NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Release Notes

March 2021

NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 includes new features, improves usability, and resolves several previous issues. Many of these improvements were made in direct response to suggestions from our customers. We thank you for your time and valuable input. We hope you continue to help us ensure that our products meet all your needs. You can post feedback in the NetIQ Secure API Manager forum on our Communities page, our online community that also includes product information, blogs, and links to helpful resources.

The documentation for this product is available on the NetIQ website in HTML and PDF formats on a page that does not require you to log in. If you have suggestions for documentation improvements, click comment on this topic at the bottom of any page in the HTML version of the documentation posted at the NetIQ Secure API Manager Documentation page. To download this product, see the Software Licenses and Downloads portal.

1.0 What’s New?

The following sections outline the key features and functions provided by this version, as well as issues resolved in this release:

1.1 Improved Performance

Secure API Manager 2.0 offers significantly improved performance and a supports 1500 transactions per second per appliance. We were able to increase the performance by reducing the complexity of the products. We require only one appliance per deployment instead of requiring four separate components per deployment previously.

The minimum requirements for the appliance is four processors. If you add four more processors to the appliance, then the throughput allows 2,900 transactions per second per appliance. If you deploy additional appliances, the throughput will scale linearly. To see the configuration of the performance testing lab, see Planning for Performance in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

1.2 Contains Built-in Denial-of-Service Attack Protection

Secure API Manager contains built-in denial-of-service attack protection. When an API Gateway is being probed, scanned, or attacked over HTTP or SSH (if enabled), the API Gateway begins to deny TCP connections from the attacker's IP address for a period. The built-in denial-of-service attack protection disrupts the attack and provides time for the infrastructure to recover and for administrators to implement other mitigations.

1.3 Requires You to Install a License

In prior releases of Secure API Manager, you did not have to install a license to access any of the components, to access the administration consoles, or to use the product. In this release, you must enable a trial license or install a full license to use Secure API Manager. If you do not have a valid license for Secure API Manager installed, the UI configuration options for Secure API Manager do not appear in the Access Manager Administration Console.

The trial license for Secure API Manager is included with Access Manager. The trial license period is 91 days. If the trial license expires, the configuration options for Secure API Manager disappear from the Access Manager Administration console. For more information, see Enable a Trial License in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

After you purchase Secure API Manager, the full license and the activation key for the appliance are available from the Software Licenses and Downloads portal. You must download and install the full license to see the configuration options and to have Secure API Manager work. For more information, see Install a Full License in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

IMPORTANT:You still must activate the appliance to receive OS and product updates. For more information, see Perform an Online Update in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Appliance Administration Guide.

1.4 Reduced Complexity

The Secure API Manager 1.x releases required a minimum of four separate appliances deployed for the four different components. In the Secure API Manager 2.0 release, there is only one appliance to deploy that contains the API Gateway. These changes dramatically decrease the complexity of deploying and managing the product.

This release is more tightly integrated with Access Manager, reducing the complexity of deploying and managing the product. The following table presents some of the most notable changes.

Table 1 Differences Between Secure API Manager 1.x and 2.0

Item

Secure API Manager 1.x

Secure API Manager 2.0

Administrator Accounts

Separate administrator accounts to access each management and administration consoles.

No separate administrator account. You use your Access Manager account to deploy and administer Secure API Manager. You use the vaadmin account to manage the appliance. For more information, see Manage Administrative User Access in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Appliance Administration Guide.

Analytics

A separate Analytics component to deploy and manage.

Tightly integrated with the Access Manager Analytics Server. No need for an additional analytics component. For more information, see Configure Analytics in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

Components

Four components on separate appliances: Database Services, API Gateway, Lifecycle Manager, and Analytics.

One component, API Gateway, deployed as an appliance. Other components are installed on the existing Access Manager components. For more information, see Understanding the Secure API Manager Components in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

Consoles

List of consoles required in Secure API Manager 1.x:

  • Access Manager Administration Console

  • Administration Console

  • Management Console

  • Appliance Management Console

  • Publisher

  • Store

List of consoles for Secure API Manager 2.0:

  • Access Manager Administration Console (New)

  • Appliance Management Console

  • Publisher (Updated)

  • Store (Updated)

For more information, see Welcome to Secure API Manager in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

License

Used a paper license.

Full and trial license available. You obtain the full license after you purchase Secure API Manager. The trial license is included in Access Manager. For more information, see Install the Secure API Manager License and Activation Key in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

No Deployment Manager

Contained a deployment manager to walk you through deploying the four different components.

No need for a deployment manager because there is only one separate component from Access Manager. You configure the API Gateway through the Access Manager Administration Console. For more information, see Configuring Secure API Manager in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

Supported APIs

REST, SOAP, and WebSocket

REST

Test System

Provided a test system that contained all four of the components on one appliance.

