An API (Applications Programming Interface) is a computing interface that makes it possible for applications to communicate and share data. APIs extend the functionalities and the capabilities of tools we use in our day to day life.
As such, it is common for one to implement an API when building their applications. This means that they are using code developed by third-parties in their applications. It also means that they are able to have all the functionalities that they need without having to write the code themselves.
However, as much as this comes as an advantage to the application developers, it requires one to keep a close eye on the performance, availability, and functionality of the APIs. It is important to make sure that your applications meet all your requirements as well as those of your users.
This is where API monitoring comes into place. For effective API monitoring, developers use a set of tools that enable them to keep a close eye on their APIs. RapidAPI has given developers a chance to make sure that they choose the right tools with a monitoring tools comparison summary. In addition, you need to choose a tool that meets a number of things, among them;
Test Locations
You need to choose an API monitoring tool that allows you to choose locations that your users access your applications from. For instance, if you have a bigger percentage of users from Australia, then make sure that the tool you use allows you to run your tests from Australia.
However, if you have users spread all over the world, then you need a tool that allows you to run tests from a minimum of five locations in the world. This helps when it comes to debugging errors and performance issues.
Response Time Metrics
A good API monitoring tool should be able to track different response time metrics as well as the total response time of the API. This helps in analyzing an API endpoint performance. The tool you choose should be able to track things like Connect, DNS, Download time, and TLS handshake that together make an API response time.
Customizing Your API Request Settings
You need to choose an API monitoring tool that allows you to customize the details of your requests such as the body, parameters, and headers. For instance, think of a situation where you are monitoring multiple APIs but you lack support when it comes to declaring configuration settings that can be used in all of the APIs monitors. This would be very difficult and time-consuming.
Inspecting Response Data
An API monitoring tool should always alert you when there are new connections or even failures. However, this is not enough. A good monitoring tool should also allow one to customize the failures depending on details such as the body and headers. One should be able to know whether a response has any header value or name.
The monitoring tool should also offer support to parse response formats as well as extracting and checking whether a field value matches the response expected from a request. This helps in validating the response data.
Expiry Time of SSL Certificates
One of the easiest things that developers miss is the time of expiry of their SSL certificates. An API failure caused by an expired SSL certificate can easily damage the reputation and trust of your API. Therefore, developers need to choose API monitoring tools that monitor the SSL certificate and notify them (developers) before the certificate expires.
Conclusion
Even though there are many API monitoring tools available today, it is important for one to choose the tools that meet their requirements. API monitoring is an important part of the API lifecycle and developers need to make sure that they monitor every aspect of the APIs they implement to make sure that their applications meet their expectations and those of their users.
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