As a new or existing Charge to Bill customer, follow the step-by-step guide attached here to help you navigate the new Proposal Process in API Pulse Portal.
DCB Guide for New Customers
DCB Guide for Existing Customers

HTTP Status Code

Description

2xx

Success. The API call was successful. An HTTP 204 indicates that the response is submitted with no content, typically because a DELETE operation succeeded.

401

Unauthorized. The credentials that you are using to make a request do not have the appropriate permissions to perform the operation. Verify the roles for the account you are using.

403

Forbidden. The username and password combination you are using is not valid for the organization you specified. Make sure that you are using the correct credentials for you organization and double-check spelling.

404

Not found. Verify that the request URL is spelled correctly and that the API you are trying to access exists. For example, ensure that you are not trying to access the wrong revision of an API.

405

Method not allowed. You specified a method that is not supported. For example, you used the GET verb for an API call that requires the POST verb.

409

Conflict. Indicates a conflict with an existing entity. For example, you attempted to create a cache using a name that already exists.

415

Unsupported media type. Typically, this error occurs on POST or PUT requests when the Content-type HTTP header is set to the wrong value. For example, an HTTP 415 error is returned if you POST the following to an API that only supports JSON:

$ curl https://api.company.com/v1/json_service
-X POST
-H "Content-type:text/xml"
-d SomeXML

For GET requests, use the Accept header instead of the Content-type header.

429

Too many requests. The rate limit was exceeded on Quota or Spike Arrest policies. The current default status code for exceeding the rate limit is 500, but the default may change to 429 in the future.

500

Internal Server Error. This error indicates that the server has encountered an unexpected condition. This often occurs when an application request cannot be fulfilled due to the application being configured incorrectly on the server.

502

Bad Gateway. This error is usually due to improperly configured proxy servers. However, the problem may also arise when there is poor IP communication between back-end computers, when the client's server is overloaded, or when a firewall is functioning improperly. The first step in resolving the issue is to clear the client's cache. This action should result in a different proxy being used to resolve the web server's content.

503

Service Unavailable. This error occurs when the server is unable to handle requests due to a temporary overload or due to the server being temporarily closed for maintenance. The error indicates that the server will only temporarily be down. It is possible to receive other errors in place of 503. Contact the server administrator if this problem persists.

504

Gateway Timeout. This error occurs when a server somewhere along the chain does not receive a timely response from a server further up the chain. The problem is caused entirely by slow communication between upstream computers. To resolve this issue, contact the system administrator.

As a user, if you want to edit or delete an app you created, select the app on your main dashboard from the main navigation. Scroll down to the app you'd like to delete or edit and select View. On your "My App" page, select the Edit Icon or Delete Icon.

Once registered on the portal, you will have access to a dashboard. This dashboard is your starting point every time you test an API product or move your app into a live production environment. The first step to testing in the Sandbox environment, is to add a test (“Sandbox”) app. This is your first application’s name and you can then select which API products you would like to test. Once you have selected the API products and hit the “Submit” button, your app will be created, and you will receive a key and password which enables you to start testing.

Once you have completed your testing in the Sandbox environment, you can request to be moved to the live production environment. This will initiate the partner onboarding process for the selected API product(s) you plan to consume.

Once registered, in order to test Sandbox APIs, you require an access token. This access token can be generated using the OAuth API. Vodacom’s sandbox APIs can be tested using any popular REST client such as POSTMAN, or on the API Pulse Portal using the Operations tab from the API Product page.

• Option 1: API products that are not listed do not have a standard rate card and are depended on contractual terms. For more information you can send a query via the contact us form.
• Option 2:When you select an application to Go Live with, the rate plans will appear for the API Products you have selected for that app. Please note that some of the API Products rate plans will not be available when selected Go Live, as they require a contract to be agreed and signed by you which may affect the rate plans.

There are two ways to test an API:

1. Simulated response: After selecting an API product from the Products page. Click on the Operations tab displays the various methods to test the API. Selecting one of these methods will display sample code, and after selecting “Generate response”, a sample response will display. 
2. Integration testing: to physically integrate into our testing environment to test APIs, please Contact Us and we will contact you to discuss the next steps.

Overview analytics/app performance for all your apps are visible on the main dashboard page. For detailed analytics related to the API products you have enabled for your apps, click on the “View” link on your app, and select the “The App Performance” tab. From the App Performance Tab, you will have a full view of the usage of your API product. The drop down, below the “Display” header, will provide you with various analytic options to view your API product performance, for example; Error Count, Throughput, and Message count, to name a few. After you’ve selected the performance view, you can custom the time frame by selecting the appropriate date and time you prefer. Once you have selected and entered the appropriate option and time frame, click on the “Submit” button, shown on the right-hand side. You will then be able to view the results from your selection.

