Cloud Config provides a console for visual operations and multiple methods for calling API operations, including OpenAPI Explorer, Alibaba Cloud SDKs, and Alibaba Cloud Command Line Interface (CLI). To improve development efficiency by using Cloud Config, we recommend that you use appropriate API operations and integration methods based on your business requirements.
Overview of OpenAPI Explorer
Alibaba Cloud provides OpenAPI Explorer for developers to understand and use the API operations of various Alibaba Cloud services in a quick and efficient manner. OpenAPI Explorer integrates multiple features related to API operations, including intelligent search, documentation, online debugging, SDK download, sample code, error diagnosis, and call statistics. In OpenAPI Explorer, you can call API operations of Alibaba Cloud services and view API requests and responses. In addition, OpenAPI Explorer automatically generates the corresponding SDK sample code to facilitate the use of Alibaba Cloud services. For more information, see What is an API?
Version description
Alibaba Cloud APIs use version numbers to manage the versions of cloud service APIs. For example, Cloud Config supports the API of the 2020-09-07 version. 2020-09-07 is an API version number instead of a date. Users are provided with the latest public information about the API. 2020-09-07 is the up-to-date version of the Cloud Config API.
Version | Description |
Recommended |
Online debugging
Cloud Config provides features such as API debugging in OpenAPI Explorer. Before you call API operations, take note of the following information provided by Cloud Config: versions, endpoints, and integration methods.
Debugging page
Access OpenAPI Explorer.
Endpoints
Cloud Config endpoints depend on whether you are using the China site or international site, rather than the region. The following table lists the Cloud Config endpoints in different sites.
Site | Region | Region ID | Public endpoint | VPC endpoint |
China site (aliyun.com) | China (Shanghai) | cn-shanghai | config.cn-shanghai.aliyuncs.com | config-vpc.cn-shanghai.aliyuncs.com |
International site (alibabacloud.com) | Singapore | ap-southeast-1 | config.ap-southeast-1.aliyuncs.com | config-vpc.ap-southeast-1.aliyuncs.com |
User identities
By default, after you log on to OpenAPI Explorer by using your Alibaba Cloud account, the Alibaba Cloud account is used to perform online debugging. An Alibaba Cloud account has permissions on all API operations. If you use an Alibaba Cloud account to call API operations, security risks may arise. We strongly recommend that you call API operations or perform routine O&M by using a RAM user. Before you call API operations by using a RAM user, grant the required permissions to the RAM user based on your business requirements. The RAM user must have the permissions to manage Cloud Config resources. For more information, see Use RAM to implement access control.
Identity | Supported |
Yes | |
RAM user (recommended) | Yes |
RAM role (recommended) | Yes |
References
Integration methods
SDKs can be easily integrated with your applications and cover the widest range of operations. We recommend that you use SDKs to call API operations.
Overview of integration methods
Calling method | Supported |
Alibaba Cloud SDK (recommended) | Yes |
Yes | |
No | |
Yes |
Alibaba Cloud SDKs
Alibaba Cloud provides SDKs in multiple programming languages, including Java, C#, Go, Python, TypeScript, Node.js, PHP, and C++. You can integrate SDKs into your applications to directly call API operations. SDKs encapsulate various information, including the data signing logic, timeout mechanism, and retry mechanism. SDKs return structured response objects based on specifications to facilitate development. For more information, see Alibaba Cloud SDKs.
You can use Alibaba Cloud SDKs to call the API operations of Cloud Config. For more information about supported languages and dependencies, go to OpenAPI Explorer.
Alibaba Cloud CLI
Alibaba Cloud CLI is a general-purpose command-line tool that is developed based on the Alibaba Cloud API. You can use Alibaba Cloud CLI to interact with Alibaba Cloud services and manage your Alibaba Cloud services by using a shell tool. For more information about Alibaba Cloud CLI, see What is Alibaba Cloud CLI?
You can use Alibaba Cloud CLI to call the API operations of Cloud Config.
ROS
ROS is an Alibaba Cloud service that can simplify the management of cloud computing resources. You can create a template to describe the cloud computing resources that you require, such as Elastic Compute Service (ECS) and ApsaraDB RDS instances, and the relationship between the resources. ROS automatically creates and configures all the resources based on the template to implement automated deployment and O&M. For more information, see What is ROS?.
You cannot use ROS to call the API operations of Cloud Config.
Custom encapsulated API calls
To make native HTTP calls, you must construct custom requests and sign the requests. For more information about the signature mechanism, see List of operations by function and Request syntax and signature method V3.
Precautions
If an error is returned after you call an API operation of Cloud Config, check whether the input parameters and values are valid based on the returned error code.
You can also perform self-service diagnostics based on the returned request ID or SDK error information on the OpenAPI problem diagnostics page.
FAQ
Cloud Config is a resource auditing service that allows you to track configuration changes of your resources and evaluate configuration compliance. Cloud Config can help you evaluate a large number of resources and maintain the continuous compliance of your cloud infrastructure. For more information, see What is Cloud Config?
In addition to SDKs in Java, Alibaba Cloud also provides SDKs in multiple programming languages, including C#, Go, Python, TypeScript, Node.js, PHP, and C++. For more information, see SDK reference.