API Versioning Standards and Deprecation Timelines

Introduction

API versioning is vital for maintaining seamless communication and data exchange between applications during software development. This is a strategic enhancement designed to give you greater control, improved stability, and smoother integration processes.

Need for API Versioning

APIs serve as the backbone of modern software ecosystems, enabling diverse applications to interact with each other and share data seamlessly. However, as platforms evolve, managing changes without disrupting existing systems becomes a challenge.

• API versioning is our strategic response to this challenge, and provides the following benefits:
• Backward compatibility: Existing integrations continue to function without interruption, ensuring operational continuity.
• Transparent updates: New features and improvements are introduced in a controlled, predictable, and transparent manner.
• Choice and flexibility: You can select the API version that best aligns with your operational needs and compatibility requirements.

Deprecation Strategies for Earlier API Endpoints

As part of these strategies, we have come up with End of Support (EOS) and End of Life (EOL) policies for the earlier released APIs, and you will observe this for all earlier and upcoming new endpoints.

EOS and EOL timelines:

For API endpoints supporting versioning standards, customers get an overall 12 months to shift to the latest versions.

End of Support (EOS): Six months after the latest deployment for your respective POD. During this EOS period, new enhancements will not be supported. Any identified bugs will be addressed only.  In the API response output, you will notice the EOS timelines for the respective endpoint.

End of Life (EOL): An Additional six months’ lead time starting from the EOS timelines is available to switch to the latest versions. During this EOL period, new enhancements will not be supported, and bugs will be addressed in the latest versions. After this lead time, the API endpoint will be decommissioned. In the API response output, you will notice the past due of EOS and the EOL timelines for the respective endpoint.

EOS-EOL Timelines for VM API EndpointsEOS-EOL Timelines for VM API Endpoints

EOS-EOL Timelines for PA API EndpointsEOS-EOL Timelines for PA API Endpoints

EOS-EOL Warning MessagesEOS-EOL Warning Messages

API EOS Warning: This API Path "<qualys_base_url>/api/2.0/fo/knowledge_base/vuln/index.php" will be EOS in 84 days and will be EOL in 265 days. Please use new API path "
    <qualys_base_url>/api/3.0/fo/knowledge_base/vuln/index.php". //

This API Path "
<qualys_base_url>/api/3.0/fo/asset/host/index.php" has reached End-of-Service (EOS) and will be EOL in 265 days. Please use new API path "
    <qualys_base_url>/api/4.0/fo/asset/host/index.php". //