Technical Tip: Troubleshooting API calls by tracking API changes between versions

Fortinet provides API documentation for a large number of its products via the Fortinet Developer Network website.

As new versions of the products of the Fortinet software are released, FNDN includes API documentation specific to the various versions. Below example shows FortiManager API in different versions:

If an API call designed for previous versions of a Fortinet product (eg. FortiManager) is used on a newer version, the API call may fail with a response like the following:

{     "result": [         {             "status": {                 "code": -10,                 "message": "The data is invalid for selected url"             },             "url": "pm/config/device/test/vdom/root/switch-controller/managed-switch"         }     ],     "id": 1 }

If this occurs, follow these steps:

1. Access the Fortinet Developer Network and find the API documentation for the current software version and the same API endpoint. For example: for FortiManager 7.4.8, the switch-controller API endpoint is documented in the FortiManager switch-controller API documentation.
2. If the same endpoint no longer exists, study the available API endpoints in the current software release for a suitable replacement.
3. Use the Download page (select the button in the top right) to download the JSON file with API definitions.
4. Reference the exact API call used, as well as all arguments, and remove any values that no longer exist or that now take different values. For example: FortiManager 7.4.8 API for switch-controller/managed-switch's API no longer supports the arguments in-model, platform and state: so they need to be removed for the API call to be valid with this version.
5. Alternatively, download the API definition file of the target release to review prior to upgrading, or use the API Comparison feature inside FNDN to prepare for the upgrade.