Subscription management

Subscriptions overview

A subscription acts as a contract that defines the relationship between a consumer application and a Product. Therefore, a subscription is created whenever an application wants to consume an API-Product that is provided by another application. The subscription will contain information such as the use case and usage frequency of the Product. 

An application can consume multiple APIs (Products) provided by other applications, and for each such relationship, there will be a dedicated subscription. Keep in mind that an application may also provide multiple APIs (Products) at the same time.

A subscription has to be requested by the user who represents the consumer application, and it must then be approved or rejected by a user with administrative privileges over that Product. It may then be suspended, reactivated, or even deleted.

Subscription lifecycle

ApiShare subscriptions follow a structured lifecycle, fully manageable within the platform. This lifecycle is divided into macro-states, each containing sub-states that define the specific steps in the process.

• Pending: All subscriptions are created in this state and are not yet active.

  • New: This is the initial state of a subscription. At this stage, the request must be evaluated by authorized users. The subscription remains editable by its creator or other permitted users within the creator’s organization.

  • Activating: A transitional state in which, if integrated with an API Gateway and/or automated pipelines, ApiShare performs synchronization operations.

  • Activation Error: If an issue occurs during synchronization with an API Gateway and/or automated pipelines, the subscription enters this state. Users can review the error and attempt to retry the activation process.

  • Rejected: If the subscription request is denied, it moves to this final state and cannot be reactivated.

• Active: Once a subscription request is accepted, it becomes active, allowing the requesting application to use the specified API product.

  • Active: The consumer application can now utilize the API product. The relationship between the application and the API product is visible in both the application and API catalogs.

  • Pending for Approval: If an active subscription is modified (e.g., an update to the use case or usage limits), it enters this state while awaiting approval from authorized users within the API product’s organization. If approved, the subscription is updated and returns to the Active state. If rejected, the original subscription properties remain unchanged.

  • Updating: After an approved modification, if integrated with an API Gateway and/or automated pipelines, ApiShare performs synchronization operations in this transitional state.

  • Updating Error: If synchronization fails, the subscription enters this state, allowing users to review the error and retry the update.

• Suspended: An active subscription may be temporarily paused.

  • Suspending: A transitional state in which, if integrated with an API Gateway and/or automated pipelines, ApiShare performs synchronization operations to suspend the subscription.

  • Suspension Error: If an issue occurs during suspension, the subscription enters this state, allowing users to review the error and retry the operation.

  • Suspended: The subscription is now frozen. The application-API product relationship remains visible in the catalogs, but usage is temporarily disabled. A suspended subscription cannot be reactivated if the consuming application is not active.

• Reactivating: A suspended subscription can be restored to active status.

  • Activating: A transitional state where ApiShare, if integrated with an API Gateway and/or automated pipelines, performs the necessary synchronization operations.

  • Activating Error: If an issue occurs during reactivation, the subscription enters this state, allowing users to review the error and retry the process.

• Revoked: When an API product is retired and can no longer be used, all related subscriptions are revoked.

  • Retired: The final state for subscriptions associated with a retired API product. Once in this state, the subscription cannot be reactivated.