Why large organisation should migration from Akana to Apigee
First, AKANA is not a recognized APIM vendor in Gartner’s MQ for API management.
For organizations currently using the AKANA API Gateway, migrating to Apigee X presents a compelling opportunity to modernize API infrastructure and unlock a range of benefits as given below.
Migrating to Apigee-X offers a significant competitive advantage through increased agility, improved efficiency, enhanced security, new revenue streams, and a better customer experience. Eventually resulting in long-term business growth and success in the digital economy.
Let’s delve into the detailed steps involved in the migration process
![](https://neosalpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Akana-Apigee-img.webp)
Akana to Apigee Migration Phases
Architecture discovery and Analysis
- Document the AKANA deployment in the existing IT infrastructure and identify the various connectivity requirements, security and other NFRs around the platform.
- Identify Migration Challenges
- Identify Target Apigee-X set up
- Identify the consumer and backend touch points
- Identify other NFRs around the platform like availability, logging and monitoring, metrics, HA etc.
- Create a comprehensive inventory of all Akana APIs, including:
- API Names
- Versions
- Endpoints
- Protocols (REST, SOAP, etc.)
- Authentication mechanisms (API Keys, OAuth, etc.)
- Traffic volumes
- Dependencies
- Understand the functionality of each Akana API:
- Policies (rate limiting, security, transformations)
- Custom code (JavaScript, XSLT)
- Backend integration details
- Protocols (REST, SOAP, etc.)
- Authentication mechanisms (API Keys, OAuth, etc.)
- Traffic volumes
- Dependencies
- Document any specific business logic or requirements to be done manually
Technical mapping: Akana to Apigee
- Export API Models -> OpenAPI Specifications
- API Instances -> API Proxies
- Plans -> API Products or Policy combinations
- Policies -> Apigee Policies
Migration Phase
Prioritize APIs based on business criticality, complexity, and dependencies.
Decide on a phased migration approach (e.g. simpler APIs or critical API or high impact APIs).
Define the Base API Proxy Template:
- Design Apigee API template based on Akana API analysis:
- Define proxy structure, endpoints, and resources.
- Choose appropriate Apigee policies for security, traffic management, and transformations as sharedflows.
- Design error handling mechanisms and response codes as common sharedflows
Automate Policy Conversion:
- Use automated scripts to migrate Akana API policies to equivalent Apigee policies:
- Map Akana security policies (e.g., OAuth, API Key) to Apigee's security policies.
- Use Apigee policies for rate limiting, quotas, and other traffic management features.
- Implement transformations using Apigee's Assign Message, JavaScript, or XSLT policies.
Manually migrate custom code:
- Map Akana security policies (e.g., OAuth, API Key) to Apigee's security policies.
- Adapt any custom code from Akana (e.g., JavaScript, XSLT) to Apigee's policy framework.
- Consider using Apigee's Java Callout or JavaScript policies for complex logic.
Automate Backend Integration:
- A common sharedflow to dynamically inject the backend URLs as per API
- Test the connectivity between Apigee proxies and backend services.
Testing:
- Develop comprehensive test cases to validate the functionality, performance, and security of the migrated API proxies.
- Conduct thorough testing in a development or staging environment before deploying to production.
Deployment and Monitoring
Deployment Strategy:
- Plan a phased deployment approach, starting with lower-risk APIs.
- Monitor closely for any errors or unexpected behavior during deployment.
Monitoring and Logging:
- Set up comprehensive monitoring and logging in Apigee to track API usage, errors, and performance metrics.
- Use Apigee's analytics and reporting features to gain insights into API usage patterns.
CI/CD Integration:
- Consider integrating API proxy deployment with CI/CD pipelines for automated deployment and testing.
Post-Migration Activities
Documentation:
- Update API documentation to reflect the changes made during migration.
- Document any new processes or procedures for managing and maintaining APIs in Apigee.
Training:
- Train development and operations teams on Apigee's features, policies, and best practices.
Continuous Improvement:
- Regularly review and optimize API proxies to improve performance, security, and developer experience.
- Leverage Apigee's advanced features to enhance API program, such as monetization, developer portal customization, and advanced analytics.
To discuss more please contact us or directly email us at [email protected]