Connectivity can be so daunting. By now, we’ve all become accustomed to the instant connectivity that puts the world at our fingertips. With desktops and devices, we can buy, mail and pick anything, anytime, anywhere.

But how does it happen? How do different apps in different devices connect to each other? With just a few clicks, we can place orders, plan vacations, make reservations, and more.

API - Application Programming Interfaces - the unsung heroes of the modern world, are often underestimated.

What is API?

APIs are the building blocks of online connectivity. They are the medium through which multiple applications, data, and devices interact with each other. Simply put, an API is a messenger that accepts requests and tells the system what you want to do, and then returns the response to the user. Documentation is drafted for each API, including specifications on how information is transferred between the two systems.

Why is the API important?

APIs can interact openly with third-party applications. Ultimately, the scope of the organization’s business is expanded. So, when we book tickets through “Bookmyshow.com”, we fill in details about the movie we plan to see, such as.

  • Film Title
  • Region
  • 3D/2D
  • Language

These details are obtained by the API and transmitted to the servers associated with different cinemas to bring back the collected responses from multiple third-party servers. It facilitates the selection of the most suitable cinema for the user. This is how the different applications interact with each other.

Instead of making large applications and adding more functionality through the code in them. Today’s era requires microservices architecture, in which we create multiple independent modules with well-defined interfaces and then combine them to make scalable, testable products. With the help of microservices architecture, products or software that may take a year to deliver can now be delivered in a matter of weeks.

  • APIs as a necessity for microservice architectures. Consider an application that provides music, shopping and bill payment services to end users under a single hood. The user needs to log into the application and select the services to be consumed. APIs are needed to collaborate different services for such applications, thus contributing to an overall enhanced user experience.

  • APIs also provide an additional layer of security for data. User data is not overexposed to the server: server data is not overexposed to the user either. For example, in the case of movies, the API tells the server what the user wants to see, and then what the user must provide to redeem the service. Ultimately, you can watch your movie and bill the service provider accordingly.

The difference between API performance monitoring and application performance monitoring

These two terms sound similar, but they perform different checks on overall application connectivity.

  • Application performance monitoring: It is necessary for advanced analysis about how the application is performing in its overall aspect. It helps to perform an internal check on the internal connectivity of the software. The following are the key data elements that must be monitored.
  • Server load
  • User adoption
  • Market share
  • Downloads
  • Latent
  • Error logging
  • API Performance Monitoring: Need to check for bottlenecks outside the server; it can be in the cloud or in a load balancing service. These bottlenecks do not depend on your application performance monitoring, but are still considered catastrophic, as they can interrupt end-user services. It helps to check the external connectivity of the software and contributes to its core functionality.
  • Back-office business operations
  • Alerting operations
  • Web services

Why do I need API performance monitoring?

1. Function

With the emergence of modern agile practices, organizations are adopting a virtuous cycle of development, testing, delivery, and maintenance through monitoring response. Making API monitoring an integral part of the practice is essential. Scripts related to proper and up-to-date versions of functional tests must be maintained to ensure a seamless service experience for end users. Simply put, if your API goes downhill, your application will go downhill with it. For example, in January 2016, the Twitter API suffered a worldwide outage. The outage lasted over an hour, during which time it affected thousands of websites and applications.

2. Performance

If organizations neglect to thoroughly understand the processes involved behind each API call, they will be open to performance computing. In addition, API monitoring helps identify which APIs perform better and how to improve APIs that show weaker performance.

3. Speed/responsiveness

Users can specify critical API calls in the performance monitoring tool. Set their thresholds (acceptable response times) to ensure they are alerted when expected response times deteriorate.

4. Availability

With monitoring, we can see if all services hosted by our applications are accessible 24×7.

Why monitor the API when you can test it?

Well, considering the large number of multiple steps involved, API testing can be highly compound. This creates problems in terms of the frequency required to perform the tests. This is where monitoring comes in handy! Allows hourly bands to check about indispensable aspects. Helps us to focus on what is most important to our organization.

How to Monitor API Performance

  • Identify your reliable APIs - Identify the APIs you use, whether they are third-party APIs or partner APIs. internal connections or external connections?
  • Understand functional and transactional use cases to promote transparency in your hosted services - improve performance and MTTR (mean time to repair).
  • Be aware if you have test cases that need to be monitored. Do you have existing test cases that need to be changed, or is there an urgent need to develop new test cases?
  • Know the right tools - API performance monitoring is highly dependent on the tools used. You need an intuitive, user-friendly, results-optimized tool that has it all.

Some well known platforms for performing API performance testing are

  • CA Technologies (now Broadcom Inc.)
  • Alerts Website
  • Strict
  • Operating Range

Another factor to keep in mind is API browser compatibility to understand how well your API supports different browsers. To learn more about this topic, follow our blog on API and Browser Compatibility.

Conclusion

API performance monitoring is a modern need that allows you to check the internal and external impact of your product’s hosted services.