what does reconnect in APIM backend actually do?

Martin Kallukalam 170 Reputation points
2024-06-17T00:54:23.4933333+00:00

I have configured an mtls backend using client cert,key and root chain cert. Everything works well and I am able to authenticate with the backend using mtls.
But I dont understand what the "reconnect" button actually is supposed to do.
I would think reconnect means it would validate a tls connection with backend using client cert, key and verify the connectivity as well as a mtls handshake with backend. But in reality it actually doesn't do anything .
I put an incorrect client cert and tried to reconnect. It just says backend was successfully reconnected with a green check mark

I also put an NSG rule on the backend to deny inbound from Gateway .Reconnect still works.
I removed the client cert,key from backend and it still reconnects with green check box.
So the reconnect doesnt really seem to do anything .

Azure API Management
Azure API Management
An Azure service that provides a hybrid, multi-cloud management platform for APIs.
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  1. JananiRamesh-MSFT 23,256 Reputation points
    2024-06-17T07:09:51.09+00:00

    @Martin Kallukalam Thanks for reaching out. The "Reconnect" button in APIM backend is used to notify the APIM proxy to create a new connection to the backend after the specified timeout. If no timeout was specified, a timeout of 2 minutes is used.

    When you click on the "Reconnect" button, it sends a request to the APIM proxy to create a new connection to the backend. If the backend is available and the connection is successful, you will see a green checkmark indicating that the backend was successfully reconnected. However, if the backend is not available or the connection fails, you will see an error message indicating that the backend could not be reconnected.

    Regarding your observation that the "Reconnect" button still works even when you put an incorrect client cert or remove the client cert from the backend, it is possible that the APIM proxy is still able to establish a connection to the backend using other means, such as a different client cert or a different authentication mechanism.

    https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/rest/api/apimanagement/backend/reconnect?view=rest-apimanagement-2022-08-01&tabs=HTTP

    do let me know incase of further queries, i would be happy to assist you.