AIMMS PRO REST API

Currently we provide two APIs to PRO: the new PRO REST API service described here, released 2022, and the legacy Java/C# API. We recommend the use of the PRO REST API Server for all new applications, because it has more functionality and typically requires less time to implement.

The AIMMS PRO REST API follows modern REST API design principles, and is designed following the OpenAPI Specification such that you can automatically generate your client code. Our goal of this REST API Service is to give you ‘programmatic access’ to our AIMMS PRO Cloud Platform. The AIMMS PRO REST API allows users to securely interact with the AIMMS PRO Cloud Platform via a REST interface.

Note

The AIMMS PRO REST API is available only on our Azure Cloud Platform. It is not supported on on-premise PRO installations.

AIMMS PRO REST API also supports all the functionality provided by our existing AIMMS PRO Java/C# API. Please consider switching to the PRO REST API if you are already using our Azure Cloud Platform.

We support following services(functionality) through the AIMMS PRO REST API:

• Running Tasks

• Managing Environments, Groups and Users

• Managing Apps

• Managing AIMMS

• Managing API Keys

The full OpenAPI specification of the AIMMS PRO REST API itself can be downloaded in YAML/JSON format from the link https://[account-name].aimms.cloud/pro-api/v1/.

API Keys and Scopes

Requests made to the PRO REST API are authenticated/authorized by means of API Keys. Users can generate API Keys from their PRO Portal Account settings page by clicking the Add API Key button:

Pressing this button will open a new API Key editor, where the user can fill in details regarding the key they want to create. The user should specify a key name, an expiration date, as well as the Scopes for that key. Scopes are the mechanism by which the user can restrict privileges for a given API key to subsets of the PRO REST API:

1. The Authentication scope allows operations on Environments, Groups and Users.

2. The PublishAIMMS scope allows operations on AIMMS Versions.

3. The PublishApp scope allows operations on AIMMS apps.

4. The Tasks scope allows operations on Tasks.

5. The API Key scope allows operations on API Keys.

Pressing the Save button will generate a new API key with the properties selected by the user. The new key is shown to the user in a pop-up window:

The key will only be shown in plain text once (for security reasons) - so the user is advised to copy it and store it securely. This key should be sent in the apikey header for every REST call the user want to make using this key for authentication/authorization.

Please note that the maximum expiration date for any API key is 1 Year.

Running Tasks

The Data Exchange (DEX) library is capable of exposing procedures in an AIMMS model as a REST API. Invoking such procedures via this (DEX-exposed) REST API creates tasks which run in the same AIMMS session as the DEX library exposing them. Consuming and providing REST APIs using the DEX library is documented here.

The AIMMS PRO REST API allows users to perform operations on DEX-exposed tasks, supporting the following:

1. Creating tasks (POST). Once a task is created, it will eventually run on the PRO Cloud infrastructure.

2. Retrieving a task’s status/results (GET).

3. Interrupting a task (PUT). This allows the task to complete earlier.

4. Deleting a task (DELETE). It can delete ‘QUEUED’ or ‘COMPLETED’ tasks.

These Task operations supported by the AIMMS PRO REST API closely mirror the REST API exposed by DEX, with the exception of the PUT command: while DEX supports both interrupt-execution and interrupt-solve in the PUT body, the PRO REST API only supports interrupt-solve. The reason for this is that interrupt-execution terminates the AIMMS session running the task, and on PRO Cloud such sessions are not controllable by the API user, but rather directly managed by PRO.

Tasks will be queued by PRO in the creation order. PRO will launch these tasks to run on Cloud infrastructure in the order they are queued. PRO will attempt to parallelize task execution, potentially having multiple tasks running at the same time up to a maximum degree of task parallelism (configurable per account).

A PRO account needs special configuration in order to use the Tasks REST API. Essentially, such configuration will create a special license profile specifying the number of concurrent tasks a user may run via the API (by default this is zero). To enable this special “REST” profile please contact the AIMMS Customer Support.

Once this “REST” profile has been enabled for an account, users for that account can start making task-related calls via the PRO REST API. Such calls are authenticated via the same types of API keys as all the other PRO REST API calls. In order to be allowed to perform task-related operations, a given API key needs to have the “Task” scope as explained here

Finally, authorization to perform task-related calls is linked to the permissions the user (for whom the API key is used for authentication) has with respect to the AIMMS App that is exposing the DEX REST API:

1. Create/Interrupt/Delete operations require that user to have Read and Execute permissions on that app.

2. Retrieve operations require that user to have Read permissions on that app.

REST Session Idle Time

1. Starting with AIMMS PRO 2.49.1, there will be an additional “Max REST Session Idle Time” parameter at account level which will determine, per account, how much longer to keep a REST session in Idle state (e.g. waiting for potential new tasks for the same app/version so they can start right away for ). By default this will be 5min, so there will be no visible change compared to the current task execution behavior. (Please contact AIMMS Customer Support if you want to change this for your cloud account)

2. Model developers will be able to alter the behavior of their REST DEX sessions via the DEX API, for example specifying the maximum number of tasks that should be run on a given session, and potentially reducing this Idle running time, up to a minimum (set to the current default of 5 minutes) which is required to ensure we can always collect task status from a session before it terminates.

