New requirements and API

So why the new API and not the License Keys?

There are several reasons this is a bonus for you.

• API Keys are much faster to respond and communicate with your dashboards. This communication only involves the active status of your key, as well as the notification of updates to all dashboards.
  
• This requires far less input from you! Only an API Key is needed; say goodbye to License Keys bound to emails.
  
• Easier access to viewing your API Key. You can view this key directly on your account.
  
• API Keys are now set to your Server IP and can be managed via your account page, making resets on keys easier should you need to migrate to a new server.

You can view your API Keys here (must be logged in). You’ll notice the API information posted with the amount of activation’s remaining as well as the IP the API was set to.

Some technical bits!

The API is a welcome addition to your dashboards as well as to QuickBox.IO in general. With the implementation of our new API, the overall response times have dropped considerably!

With License checks via heartbeat (old license keys)
Average Response Time :: 1.8 seconds

With new API checks via heartbeat
Average Response Time :: 0.07 seconds

Just from that stat alone, you can see that launching the API has drafted a considerable decrease in the amount of time it takes for checks to complete. Reviewing this further, here’s a couple of key metric visuals.

It’s clear when we launched our API endpoints and users started updating! Officially launched and began the roll out on February 19, 2019, it was only hours later that our API server gained a considerable amount of resources and required less input on checks from dashboards. With the release and swap to our API, users were able to tell a drastically noticeable increase in responsiveness on dashboards, as their own heartbeat wasn’t bottle necking and waiting for a response from our servers (this verification is only for activation checks).

For Pre-Existing Installs of QuickBox prior to v1.2.1

With this update there have been a load of changes to the core of your QuickBox install, as such, it has been updated to now accept your new API Key. Once the update has completed, you may notice that your Dashboard is now deactivated. No worries, simply grab your shiny new API Key and insert, then activate!

If you are coming from a version prior to v1.2.2 there’s an additional step required after the update.

After you’ve installed v1.2.2 you’ll need to also Reset Current Version.
To do this from the Dashboard you can follow this Knowledge base entry: 
https://quickbox.io/knowledge-base/resetting-quickbox-pro/

If you are doing this from SSH, you’ll need to type:

sudo su -
fix version

New Requirements on setup

So, what exactly does this mean for new installs starting on the next v1.2.3 release?

New installs will be handled much more efficiently and will have an additional decrease in install times. We have completely rewritten our setup and update binaries to better serve these functions. This means that all future updates will be much smoother as it will not interrupt current running processes. Not to mention, the updates are incredibly fast, so keep an eye on the changelogs to stay posted!

New installs will now require the use of an api key argument; for example:

./qbpro -u=$USERNAME -p=$PASSWORD -k=$APIKEY

The -k= is reserved for placing the API key from your purchase, this key is now required to ensure the setup process can begin. Without an API key, the installer will simply fail and exit. If you are interested in checking QuickBox Pro Edition out, hit up our Demo!