this information were
developed using two open-source programs: cURL (http://curl.haxx.se/) and the RESTclient
(http://code.google.com/p/rest-client/).
VMware provides additional SDK products that implement language-specific bindings for the vCloud API,
and include their own HTTP client capability. See
http://communities.vmware.com/community/developer/forums.
Chapter 1 About the VMware vCloud API
VMware, Inc. 21