Drupal 7 Developer Portal FAQ - End of Hosting

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As of May 31, 2020, Apigee will no longer sponsor hosting of Drupal 7-based developer portals (D7P). Prior to this, starting on May 31, 2019, customers must self-provision any new Drupal-based portal.

What changes are being made?

In April 2019, we announced the launch of Developer Teams and Audiences for the Apigee integrated developer portal. In May 2019, we announced the production readiness of Drupal 8-based portals (D8P), which provides a new customer-managed portal alternative to the Apigee-managed integrated portal, and includes the new SmartDocs. Concurrent with the D8P announcement, we announced the end of hosting for D7P in 12 months, and that installation and upgrade scripts for private cloud D7P will be removed in the 20.06 release.

Why is Apigee-sponsored hosting for Drupal 7-based developer portals ending ?

Apigee-sponsored hosting for D7P will end in May 2020 for two reasons:

  1. Apigee’s integrated portals have become a compelling option for customers, with advanced features and a lower total cost of ownership.
  2. Drupal 8 represents the path forward for those who wish to remain on the Drupal track. While the migration effort from D7P to D8P is non-trivial, D8P offers a better trajectory for any customer who prefers a self-managed developer portal.

What actions do I need to take?

Apigee D7P customers should evaluate the available alternatives and either establish a direct relationship with a preferred hosting provider, such as Pantheon or Acquia, or consider other hosting options.

What are the options to consider?

Cloud customers who are using D7P have three options:

  1. Move to Apigee's integrated portals.
  2. Migrate to Drupal 8.
  3. Remain on Drupal 7 and assume hosting responsibility by May 31, 2020.

Private cloud customers who are using D7P have two options:

  1. Migrate to Drupal 8.
  2. Remain on Drupal 7 for now.

Each of these options is discussed in more detail below.

Option #1: Move to an Apigee integrated portal

Who should consider this?

API providers who have been using Drupal 7 with a minimal amount of customization or those who prefer an all-in-one solution that is more configuration oriented with a lower total cost of ownership.

The developer portal integrated directly into Apigee Edge includes a powerful API catalog and a compelling Markdown-based content management system with robust audience management tools. To determine whether the integrated portal might be a good fit for your API program, contact your Apigee account representative.

For guidance on how to plan and execute the migration of your Drupal 7 portal assets to the integrated portal, see Migrating your Drupal 7 portal to the integrated portal.

Option #2: Migrate to Drupal 8

Who should consider this?

API providers who have leveraged the functionality of Drupal 7 in conjunction with a high degree of customization and investment in crafting a specific developer experience.

Because of the major differences between Drupal 7 and Drupal 8, such as the page rendering engine, recreating similar customizations may require a fair degree of custom work. If you anticipate the need to engage Drupal 8 specialists, your Apigee account representative can recommend expert Drupal development partners for you. While Apigee does not provide hosting for D8P, Pantheon and Acquia have experience hosting D8P for Apigee customers.

Option #3: Remain on Drupal 7

Who should consider this?

API providers already using Drupal 7, who simply want more time to make a decision.

The Drupal 7 project has published timelines for long term support (LTS) through 2021. Support of the modules that integrate Drupal 7 with Apigee Edge is not affected by this hosting announcement. However, note that any cloud customer wishing to remain on Drupal 7 must assume direct account responsibility with their hosting provider by May 31, 2020.

How do I get my data exported (cloud customers)?

To export your Drupal data, refer to the Pantheon or Acquia export process.

What will happen if I don't take the necessary actions?

After May 31, 2020, D7P will be unavailable to you and your clients. You will not be able to administer or develop on D7P, and your clients will not be able to log in to your D7P portal. All Apigee-hosted D7P portals will be decommissioned after May 31, 2020.

Whom do I contact for more information or help?

To request additional details about the end of hosting for D7P, please log a ticket in the Apigee Support Portal with the subject line "Drupal 7-based Developer Portal - hosting."

Are there any tools or support available to help with migration of D7P to D8P?

While Apigee does not provide direct support for Drupal, your Apigee account representative can connect you to Drupal experts who can assist in migration and custom development.

Are there any tools or support available to help with migration of D7P to integrated portals?

For guidance on how to plan and execute the migration of your Drupal 7 portal assets to the integrated portal, see Migrating your Drupal 7 portal to the integrated portal.

While there are no tools available to migrate from Drupal to the Apigee-managed portal, Apigee may be able to assist with your migration. The best candidates are those that have not invested heavily in custom development that might not transfer well, such as specific workflows or approval tools. Contact your Apigee account representative for more information.

What changes have been made to SmartDocs?

The following sections describe the changes that have been made to the new SmartDocs in Drupal 8 as compared to Drupal 7.

How does the new SmartDocs feature compare to the Drupal 7-based version?

You may be familiar with SmartDocs used with Drupal 7 developer portals. See Using SmartDocs to document APIs.

SmartDocs in Drupal 8 delivers many of the features you've come to expect in API reference documentation and now runs directly from an OpenAPI Specification. For more information, see Document your APIs.

Is OpenAPI Specification 3.0.x supported with SmartDocs?

OpenAPI Specification 3.0.x is supported by the new SmartDocs available in the Drupal 8 portal. Expect improved support for the new features of the spec in the future.

What types of authentication are supported with SmartDocs?

The Try this API panel in SmartDocs works with unsecured endpoints or secured endpoints using Basic, API Key, or OAuth Authentication, based on the security method defined in your OpenAPI Specification. For OAuth, the following flows are supported: authorization code, implicit, password, and client credentials.

Is SmartDocs my only option for API documentation?

SmartDocs is Apigee's out-of-the-box solution to API documentation driven by an OpenAPI Specification, but Apigee recognizes that it's good to have options. For Drupal 8 portals, the API Catalog module supports additional rendering solutions, such as the Swagger UI Field Formatter.