LiveEdge Node API 101 Quick Start (Cloud REST Direct GET) – Videon Help Center

Article purpose: This guide helps a first-time API user perform a simple "read" operation (HTTP GET) against a LiveEdge Node's local REST API through LiveEdge Cloud using a REST direct request.

Outcome: You will retrieve the device's System Settings from :2020/v2/system.

Note: This document is only written for LiveEdge Node devices. LiveEdge Max 2 or Max devices do not support the :2020/v2/system endpoint.

Table of Contents:

1. What you are doing (plain language)

2. Two systems are involved

2.1 LiveEdge Node local REST API (device-side)

2.2 LiveEdge Cloud API (cloud-side, authenticated)

3. Prerequisites (what you need from your evaluation coordinator)

4.1 Install Postman

5. Step-by-step: Send the REST direct GET command

5.1 Create a new request in Postman

5.2 Enter the LiveEdge Cloud "Send Command" URL

5.3 Add authentication (PAT) header

5.4 Add the request body (JSON)

5.5 Send the request

6. Step-by-step: Retrieve the command result (the system settings JSON)

6.1 Create a second request in Postman

6.2 Enter the command result URL

6.3 Keep the same Authorization header

6.4 Send the GET request

7. Interpreting the response (what "success" looks like)

8. Common issues and resolutions

8.1 401 Unauthorized

8.2 403 Forbidden

8.3 403 Request was blocked for security reasons

8.4 Command accepted but no result / result indicates failure

Appendix A — Copy/paste request payload (REST direct GET)

Appendix B — Screenshot list

1. What you are doing (plain language)

An API is a structured way to ask software for information or to request an action.

A GET request means: "Please show me information."
The information returned will be in JSON (structured text).

In this guide, you will request system details (such as device name, IP configuration, and software version) from a LiveEdge Node.

2. Two systems are involved

2.1 LiveEdge Node local REST API (device-side)

This is the REST API running on the device itself, accessible on port 2020.

Endpoint you want to read: System Settings
Local call (conceptual): GET :2020/v2/system

Reference: Videon Streaming REST API — Get System Settings

2.2 LiveEdge Cloud API (cloud-side, authenticated)

You will send a request to LiveEdge Cloud, authenticated with a Personal Access Token (PAT).

LiveEdge Cloud will forward a REST direct command to the device and return results.

References:

3. Prerequisites (what you need from your evaluation coordinator)

Before you begin, obtain the following:

Device GUID (LiveEdge Cloud identifier for your evaluation LiveEdge Node): Finding the GUID of a Videon device in LiveEdge® Cloud Control
- Format resembles a UUID (example): 01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
Personal Access Token (PAT) for LiveEdge Cloud: Generating a Personal Access Token
- This is a secret token used to authenticate your requests.
- The Cloud API expects it in the HTTP header:
  - Authorization: PAT <your_token>
- Reference: LiveEdge Cloud REST API — Authentication

4. Recommended tool: Postman (most beginner-friendly)

Postman provides a form-based interface to send API requests without writing code.

4.1 Install Postman

Download and install Postman for your operating system. https://www.postman.com/downloads/

Figure 1 — Postman download page and installer

5. Step-by-step: Send the REST direct GET command

5.1 Create a new request in Postman

Open Postman.
Select New → HTTP Request.
Set the request Method to POST.

Figure 2 — Creating a new HTTP request in Postman

5.2 Enter the LiveEdge Cloud "Send Command" URL

In the URL field, enter: https://api.videoncloud.com/v1/devices/{device_guid}/commands

Replace {device_guid} with your provided Device GUID.
Example: https://api.videoncloud.com/v1/devices/01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef/commands

Reference: Send Device Command

Figure 3 — Request URL with device GUID highlighted

5.3 Add authentication (PAT) header

Go to the Headers tab.
Add a header:
- Key: Authorization
- Value: PAT <your_pat_token>

Example format (do not reuse this token value): PAT J1eee35QGmzwgqaaovJ8cbnS9wBPGwHI

Reference: Authentication

Figure 4 — Headers tab showing Authorization: PAT …

5.4 Add the request body (JSON)

Go to the Body tab.
Select raw.
Select JSON (application/json).
Paste the following JSON exactly:

{
  "command": "rest_direct_get",
  "rest_endpoint": ":2020/v2/system"
}

Notes:

command is rest_direct_get (a REST direct request through LiveEdge Cloud).
rest_endpoint is the device endpoint at port 2020. For this guide it must be: :2020/v2/system
No output_type is used.
No data field is required for this GET.

Reference: Send Device Command

Figure 5 — Body tab set to raw JSON with the command payload

5.5 Send the request

Click Send.

