Discovering services with API providers

Some technologies can only be accessed by using an API, or return the most accurate and complete information through their APIs. The API providers feature provides a means of access to various APIs.

Each API provider uses a dedicated credential type, for example the Kubernetes/OpenShift API provider credential. You use the API provider credential in a dedicated scan type, called an API scan. 

BMC Helix Discovery 21.05 includes the Kubernetes/OpenShift API provider at the time of release. Additional API providers can be added in Product Content with each TKU release.

This release currently supports:

• Adding and viewing supported API providers
• Discovering Kubernetes clusters
• Discovering Kubernetes clusters managed by Rancher
• Discovering MongoDB Atlas clusters
• Discovering Red Hat OpenShift clusters

API providers are similar to cloud providers in that:

• the providers are means of accessing technologies by using an API
• additional API requests are supported from patterns
• API providers and cloud providers have their own credential types.

However, there are some important differences between API providers and cloud providers:

• Some technologies may not require a specific API scan and only require API requests to be supported from patterns during an IP scan.
• API requests can be called from patterns during either an API or IP scan.
• API provider credentials allow IP address matching.