How to keep third-party integrations alive when vendor APIs lock down

Short summary

A firmware auto-update broke a two-year-old scheduled job by adding cloud authentication to a previously open LAN endpoint. The author diagnoses via tcpdump, captures the new auth token requirement, and ships a quick workaround. Lasting solution: abstract vendor APIs behind adapters and prefer open protocols like MQTT to insulate against future vendor changes.

• •Firmware updates can silently change API authentication requirements on network devices
• •Diagnose API breakage with tcpdump/Wireshark before assuming your code is wrong
• •Use adapter patterns and open protocols to reduce blast radius from vendor API changes

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