What you should see:

A successful submission is typically returned as HTTP 202 Accepted.
The response will typically include a command identifier (often named command_guid) that you will use to retrieve the result.

Reference: Send Device Command

Figure 6 — Example 202 Accepted response showing the returned command GUID

6. Step-by-step: Retrieve the command result (the system settings JSON)

The REST direct command is asynchronous. After it is accepted, you must query the command result.

6.1 Create a second request in Postman

Create a new request tab (or duplicate the first request and modify it).
Set the request Method to GET.

6.2 Enter the command result URL

Use: https://api.videoncloud.com/v1/devices/{device_guid}/commands/{command_guid}

Replace {device_guid} with your device GUID.
Replace {command_guid} with the command GUID returned in the previous step.

Reference: Send Device Command

6.3 Keep the same Authorization header

Ensure the header is still present:

Authorization: PAT <your_pat_token>

6.4 Send the GET request

Click Send.

If the command is not finished yet:

Wait 5–10 seconds and click Send again until the response shows the completed result.

Figure 7 — GET request to /commands/{command_guid} in Postman

Figure 8 — Completed command response showing the device's /v2/system JSON

7. Interpreting the response (what "success" looks like)

When successful, you will see JSON data corresponding to the device's System Settings. Typical fields include:

device_name
ip_scheme
net_connected
mac_address
ip_address
network (sub-fields like gateway, netmask, dns_addresses)
version
device_id
clock (e.g., ntp_server, timezone)

Reference: Videon Streaming REST API — Get System Settings

8. Common issues and resolutions

8.1 401 Unauthorized

Meaning: Authentication failed.

Checklist:

You included the Authorization header.
The value is exactly: PAT <token>
The PAT is not expired.

Reference: Authentication

8.2 403 Forbidden

Meaning: Your token is valid, but you do not have access to this device.

Resolution: Contact your evaluation coordinator or LiveEdge Cloud organization Admin to confirm your LiveEdge Cloud permissions for the device.

8.3 403 Request was blocked for security reasons

Meaning: Your request is missing a "User-Agent" header and is being blocked by the AWS firewall.

Resolution: Ensure that your API client includes a "User-Agent" header. Most API clients automatically include a User-Agent by default. This is the case with commonly used tools such as Postman, which is the API client referenced in most of our Help Center documentation. Some lighter‑weight or custom tools, however, do not set this header unless it is explicitly configured.

To resolve this issue, please add the following header to the request:

Key:   User-Agent
Value: <your user agent string>

You can obtain a valid user agent string by searching for “what is my user agent?” in any search engine and copying the result into the header value. Alternatively, using Postman or another full-featured API client will automatically include this header for you..

8.4 Command accepted but no result / result indicates failure

Possible causes:

The device is offline or temporarily unreachable.
The device is busy.
The rest_endpoint value is incorrect (must be :2020/v2/system for this guide).

Reference endpoints:

Device system endpoint: Get System Settings
Cloud command mechanism: Send Device Command

Appendix A — Copy/paste request payload (REST direct GET)

{
  "command": "rest_direct_get",
  "rest_endpoint": ":2020/v2/system"
}

Appendix B — Screenshot list

Figure 1 — Postman download page and installer
Figure 2 — Creating a new HTTP request in Postman
Figure 3 — Request URL with device GUID highlighted
Figure 4 — Headers tab showing Authorization: PAT …
Figure 5 — Body tab set to raw JSON with the command payload
Figure 6 — Example 202 Accepted response showing the returned command_guid
Figure 7 — GET request to /commands/{command_guid} in Postman
Figure 8 — Completed response showing the /v2/system JSON result

Articles in this section

1. What you are doing (plain language)

2. Two systems are involved

2.1 LiveEdge Node local REST API (device-side)

2.2 LiveEdge Cloud API (cloud-side, authenticated)

3. Prerequisites (what you need from your evaluation coordinator)

4. Recommended tool: Postman (most beginner-friendly)

4.1 Install Postman

5. Step-by-step: Send the REST direct GET command

5.1 Create a new request in Postman

5.2 Enter the LiveEdge Cloud "Send Command" URL

5.3 Add authentication (PAT) header

5.4 Add the request body (JSON)

5.5 Send the request

6. Step-by-step: Retrieve the command result (the system settings JSON)

6.1 Create a second request in Postman

6.2 Enter the command result URL

6.3 Keep the same Authorization header

6.4 Send the GET request

7. Interpreting the response (what "success" looks like)

8. Common issues and resolutions

8.1 401 Unauthorized

8.2 403 Forbidden

8.3 403 Request was blocked for security reasons

8.4 Command accepted but no result / result indicates failure

Appendix A — Copy/paste request payload (REST direct GET)

Appendix B — Screenshot list

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