Management APIs - Introduction

[#1]

Overview

R80 adds a new way to read information and to send commands to the Check Point management server. Just like it is possible to create objects, work on the security policy using the SmartConsole GUI, it is now possible to do the same using command line tools and through web-services.

Target audience

The management API was created with the following target audiences in mind:

• System administrators who wish to improve their productivity by scripting some of their daily tasks.
• Customers who wish to integrate the Check Point solution with other solutions that they have (virtualization servers, ticketing systems, change management systems, etc.).
• Check Point partners and integrators that look for an easy to use API that can help them create complementary products around the Check Point solution.

Installation

The management APIs are installed as part of any R80 management server.

Although the management API server is installed on all management servers, it may not be active on some machines:

• By default, the API server s active on management servers with 4GB of RAM (or more) and on stand-alone servers with 8GB of RAM (or more).
• Even if your management server has less RAM and as a result the API server is not activated, it is still possible to activate it by opening SmartConsole, navigating to Manage & Settings > Blades > Management API > Advanced Settings and changing the settings there.

Using the Management APIs

There are four ways to communicate use the management APIs:

1. Typing API commands from a dialog inside the SmartConsole GUI application.
2. Typing API commands using the "mgmt_cli" executable (available in both Windows, Linux/Gaia flavors).
3. Typing API commands using Gaia's secure shell (clish).
4. Sending API commands over an https connection using web-services

Next steps:

Check our "code library" section for examples, review the "API Reference" for the complete list of the APIs and start building your awesome automation tools.

... and when you're done, please share your code on this site 🙂

[Robert_Decker]

And the most important - checkout Management APIs open source repository on GitHub for awesome tools and code examples:

https://github.com/CheckPoint-APIs-Team

[Amiad_Stern]

API GitHub account is now under Check Point organization Check Point Software Technologies LTD. · GitHub