No test system because there is only one appliance and there is a trial license available. For more information, see Deploying Secure API Manager in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

2.0 System Requirements

Secure API Manager is an add-on solution for Access Manager. It is an appliance, and has the following system requirements:

  • Access Manager 5.0 or later

  • Virtual platform VMware 6.7 or later

  • Minimum requirements per node:

    • 60 GB of disk space

    • 12 GB of RAM

    • 4 processors

  • On of the following browsers:

    • Google Chrome (latest version)

    • Microsoft browsers (latest version)

    • Mozilla Firefox (latest version)

For more information, see Meeting the Deployment Requirements of Secure API Manager in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

3.0 Installing and Configuring NetIQ Secure API Manager

Installing Secure API Manager is a multi-step process. You must first deploy the Secure API Manager appliance. using the OVF file that NetIQ provides for you to deploy. After you deploy the appliance, nothing has changed in Access Manager. You must install the Secure API Manager license through the Access Manager Administration Console to have the configuration options for Secure API Manager appear. You then configure Secure API Manager in the Access Manager Administration Console.

To install and configure Secure API Manager:

  1. Obtain the appliance and the license for Secure API Manager. For more information, see Obtaining Secure API Manager and the License in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

  2. Deploy the appliance. You must deploy a minimum of two appliances to cluster Secure API Manager. For more information, see Deploying a Secure API Manager Appliance in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

  3. Set a password for vaadmin to allow secure communication between Secure API Manager and Access Manager. For more information, see Set the vaadmin User Password in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

  4. Install the Secure API Manager license in the Access Manager Administration Console. For more information, see Install the Secure API Manager License and Activation Key in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

  5. Configure Secure API Manager to make it functional by completing the following steps:

    1. Configure the API Gateway cluster. For more information, see Create the API Gateway Cluster in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

    2. Configure the API Gateway. For more information, see Create the API Gateway in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

    3. Create rate-limiting policies and throttling policies for the API. For more information, see Configure the Limiting Policies for the APIs in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

    4. Grant access to the Publisher and the Store for the API developers and partners that will use these consoles to create and consume the APIs. For more information, see Grant Access to the Publisher and the Store in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

4.0 Upgrading an Existing Installation

Upgrades from Secure API Manager 1.x to 2.0 are not supported. You must deploy Secure API Manager 2.0 as a new installation. For more deployment information, see Deploying Secure API Manager in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

5.0 Known Issues

The following issues are currently being researched for Secure API Manager 2.0.

Micro Focus strives to ensure that our products provide quality solutions for your enterprise software needs. If you need assistance with any issue, visit Micro Focus Support, then select the appropriate product category.

5.1 Configuration Options for Secure API Manager Are Not Visible in the Administration Console

Issue: The Access Manager Administration Console does not display any options for the API Gateway to configure Secure API Manager. Or, you previously were able to use the configuration options in the Administration Console and the options have disappeared.

Solution: You must install a trial license or a full license for Secure API Manager in Access Manager to have the configuration options appear. The trial license is included with Access Manager, but you must install the trial license for the options to appear. After 91 days, the trial license expires and the configuration options no longer appear in the Administration Console unless you purchase and install a full license.

After you purchase Secure API Manager, the full license is available from the Software Licenses and Downloads portal. You must install the full license in the Access Manager Administration Console to have the configuration options appear or reappear. For more information, see Install the Secure API Manager License and Activation Key in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

5.2 Cannot Access the Publisher or the Store

Issue: You cannot access the Publisher or the Store appmarks on the user portal page.

Solution: By default, no one is assigned rights to access the Publisher or the Store. You must ensure that the user account on the Identity Server that wants to access the Publisher or the Store contains the proper role assignments that grant access to the Publisher and the Store. For more information, see Grant Access to the Publisher and the Store in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Administration Guide.

5.3 Creating an OAuth Client Fails

Issue: The Store fails to create an OAuth client during the subscription process to an API.

Solution: Ensure that your OAuth configuration is complete in Access Manager. If you do not perform all four steps required to enable and configure OAuth in Access Manager, Secure API Manager cannot complete the subscription process for the APIs. For more information, see Configuring OAuth and OpenID Connect in the NetIQ Access Manager 5.0 Administration.

5.4 SSL Errors Authorizing APIs if Access Manager Has Been Upgraded to 5.0

Issue: If you upgrade Access Manager to the 5.0 version, by default Access Manager creates new certificates but the calls to the different components are still using the old certificates.

Solution: Replace the certificate for the Administration Console with a current certificate that contains the proper DNS name in the certificate. For more information, see Viewing Certificate Details in the NetIQ Access Manager 5.0 Administration.

5.5 Deleting an Appliance and Reinstalling It with the Same IP Address and DNS Name Causes Issues

Issue: You have deleted the VMware image of the appliance but you did not delete the associated API Gateway object from the Administration Console. You then redeployed another appliance and you use the same IP address and DNS name of the first appliance. The API Gateway is not working as it should. It is not allowing authentications and you cannot access it.

Solution: Delete the API Gateway object from the Administration Console, then delete the appliance from VMware. Next, redeploy the appliance and proceed as normal. Access Manager retains the configuration information including certificates of the API Gateway if you do not delete the API Gateway. This causes issues if you redeploy the appliance with the same network configuration as the last time. For more information, see Uninstalling a Single API Gateway in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 Installation Guide.

