Datto Autotask PSA: What URL do I use to connect to the Autotask API?

Question

What URL do I use to connect to the Autotask API?

Environment

• Datto Autotask PSA

Answer

Autotask has multiple zones. The zones are generally, allocated geographically, but exceptions are possible. The zone number appears in the customer's Autotask URL.

Autotask product releases do not go out to all zones at the same time. Some zones will have a newer version of the application and the API since the API is always current for the Autotask version in that zone. As a result, there will be some unavoidable differences between versions of the WSDL. This difference is most noticeable between the localized and English versions.

• Currently, you can anticipate a time lag of 4 – 8 weeks after a significant English release is completed. The release would be before new features and other changes are delivered in the German and Spanish language zones.
• For maintenance releases, anticipate a time lag of 1 -2 weeks. If you bind your code to the Pre-Release WSDL for development and testing, anticipate the time lag before you make the updated code available to users residing in different zones. An alternative would be to bind your code to the WSDL for that zone. You can then detect and correct for any differences.
  
• You can determine the WSDL version using the getWsdlVersion() call. 
• You can no longer generate the "auto-generated" WSDL file from the URL: https://webservices[n].autotask.net/atservices/1.5/atws.asmx?wsdl
  • [n] is your Autotask zone.

To avoid problems when you make your code available to customers in multiple zones, do the following:

In your development environment, create a proxy class (Web Reference) for the Autotask Web Services API by referencing the WSDL file. The appropriate URL is determined by your Autotask zone.

Note: You can not connect to the URLs below using a browser window. Only via programmatic authentication from an application or integration.

Zone Variations for the URL Of The WSDL File For Version 1.6

To determine the proper zone (and accompanying URL) to use for all API interactions

1. Set up your application so that getZoneInfo() is the first call made.
2. Direct the getZoneInfo call to:
   https://webservices.autotask.net/atservices/1.6/atws.asmx.
   • You can no longer generate the "auto-generated" WSDL file from the following URL: https://webservices[n].autotask.net/atservices/1.5/atws.asmx?wsdl (where [n] is your Autotask zone)

If you bound your code to an English language WSDL for development and testing

1. Before you make your code available to users in any localized zone, bind your code to the WSDL for that particular zone. You can detect and correct for any differences.
   • We recommend that, when writing your applications, you store the URL information in an initialization or configuration file.
     • For example, .NET developers can store the information in the Web.config file. This allows for easy updating if the URL information changes.
       

Anticipate regular updates and the release of new versions of the Web Service API

New versions will, for the most part, support backward compatibility through multiple releases, but there may be changes to functionality that have an impact on your application. Please check Autotask release notes and any additional notifications that provide information on Web Services changes and updates.

• We strongly suggest that you update your application with each Web Service API release, or monitor the impact that changes might have on your application and plan accordingly, especially if Autotask plans to remove support for the API version that you are using.
  

Additional Resources

• The Autotask Web Services API v1.6