There are a number of different players in the API enablement space but most of them agree on the fact that for content heavy APIs at least, there is a need to situate points of delivery as close as possible to the consumers of that content. I covered one vendors moved in this direction recently. Latest to fulfil this need is 3Scale who have just launched partnerships with both Akamai and CDNetworks to deliver their API over these two players’ vast delivery networks.

With 3scale’s offering, organizations can;

  • Connect their API to specialist CDN to gain the best speed possible
  • Serve content into the CDN’s caches using standard caching controls
  • Have customers access content directly from CDN edge nodes without the need for calls back to the origin servers
  • Manage their API Channel with tools similar to those already in use

The diagram below depicts how this will work in practice but 3scale describe the process thusly;

methods calls to the API can be cached within the CDN using standard caching controls on a push or pull basis. Keys for API access with detailed usage policies can then be controlled within from within the 3scale control system as well as auto-generated via the API Developer portal. Access to the API for applications is then via the CDN edge nodes that make calls directly to the 3scale control nodes in order to enforce policies without needing to communicate with the origin.

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The value proposition of this service is obvious – it speeds up delivery to users and offloads traffic from origin servers for scalability.

New users are being offered a 12 month free trial only having to pay for bandwidth consumed in an attempt to show people the benefits a CDN can bring to API delivery.

At the recent defrag conference I took the opportunity to talk with Steve Willmott from 3scale about the reasons behind this new offering, the video is posted below.

Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

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