Extensible Single Point Orchestration System for API Aggregation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for managing Application Program Interfaces (APIs) face challenges in scalability, maintenance, and development overhead as the number of services increases, making it difficult to aggregate, select, and manage APIs efficiently, especially with varying input formats and output formats, and requiring frequent code releases to handle downstream changes.
Innovation Solution
An extensible single point orchestration system that employs a layered, stateless, configuration-based approach for managing API services, enabling aggregation, selection, and proxy services with centralized key management, allowing for quick modification, extension, and maintenance through run-time modifiable stored configuration entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If physical implementation logic is built to aggregate or select APIs, then API management functionality is achieved, but system complexity and maintenance difficulty increase as the number of services increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (API gateway or service layer) that sits between the physical API services and the consumers. This intermediary handles the complex logic of aggregation, selection, and routing through configuration rather than hard-coded physical implementation. The intermediary translates high-level configuration intent into low-level service calls, thereby managing complexity while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic configuration capabilities that allow API aggregation and selection logic to be modified at runtime without requiring system redesign or code changes. Configuration entities can be updated dynamically to adapt to changing service landscapes, enabling the system to remain versatile while keeping the core infrastructure stable and simple.
2Adaptability or versatility
If code-based solutions are used to manage API aggregation, then functional requirements are met, but modification and maintenance require code releases increasing time and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the management approach from changing code (permanent, requiring releases) to changing configuration parameters (temporary, runtime-modifiable). Configuration entities store service-specific parameters such as endpoint URLs, authentication credentials, and routing rules that can be updated without triggering code releases. This parameter-based approach maintains service management flexibility while dramatically reducing modification time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses configuration entities as abstract copies or representations of the actual service logic. Instead of modifying the physical service implementation, administrators work with configuration copies that describe service behavior. These configuration entities can be created, modified, and validated independently from the underlying code, enabling rapid iteration and changes without affecting the core system.
3Ease of operation
If centralized API management is implemented, then administrative overhead is reduced, but handling varying input and output formats across services becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal configuration entity structure that can represent multiple service types and formats through a common framework. The configuration entities use standardized fields (such as input parameters, output transformations, and routing rules) that can accommodate diverse API formats without requiring separate management mechanisms for each service type. This universal approach reduces administrative overhead while systematically handling format variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the format handling complexity into separate, manageable configuration sections within each service configuration entity. Input format specifications, output format specifications, and transformation rules are divided into distinct configurable elements. This segmentation allows administrators to manage each format aspect independently while the system orchestrates them together, reducing the perceived complexity of handling varying formats across services.
Data Source
AI summary
An extensible single point orchestration system receives service requests from applications. In dependence upon the service request a single third party provider service or multiple third party provider services is identified. When the single third party provider service is identified, the system dynamically adapts a core capability service, using a stored configuration entity, so as to set an appropriate message format and transmit a service call message to an external API of the identified single third party provider service. When multiple third party provider services are identified, the system dynamically adapts the core capability service, using another stored configuration entity, so as to set a respective appropriate message format for parallel data transmission of service call messages to each of the respective identified third party provider services and transmits the service call messages to respective external APIs of each of the third party provider services.