1. A method comprising: receiving, by a computing device, a software command from a software element in a main computer at a management computer of the computing device via an application programming interface (API) included in the management computer, wherein the management computer manages the main computer, and the main computer controls services for a distributed computing system; determining, by the management computer, a hardware element associated with the software command, wherein the management computer comprises a communication pathway to the hardware element; translating, by the management computer, the software command to a hardware command that the hardware element can process, wherein the hardware element cannot process the software command; and sending, by the management computer, the hardware command to the hardware element via the communication pathway, wherein the management computer provides the API to allow the software element to communicate with the hardware element without the software element having to translate the software command to the hardware command, wherein the management computer includes a plurality of communication pathways to a plurality of hardware elements that communicate in different hardware protocols, and wherein the management computer is capable of translating from the different hardware protocols to software commands using the API.