All Products
Search
Document Center

Resource Access Management:API overview

Last Updated:Sep 19, 2024

This topic describes the basic information about Resource Access Management (RAM) APIs. For more information about Alibaba Cloud APIs, see Overview.

Overview

RAM APIs include the Identity Management Service (IMS) API, RAM API, and Security Token Service (STS) API.

You can call the APIs based on your business requirements. The following table describes the details of the APIs.

Scenario

Description

API selection

Difference

User management

Manage RAM users, AccessKey pairs, logon passwords, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) devices.

  • IMS API supports new operations. For example, you can call an IMS operation to query the time at which an AccessKey pair was last used, to modify the default domain name, and to obtain user credential reports.

  • IMS API will support new operations that are related to user management, user group management, and security settings. We recommend that you use the IMS API.

  • Some RAM operations have the same features as IMS operations. You can call these RAM operations or IMS operations to achieve the same goals.

User group management

Manage RAM user groups, and add or remove RAM users in RAM user groups.

Security settings

Manage password policies, global security preferences, default domain names, user credential reports, and security reports of Alibaba Cloud accounts.

Policy management

Manage policies and grant permissions to or revoke permissions from a RAM user, RAM role, or RAM user group.

  • Some RAM operations have the same features as Resource Management operations. You can call these RAM operations or Resource Management operations to achieve the same goals.

  • You can call a Resource Management operation to grant permissions on resource groups. You cannot call a RAM operation to grant permissions on resource groups.

  • Resource Management API provides operations that are related to service-linked roles.

Role management

Manage RAM roles.

Role usage

Obtain STS tokens by assuming roles.

STS API

None.

Single sign-on (SSO) management

Manage identity providers (IdPs) for user-based SSO and role-based SSO.

IMS API

None.

Role-based SSO usage

Obtain STS tokens by using role-based SSO.

STS API

None.

Open authorization (OAuth) management

Manage applications and application secrets.

IMS API

None.

IMS API

API versions

API version

Description

2019-08-15

We recommend that you use this version.

Endpoints

For more information, see Endpoints.

User identities

User identity

Supported

Alibaba Cloud account

Yes

RAM user (recommended)

Yes

RAM role (recommended)

Yes

We recommend that you use a RAM user or RAM role to call operations. Before you use a RAM user or RAM role to call operations, you must grant the required permissions to the RAM user or RAM role.

Format

Remote procedure call (RPC) API

Call methods

Call method

Supported

Description

Alibaba Cloud SDK (recommended)

Yes

For more information about the programming languages supported by IMS SDKs and methods to install dependencies, see IMS SDKs.

Alibaba Cloud CLI

Yes

None.

Terraform

Partially supported

For more information, see Terraform Registry.

Resource Orchestration Service (ROS)

Partially supported

For more information, see List of resource types by service.

Custom encapsulation

Yes

None.

RAM API

API versions

API version

Description

2015-05-01

We recommend that you use this version.

Endpoints

For more information, see Endpoints.

User identities

User identity

Supported

Alibaba Cloud account

Yes

RAM user (recommended)

Yes

RAM role (recommended)

Yes

We recommend that you use a RAM user or RAM role to call operations. Before you use a RAM user or RAM role to call operations, you must grant the required permissions to the RAM user or RAM role.

Format

RPC API

Call methods

Call method

Supported

Description

Alibaba Cloud SDK (recommended)

Yes

For more information about the programming languages supported by RAM SDKs and methods to install dependencies, see RAM SDKs.

Alibaba Cloud CLI

Yes

None.

Terraform

Partially supported

For more information, see Terraform Registry.

Resource Orchestration Service (ROS)

Partially supported

For more information, see List of resource types by service.

Custom encapsulation

Yes

None.

STS API

API versions

API version

Description

2015-04-01

We recommend that you use this version.

Endpoints

For more information, see Endpoints.

User identities

Interface

Supported user identity

AssumeRole

RAM user and RAM role.

AssumeRoleWithSAML

Authentication for this operation is performed based on SAML assertions. Anonymous users can call this operation.

AssumeRoleWithOIDC

Authentication for this operation is performed based on OIDC tokens. Anonymous users can call this operation.

GetCallerIdentity

Alibaba Cloud account, RAM user, and RAM role.

Format

RPC API

Call methods

Call method

Supported

Description

Alibaba Cloud SDK (recommended)

Yes

For more information about the programming languages supported by STS SDKs and methods to install dependencies, see STS SDKs.

Alibaba Cloud CLI

Yes

None.

Terraform

Yes

None.

Resource Orchestration Service (ROS)

Not Supported.

None.

Custom encapsulation

Yes

None.