The vCloud Suite API provides a unified programming interface to vCloud Suite services that you can use through SDKs provided in six programming languages. The vCloud Suite API provides a service-oriented architecture for accessing resources in the virtual environment by issuing requests to the vCloud Suite Endpoint.

vCloud Suite API client applications communicate with services on the Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server.

Communication Model of vCloud Suite API Client Applications
vCloud Suite client application communication model

vCloud Suite API client applications use the Lookup Service to retrieve the vCenter Single Sign-On endpoint, the vCloud Suite Endpoint, and the endpoints of services that are exposed through the vSphere API. To access vCloud Suite services such as Content Library and Tagging, client applications issue requests to the vCloud Suite Endpoint. By using the vCenter Single Sign-On service, client applications can either establish an authenticated vCloud Suite session, or authenticate individual requests to the vCloud Suite Endpoint.

Client applications can access services that are exposed through the vSphere API by using the vSphere Management SDK.

Depending on the vSphere deployment model, client applications can communicate with vCloud Suite services on a single vCenter Server instance or multiple vCenter Server instances. For more information about the vSphere deployment models, see Components of the vCloud Suite Virtualization Layer

SDK Developer Setup

To start developing a vCloud Suite API client application, you must download the software and set up a development environment. You can find instructions for setting up a development environment in the README for each vCloud Suite SDK.

SDK Samples

The vCloud Suite SDKs provide sample applications that you can extend to implement client applications that serve your needs. The code examples in the vCloud Suite SDKs documentation are based on these sample applications.