XML API deprecation

[Raffaele Lagana]

Dear API Support,
I see a new sentence in the XML API deprecation notice on XML API page:

"User management APIs such as CreateUser, SetUser, DelUser, etc. are NOT affected by this EOL announcement."

Two related questions:
1. Can we count on the long term availability of these user management XML APIs, or is this just a temporary bridge over the missing feature parity between the REST and XML API sets?
2. Does this also mean that we can count on the long term availability of the classic (Site Admin managed) Meetings sites, i.e. classic sites will NOT be forced to migrate to Control Hub management?

[Lajos Demeter]

Hi @Raffaele Lagana,

Just a followup question: You wrote above:

I believe the deprecation (and then EoL) was always related to the XML Meetings APIs, not the user APIs. [...]
There is no plan to deprecate the User management APIs at this time.

Now my question: Does the same statement apply for the other non-"Meeting Service" XML API elements, especially APIs in the
   - History Service and
   - Session Service
blocks, e.g. will the DelRecording or LstmeetingusageHistory XML API also survive the EOL?
Thanks in advance for your clarification.

[Jeff Marshall]

Both DelRecording and LstmeetingusageHistory are Meeting Center related so they would be included in EoL.
On https://developer.cisco.com/docs/webex-meetings/#!xml-to-rest-migration-guide/mappings-between-xmlapi-and-restful-meetings-api it shows which XML APIs currently have equivalent REST APIs or in future consideration.

[Raffaele Lagana]

I believe the deprecation (and then EoL) was always related to the XML Meetings APIs, not the user APIs. I think the change in description was a direct result of people asking these same queries as you, there may have been some confusion and the message might not have been perfectly clear. There is no plan to deprecate the User management APIs at this time.

As for your second query, there are no plans to force migration to Control Hub management.

Always note that these may change in future, depending on factors such as technology advancement, general usage, etc. Any changes will always be communicated well in advance and feedback will then be taken on it. I think Engineering will always try to be as flexible as possible with these types of decisions, allowing customers to express concerns with any such changes and taking action based on that. 

[Lajos Demeter]

Dear Cisco team, dear Raffaele,

You stated 4 months ago in this thread above:

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There is no plan to deprecate the User management APIs at this time.

As for your second query, there are no plans to force migration to Control Hub management. 

---

Now we have received the following Cisco notification:

"Cisco Webex is [...]  to inform you that Webex Site Administration management console is planned to be deprecated by the end of calendar year 2023.  Site management of Webex Meeting sites will transition to Webex Control Hub."

So the discontinuation of Classic sites must have proceeded from "no plan" status to to global publication status in 4 months. OK, this is just a publication of something that will happen more than a year later, but the question still arises, how stable the intentions of Cisco are.

So the next questions: Can we still count on the survival of the User Management XML APIs:

1. Will the User Management XML APIs survive the Oct 31, 2023 XML API deprecation as advertised HERE (https://developer.webex.com/docs/platform-introduction) saying "User management APIs such as CreateUser, SetUser, DelUser, etc. are NOT affected by this EOL announcement." ?
2. Will the User Management XML APIs survive the Dec 31, 2023 Site Admin console deprecation adverised in the direct emails to site admins of Classic sites?

It is VERY important for API integrators to know the real intentions of Cisco, in order to avoid spending development efforts on something that will be discontinued.

Thanks in advance for your clear commitment of Cisco's plans.

[Lajos Demeter]

In the meantime an answer arrived in another thread:

"There is not a direct dependency between XML APIs and Site Admin - XML APIs work with both Control Hub and Site Admin managed orgs. So, the user management XML APIs would still work after voluntary (or - at some unknown future time - non-voluntary) migration to CH."

[Lajos Demeter]

Raffaele, thanks for your confirmation, this is really calming.

The XML API Deprecation notice HERE states

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The Meetings related XML APIs will be deprecated, and the End-of-Support (EoS) date is April 30, 2023.

---

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which does not mention what you wrote: "related to the XML Meetings APIs, not the user APIs".  I guess it would be useful to update the XML API Deprecation Notice in order to avoid misunderstandings and concerns.

[Raffaele Lagana]

I'm not sure on that difference you mention between what I said and what the message says.

To me, saying 'Meetings related XML APIs' is the same as saying 'XML Meetings APIs'

Glad I could give you some peace of mind though! I guess this whole confusion was why engineering decided to modify the message

[Lajos Demeter]

Thank you Raffaele, yes, for me "Meetings" meant Meetings sites, now this is clear.

Do I understand right that the GetloginTicket and the AuthenticateUser XML API will also remain usable? These APIs are also in the User Service section of the XML API reference guide.

[Raffaele Lagana]

Yes that's correct.

[Lajos Demeter]

Thanks Raffaele, this is a very good piece of news.