Connections

Connect your App to an API and manage Connections.

Table of Contents

1. What are Connections?
2. What is the API approval process?
3. How do I see the status of my app's connections to APIs?
4. How do I update approved API Access Requests?

What are Connections?

A Connection is a relationship or subscription between Resources (API, App, Group, Contract, User) in the system. When a Connection to a Resource is established, the Connection will appear in the appropriate collection point in for both Resources.

Connections are established in two ways:

1. When you create your app, connections to one or more APIs might be created automatically. If automatic connections are created, you can manage them in the same way as connections you create yourself (see #2 below).
2. By sending a Connection Request. Each Connection Request follows a specific workflow process and a series of management tools are provided to control the lifecycle of the Connection. When a user creates a Connection to a Resource, the Resource administrators are notified of the pending request, and will see the Connection in the Connections Collection for the Resource. Users will also see the Connection in their personal Connections Collection.

For example, if API Access is requested for one or more Apps, an entry for the API and App will appear on the API Details > Apps and App Details > APIs pages. Because these activities relate to specific Users (who are also considered Resources), feed entries associated with the activities are added to the Board and Dashboard of both the API and App owner.

There are several types of connections:

Connection Type	Description
API Access Request	An App Administrator requests access to an API. Access must be approved by the API Admin. Note: API Access Requests are considered a Contract Connection because legal agreements are agreed to or declined during the API Access Request configuration process. Functions: Access link on API Details Approvals: Approved by API Admin via the My APIs > Apps page.
Follow	A user subscribes to a resource (for example, API, App) to receive information. Functions: Follow on App Details Follow on API Details The App > Followers or API > Followers page displays a list of users currently following. Use Cancel to remove a follower.

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What is the API approval process?

When an API Access Request is submitted:

• A board entry is posted to the My Apps > Board of the app developer making the request, a notification is posted on the API Administrator's Dashboard page, and the API is added to My APIs > Apps with a "Pending Approval" status.
• The API Administrator reviews the API Access Request.
• If the submitted API complies with the required approval criteria, the API Administrator approves the request, the ticket is updated to an "Approved" status, and the table entry for the API in My Apps > API Name > APIs is updated to an "Activated" status.
• After API access is activated, you can use the API in the applicable environment.

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How do I see the status of my app's connections to APIs?

You can review the status of your app's connections with APIs, including pending and active API access requests, in the My Apps > App > APIs page. This page provides a high-level summary of the status of all current API access contracts and pending API access requests.

Each listing includes:

• Apps—The App Name. This link clicks through to the App Details page.
• Legals—A column that indicates whether the Legal Agreements have been accepted (Check = Accepted, No Check = No Accepted).
• Sandbox / Production—Represent the two environments that an API Access Request can be submitted for. Each column displays the current status of the API Access Request and available API management functions (for example, Cancel, Suspend, Resume). The valid actions for a specific contract are determined by the current state of the contract; for example, only a contract that is currently in a state of Suspended can be resumed, only a contract in a state of Activated can be cancelled. For more information on API access states and valid actions, see What is the default workflow for API contracts?

The following table shows App Status and App Management Tasks for apps that have requested access to the current API using the API Access function:

App Status	Description
Access Requested	An App has requested access to an API but the request has not been approved and activated in the Sandbox or Production environment.
Active	API Access has been approved and activated.
Inactive	API access has not yet been requested.
Rejected	The API Access Request has been rejected.
Suspended	API Access that was previously active has been suspended.

 

App Management Task	Description
Cancel	Cancels an API Access Request. Listing is removed from the API Connections page. Requestor must submit another request to initiate the process again.
Suspend	Suspends the API Access Request. This action can only be performed when the request status is Active.
Resume	Resumes the API Access Request and changes the request status to Active after it has been suspended.

 

API Access Request Task	Description
Approve	Approves the API Action Request. Note that the request still requires activation after it has been approved.
Reject	Rejects the API Action Request.
Cancel	Cancels the API Action Request. Requestor must submit another request to initiate the process again.
Activate	Activates the API Access Request.
Suspend	Suspends the API Access Request and is performed after the request has been activated.
Resume	Resumes the API Access Request and puts it into an activated state after it has been suspended.

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How do I update approved API Access Requests?

You cannot modify an existing, approved or activated API access contract. Only the API Admin or Business Admin can modify a contract.

You can suspend or cancel an existing contract. Follow the applicable step below:

• To cancel an API access request, click Cancel in either the Sandbox or Production column of the APIs table. Go to My Apps, choose the app, and then in the left pane click APIs.
• To temporarily suspend API access, click Cancel in either the Sandbox or Production column of the APIs table. Go to My Apps, choose the app, and then in the left pane click APIs.

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