Account Administration and API

Application Programming Interface (API)

What is LuxSci's API?

LuxSci's application programming interface allows you, the account administrator, to write programs or scripts, residing anywhere on the Internet, which can perform account administration tasks such as updating, creating, and querying users. The API can be accessed securely using Web Services (SOAP).

There are two types of API: An "Account API" for performing administrative tasks, and a "User API" for accessing user-level data. The Account API is available to any account for no additional charge -- simply ask our support staff to enable your account for access if you are interested.

Web Services: LuxSci's web services API uses SOAP, a widely used web service protocol that employs XML. The use of SOAP makes it easy to send and receive complex data types, while maintaining flexibility. Many programming languages have excellent SOAP toolkits that allow for easy integration of web services into existing frameworks. Some of the more popular toolkits are SOAP::Lite for Perl, NuSOAP and Pear::SOAP for PHP, Axis for Java, and .NET web services for VB.net. LuxSci supports both "RPC" and "Document Literal" web services encodings -- so you can use the mechanism that works most seamlessly with your platform.

CGI Account API: LuxSci also supports access to its Account API via secure HTTPS CGI form posts.

What can I do with the Account API?

You can employ the Account API to perform the following functions:

• Create new users
• Update users' contact information
• Enable, disable, and delete users
• Change users' passwords
• Change users' email forwarding settings
• Create, Delete, and List user email autoresponders
• Change users' individual disk space limits
• Copy WebMail preferences from one user to another
• Add and remove services such as POP, IMAP, SMTP, and Spam/Virus Filtering from users
• Set and remove various "flags" from users which determine things such as if the user should be automatically deleted or disabled if s/he doesn't login for "a long time"
• Download user details including password, contact information, last login date and time, services accessible, and much more.
• Create new domains in your account
• Delete domains from your account
• Update domain properties and catch-all email aliases.
• Get a report summarizing the status of all of the domains in your account.
• Create email aliases in your domains
• Delete email aliases from your domains
• Get a report summarizing the status of all email aliases, user email forwarding rules, and catchall aliases in your domains.

Uses for LuxSci's Account API

You can employ the API to:

• Perform bulk domain, user, and/or email alias creation or deletion.
• Perform bulk or automatic updates to users.
• Synchronize passwords between LuxSci and your own web site or external database.
• Create your own web page on your web site that will handle the signup of new users and which will use the API to automatically create these new users in your LuxSci account.
• Create scripts that will automatically allow users to login to LuxSci if they have already been logged into your site [i.e. single sign on].
• Retrieve reports on users, domains, and aliases for arbitrary analysis on your side.

If you have any questions about LuxSci's Account API please contact our support staff.

What can I do with the User API?

The User API currently supports only access to user address book, calendar, task, and Private Labeled Theme information. The User API is accessible to all users.

You can employ the User API to perform the following functions:

• Retrieve information about all WebAide address books, calendars, or task lists accessible to a specific user
• Query and retrieve address book, calendar, or tasks list entries from a specific WebAide
• Delete some or all entries from a specific address book, calendar, or task list
• Add or update entries in a specific address book, calendar, or task list (supports matchback to identify duplicate entries)
• Download, add, and update SecureLine information for address book recipients -- Escrow questions and answers, PGP certificates, and S/MIME certificates.
• Retrieve user-specific Private Labeled Theme information such as:
  • WebMail company name and URL
  • Names of the POP, IMAP, SMTP, and FTP servers the user should use
  • Names and email addresses of the administrative and technical support contacts for WebMail

You must have the user's LuxSci username and password in order to access the User API for the user in question.

Uses for LuxSci's User API

You can employ the API to:

• Import, Export, and Synchronize address book, calendar, or task data
• Query address books, calendars, or task lists
• Dynamically private label other programs and web sites based on the data being used to private label this particular user.

If you have any questions about LuxSci's User API please contact our support staff.