5.6 Cannot Access APIs with a Domain Name as Part of the URI

Issue: APIs that use the URI to direct traffic, for example behind an L7 switch, are not supported.

Solution: Allow the API to be resolved to an IP address and then the functionality provided in the API works.

5.7 API Returns a 404 Error to the Backend Service with Validate SSL Certificate Option Enabled

Issue: When you create an API, you add the certificate for the backend service’s server in PEM format. Secure API Manager validates the SSL certificate chain for you when you save the API and it returns a 404 error. The issue is that the backend service server is not using a well-known certificate authority and that the Trusted Root is not configured properly. (Defect 319146)

Solutions: If the backend service server is using well-known certificate authority, you do not have to configure a Trusted Root for the API. If the backend service server certificate authority is not well known, you must configure a Trusted Root for the backend service in the API. Secure API Manager requires that the Trusted Root be configured in one of three specific ways. If the Trusted Root is not configured properly, the Validate SSL Chain option returns a 404 error. For details about the specific ways to configure the Trust Root, see Overview of the Backend Service SSL Validation Process in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 API Help.

5.8 APIs Can Be Cloned Only Once

Issue: Secure API Manager provides cloning to simplify creating the next version of your API. The cloning process automatically increments the version number of the API for you. The best practice when you use cloning is to clone the API and then deprecate the original API. Secure API Manager does not allow you to clone an API more than once to ensure that you do not have duplicate APIs in your system. (Defect 316107)

Solution: The best practice is to clone an API and then deprecate the original API. If you need to clone the API again, clone the cloned API and then deprecate the first clone.

5.9 Add an API Gateway to Only One API Gateway Cluster

Issue: Secure API Manager requires unique API endpoints to work properly. If you add the same API Gateway to a second API Gateway cluster, Secure API Manager does not work. (Defect 314243)

Solution: Ensure that you add the API Gateway only once to an API Gateway cluster. Also, ensure that you either use an IP address or a DNS name. Do not use both options when you configure the API Gateway.

5.10 API Gateway Reserves the OPTION Method for Proper CORS Handling

Issue: Browsers use the OPTION method to determine if CORS is allows. API Gateway reserves all OPTION methods for CORS functionality. Secure API Manager cannot protect any APIs that use the OPTION methods. (Defect 317074)

Workaround: Do not use the OPTION method when creating APIs. If you do, the CORS feature does not work. We have reserved the OPTION method for CORS for this release. For more information about when you select the appropriate REST methods, see Define a Method in the NetIQ Secure API Manager 2.0 API Help.

5.11 SSL Issues with Backend Services in Some Scenarios

Issue: If you configure you backend service using one of the following scenarios, there are SSL issues between the API Gateway and the backend service. (Defect 318180)

  • Backend services that use a Cloudflare intermediate certificate.

  • Backend services that require the SNI (Server Name Indication) protocol.

  • Backend services that return a HTTP redirect (301, 302) cause the API gateway to return an HTTP 502 status code.

Workaround: Use a non-SSL connection to the backend service or, for this release, do not use any of these configuration options. There is no other workaround at this time.

5.12 Actions Menu Overlaps Items in the Table Layout View of APIs in the Publisher

Issue: In the Publisher, when you view the APIs in the table layout, the Actions menu options overlap other options. All of the options do not appear at the same time. It appears as if some of the options are missing. (Defect 315071)

Workaround: Use the small scroll bar for the Actions menu to view all available options.

5.13 No API Gateway Option Under Devices

Issue: In the Access Manager Dashboard, the Devices option at the top of the page does not contain an option for the API Gateway. (Defect 282422)

Workaround: You must click the API Gateway tile to configure Secure API Manager. Currently, there is no option to add an API Gateway under Devices.

5.14 Deleted Limiting Policies Still in Use

Issue: Secure API Manager administrators can delete the limiting policies at any time. Secure API Manager does not check to see if the APIs that use the limiting policy have subscriptions. This means that if a limiting policy is deleted, the APIs that are currently using the limiting policy continue to use the policy until the API developers remove the subscription to the limiting policy. (Defect 314089)

Workaround: If you delete the limiting policy, you must also check the subscriptions and remove the subscriptions to the limiting policy. Otherwise, no workaround is currently available for this issue.

5.15 APIs Could Have No Limiting Policies Assigned

Issue: If there are APIs assigned only to a custom limiting policy, and that custom limiting policy is deleted, the APIs no longer have a limiting policy assigned. This results in the APIs having unlimited bandwidth or allowing unlimited requests. (Defect 316067)

Workaround: No workaround is currently available for this issue.

6.0 Contact Information

Our goal is to provide documentation that meets your needs. If you have suggestions for improvements, please email Documentation-Feedback@netiq.com. We value your input and look forward to hearing from you.

For detailed contact information, see the Support Contact Information website.

For general corporate and product information, see the NetIQ Corporate website.

For interactive conversations with your peers and NetIQ experts, become an active member of our community. The NetIQ online community provides product information, useful links to helpful resources, blogs, and social media channels.

7.0 Legal Notice

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