As a registered user, select "Products" from the main navigation, select the product for which you require Swagger documents. Example: Communication: Once the product page is visible, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the "Try it out" button, which will re-direct you to the Try it out page. On the right-hand side, click on "Download Swagger Documents" button. The Swagger documents will automatically begin downloading. If you are unable to download the Swagger Documents, kindly use our support forums, Contact Us or Support Ticketing, where we will then assist you further.

If you do not receive an activation email, please send a support query via the Contact Us  form

•  Create an account on the API Pulse portal via the Register page. 
• After completing the registration process, you will receive an activation email. 
• Activate your account by clicking on the link in the email, and start testing your chosen products

Any company or developer wanting to use Vodacom’s APIs via the portal. Register, add a sandbox app and start testing. Should you wish to start consuming these APIs in a live production environment, you will complete the onboarding journey which includes purchasing the use of the APIs you require. Once the onboarding process is complete and approved, you will be able to consume the APIs, pending successful integration into the Vodacom API Pulse gateway.

Each resource within a REST API can support one or more of the standard HTTP methods. You define which verbs should be supported for each resource (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS) and their implementation. For example, a GET to the cars resource should return a list of cars. To connect all methods within a resource to a single backend endpoint, API Gateway also supports a special “ANY” method.

A resource is a typed object that is part of your API’s domain. Each resource may have associated a data model, relationships to other resources, and can respond to different methods. You can also define resources as variables to intercept requests to multiple child resources.

OAuth is an open standard for authorisation and any user or developer can implement it. OAuth is used to provide your applications with “secure delegated access”. OAuth is fundamentally a protocol that supports authorisation workflows which means that it gives you a way to ensure that a specific user has permissions to do something. OAuth works over HTTP and authorises Devices, APIs, Servers and Applications with access tokens rather than credentials. OAuth can also expire which requires a refresh token to be requested prior to the previous token expiring so that subsequent calls enriched with the new valid token will not fail.

An API key is a randomly generated alphanumeric string that an API client includes with an HTTP request to uniquely identify a calling client to the API. Keys provide authentication without authorisation, as keys do not carry data.

• Reduce the cost and risk associated with calling our API products during testing
• Validate if the information contained in the APIs provided is sufficient for your needs
• Concurrently test and develop to fast-track app development cycles and reduce time-to-market
• Simulate error scenarios, and latency in the API’s response time.

If you are having issues logging in, you can reset your password here. This will allow you to update your password through accessing a link on the email delivered to your mailbox. Alternatively please contact us using one of our support options.

If you have not received an e-mail, to reset your password, please ensure you have entered the correct e-mail address and try again. However, if the problem persists, please contact the support team using the Contact Us form, and we will assist you further.

You can edit your details via the "Profile Icon" on the top right-hand corner, displayed on the main navigation, which will re-direct you to your profile information. On this page you can make the relevant changes and select Save.

There are two ways to unsubscribe from Vodacom API Pulse Portal newsletters: 

•  Option 1: Via the home page, select the Subscribe button, which will re-direct you to our newsletter subscription page. Uncheck the tick box and select Update. 
• Option 2: Click on the Profile Icon, which is displayed on the main navigation, scroll to the bottom of the page and uncheck the tick box to unsubscribe and select Update

The error codes below explain some of the common errors that may occur when testing / using the APIs. For a comprehensive list of errors please view the documentation within the Sandbox environment:
CODE ERROR DESCRIPTION

• 500 Failed to establish backend connectivity
• 401 Invalid or Expired access token
• 402 Unauthorised failed to resolve the request
• 429 Rate limit has been exhausted

A user may utilise testing applications such as Postman to interact with the API Gateway.

For the most part, API Gateway is agnostic with regard to content type.

API Gateway is compatible with RESTful APIs that use JSON and XML data formats

You will need to log a request to the support team by raising a Support ticket or completing the Contact Us form to deactivate your account or suspend the use of our API services.

API keys are supported in request headers or in query string arguments.

When testing APIs in a Sandbox app, only acceptance of our Terms and Conditions are required. To access the production APIs, will require a contract to be agreed to and signed, which will be done during the onboarding process.

The API roadmap is constantly evolving and is available via the Products page. The page indicates products that are in beta phase and coming soon. Check back regularly to see when APIs go live. As the basket of APIs grow, we can improve our services through working closely with you as partners to help you step into the future with your customers. Should you have a capability requirement that we can add to make developing solutions easier for your business, simply submit a request and we will be in touch.

Vodacom’s APIs can assist in accelerating your business through innovative solutions and inspire digital ecosystems. The APIs’ technical interfaces enable partner access to Vodacom services:

• On the partner portal you can access all Vodacom API products available 
• Test, purchase and consume these APIs to enable services that benefit your end customer
• Benefit from API consumption analytics, enabling informed business decisions. 
• To connect, you can use our Portal. Go to Products, to find out more about the API Products we offer