3. The REST Server will no longer automatically terminate Idle sessions, but rather let them run idle until they automatically terminate. The REST Server will pass the “Max REST Session Idle Time” value for the account to the DEX session via a special “X-Aimms-Max-Idle-Time” header each time a new task is launched.

4. As part of the task status response, the DEX session will include one additional field “Accept-More-Tasks” (true/false), which will determine if that session is willing to accept more task requests once the current task completes.

The Tasks REST API is only supported starting from PRO Release 2.45, and will work only for AIMMS apps published with AIMMS version 4.89 and higher, and using the DEX library 1.3.2.71 or higher.

Managing Environments, Groups and Users

This REST API Service allows you to manage your AIMMS PRO environments, groups and users. Please see the API specs (Authentication section) for the detailed usage.

Managing Apps

This REST API Service allows you to Publish, Update and Delete your AIMMS PRO Applications. Please see the following examples and API specs (Application section) for the detailed usage.

Setting up Postman for REST API calls for publishing apps

This is an example on how to use Postman in order to perform operations an AIMMS applications using the PRO REST API:

1. Start in the Postman request view:

2. Based on the API method to be tested, select the GET/PATCH/POST/DELETE command from the drop down menu.

3. The request URL depends on the API spec. In some cases, request parameters are present in the URL. Examples of the URL:

https://[account-name].aimms.cloud/pro-api/v1/applications

https://[account-name].aimms.cloud/pro-api/v1/applications/{projectName}/{projectVersion}

To know what URL should be used, check the corresponding API spec.

4. Within the scope of operations on applications, add an “apikey” header with the api key value. Note that the header name must correspond to what is defined in the api spec. Make sure to tick the checkbox after adding the “apikey” field. The rest of the header fields remain unchanged.

Example: Using Postman to Publish an Application (POST)

1. When publishing an application it is necessary to provide two fields: metadata and file. The field metadata needs to be provided in json format. The file field is a file upload that requires to point to a specific location. Example: (C:\Users\UserName\Postman\files). Insert the desired .aimmspack in files directory and point to this directory when uploading a file. Dont forget to select form-data format. Also note that both metadata and file names correspond to ones defined in the API spec.

The metadata example is provided below:

{
    "name": "project7003",
    "description": "my_project",
    "projectVersion": "3.0",
    "aimmsVersionId": "4.84.1.5-linux64-x64-vc141",
    "attributes": {
        "additionalProp1": "prop_1",
        "additionalProp2": "prop_2",
        "additionalProp3": "prop_3",
        "isWebUI": "false",
        "iconUrl": "/icons/my_logo"
    },
    "projectCategory": "cat_1"
}

Example: Using Postman to Update an Application (PATCH)

1. When updating an application, it is necessary to provide the body in JSON. Do not forget to select the “raw” format.

2. For an application update, the following arguments can be used (if an argument is not provided, then it wont be changed):

• Project description (“description”)

• Project category (“projectCategory”)

• Latest app tag (“isLatest”): latest app tag cannot be explicitly disabled for the selected app. When assigning the latest tag to an app (“isLatest”: true), it will be automatically removed from all other app with the same name.

• Project attributes (“attributes”): project attributes represent a list of key-value pairs that allow to store additional information about the project. There are two reserved keywords:

  1. “isWebUI” key shows if a project is a web UI (“isWebUI”: “true”) or a win UI project (“isWebUI”: “false”)

  2. “iconUrl” key points to the location of the application icon to uploaded. Note that “/icons/” is a fixed path prefix and that the app icon must first be uploaded to the PRO storage under a given label (e.g. “my_logo”). Once the icon is placed in the PRO storage, it can be used for app publishing.

• Project authorizations (“authorizations”): project authorizations represent a list of entries, where each entry consists of three fields. See an example of an authorization entry below:

{
    "authorization": 1,
    "deny": false,
    "entity": 16777095
}

The “entity” field is a unique ID of either environment, group or user which can be retrieved using the authentication rest API. The “authorization” value varies from 1 to 7 is directly related to read (“authorization”: 4), write (“authorization”: 2) and execute (“authorization”: 1) access. In order to enable multiple authorizations, add up the respective numbers. For example, “”authorization”: 5” corresponds to read and execute access. The “deny” field is “true” or “false” when authorization is not, or is permitted. It is also possible to grant the read permission and restrict the write permission for the same entity ID. This would look like the following:

{
    "authorization": 4,
    "deny": false,
    "entity": 16777095
}

{
    "authorization": 2,
    "deny": true,
    "entity": 16777095
}

In order to completely remove permissions from an app, assign permissions to an empty list. This can be done as follows:

"authorizations": []

Managing AIMMS

This REST API Service allows you to retrieve all available AIMMS Versions on Cloud and retrieve the information about specific AIMMS Version. Please see the API specs (Publishing section) for the detailed usage.

Managing API Keys

This REST API Service allows you to retrieve all API Keys, create and delete an API Key on your cloud environment. Please see the API specs (Authentication section) for the detailed usage.