This topic describes how to make API requests over HTTP. This topic is intended for users who initiate HTTP or HTTPS GET requests by calling API operations. If you want to make a Server Load Balancer (SLB) API request, you must send an HTTP GET request to the SLB endpoint. Then, add the request parameters that correspond to the API operation being called. After you call the API, the system returns a response. The request and response are both encoded in UTF-8.

Note If you are using the following tools to call the API, skip this topic:

The request URL consists of different parameters and the request syntax is predefined. The URL contains common request parameters, the specified signature method, and operation-specific parameters. A sample request URL is provided for each API operation in the corresponding topic. To improve readability, the URL is not encoded. You must encode the URL before a request is made. After the request is verified, the results are returned. Response parameters are displayed if the call succeeds, and an error message appears if the call fails. You can troubleshoot issues based on the common error codes and API operation-specific error codes.

Note We recommend that you use an SDK to call operations and manage resources. This avoids manual authentication.