A Brief Introduction to the Cloud API

If you have ever set up a Cloud VPS server in the past, you have probably seen how much easier it is to get a new server up and running than a traditional server. Once the server itself is up, of course, there is still plenty of work to do, getting other pieces configured: installing an application, setting up specific database configurations, and so forth. Tools such as Puppet and Chef help you to automate this process… but you still have to log in to your manage account and order new servers to begin with.

At least, you did. With the Cloud API, you can automate nearly all aspects of administering your Cloud servers.

Technical Overview

Your application can communicate with the Cloud API over HTTP, using GET or POST requests. The body of POST requests should be formatted in JSON or YAML (or XML if you are feeling adventurous).

All requests need to be authorized against an API user. Your Liquid Web account does not come with an API user by default; you will have to create one. This can be done in your manage interface. On the left, click “Users” under the Account Tab. Once an API user is created, it cannot be deleted, only deactivated.

Using the methods in the Cloud API, you can:

• • Create a Cloud server.
  • Destroy a Cloud server.
  • Add a Cloud server to your load balancer.
  • Manage your Cloud backups.
  • Open a support ticket.
  • Add an IP to a Cloud server.
  • Retrieve monitoring information for a Cloud server.
  • And more…

Nearly everything that can be done from your manage interface can be accomplished with the Cloud API.

As word of the Cloud API spreads, it is slowly making its way into general-purpose cloud libraries. For example, the fog library provides an interface to a wide array of Cloud APIs for the Ruby programming language. Our Cloud API is included.

If you make use of the Cloud API, please tell us about it! We love to see what our customers are building with our products.