I am slowly getting my new API stack in order, where I am close to opening it up for access to a wider audience. As part of this last round of work, I’m fine tuning my service composition strategy a little more. If you aren’t familiar with API service composition, it is just about creating different levels of access to your APIs, and using my 3Scale API infrastructure I can easily break this down.
The most common approach to API service composition you see out there is public and private, with maybe an additional partner tier. I’m taking a slightly different approach to defining my layers, and so far, her is what I have:
- Open - The completely open layer to my APIs that doesn’t require any keys at all, like my website, but JSON.
- Retail - The retail storefront to my API operations that anyone can sign up for, and begin consuming my resources.
- Trusted - Same access to resources as my retail layer, but given higher rates of access to be able to make more calls.
- Wholesale - APIs from my stack, but running in someone elses infrastructure, alongside their own APIs.
- Partner - Access to almost all of my APIs, giving higher levels of responsibility for my partners in crime.
- Platform - The highest level access, giving my systems and applications the ability to get the resources they need.
- Personal - A private access level, giving me a layer across all my systems that is only for me to access.
Almost all of my API consumers will begin as a retail user, and either stay there, or evolve into one of the other tiers. In the end I can custom tailor access to any of my users, and their applications, but I prefer establish specific layers for users to exist in–giving me clear security groups, that are also in alignment with my business goals.
My service composition approach will most likely stay staty static for a while now, as I play with a credit system that I can use for accessing different resourcs. Right now all APIs use the same unit of value for each API call, something I want to change. I am looking to develop a metering system that puts my 3Scale infrastructure to use, allowing me to maximize the value of each individual APIs.
