ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME in Apigee

In GCP Apigee (especially Apigee X / Hybrid), ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME refers to the hostname attached to an Environment Group.

Let’s break it down clearly:

🔹 What is an Environment Group in Apigee?

An Environment Group is a logical grouping of Apigee environments that share:

• The same virtual host configuration
• The same domain name(s)
• The same load balancer

Think of it like:

Custom Domain  →  Environment Group  →  Environments (dev / test / prod)

🔹 What is ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME?

ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) assigned to the Environment Group.

Example:

api.company.com

This hostname:

• Is configured in Apigee
• Is mapped to a Google Cloud Load Balancer
• Routes traffic to environments inside that environment group

🔹 Where You See ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME

You’ll see it in:

1️⃣ Apigee CLI / gcloud commands

Example:

gcloud apigee envgroups create my-env-group \
  --hostnames=api.company.com

Or:

gcloud apigee envgroups describe my-env-group

Output includes:

"hostnames": [
  "api.company.com"
]

That hostname is your ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME.

2️⃣ Apigee Hybrid installation (Helm values.yaml)

You may see:

envGroup:
  name: my-env-group
  hostnames:
    - api.company.com

🔹 How It Works in Traffic Flow

Client → api.company.com
       ↓
Google Cloud Load Balancer
       ↓
Apigee Environment Group
       ↓
Specific Environment (prod/dev)
       ↓
API Proxy

🔹 Important Notes

✅ Multiple hostnames allowed

You can attach multiple domains:

--hostnames=api.company.com,api2.company.com

❗ DNS Requirement

You must configure DNS:

api.company.com → External IP of Apigee Load Balancer

❗ Certificate Requirement

If using HTTPS (recommended), you must:

• Upload SSL certificate
• Attach it to load balancer

🔹 Quick Comparison

🔹 Typical Real-World Example

Production:

ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME=api.company.com

Non-prod:

ENV_GROUP_HOSTNAME=api-dev.company.com