3.3. API Usage and Its Effect on Capacity

As more and more websites use open APIs to open up their services to external developers, capacity planning for the use of those services must follow.

You may have guessed by now I'm a strong advocate of application-level metrics as well as system metrics, and API usage is the area where application-level metrics can matter the most. When you allow others access to your data via an open API, you're essentially allowing a much more focused and routine use of your website.