What Is an API Gateway? A Quick Learn Guide (2024)

FAQs

What is an API gateway in simple terms? ›

An API gateway is an application programming interface (API) management tool that serves as a single point of entry into a system, sitting between the application user and a collection of backend services.

An API gateway accepts API requests from a client, processes them based on defined policies, directs them to the appropriate services, and combines the responses for a simplified user experience. Typically, it handles a request by invoking multiple microservices and aggregating the results.

An API gateway uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. An API gateway is used when the owner of a network-accessible service gives universal access to its consumers. An API gateway sits in front of an API and acts as a single point of entry for a defined group of microservices.

It acts as a reverse proxy, routing requests from clients to services. It may also perform various cross-cutting tasks such as authentication, SSL termination, and rate limiting. If you don't deploy a gateway, clients must send requests directly to front-end services, which has some downsides.

Gateways can take several forms and perform a variety of tasks. Examples of this include: Web application firewalls- This type filters traffic to and from a web server and looks at application-layer data. Cloud storage gateways- This type translates storage requests with various cloud storage service API calls.

Request validation

By doing so, the API gateway acts as a first line of defense, preventing malformed or malicious requests from reaching backend systems. Using our restaurant analogy, this is similar to the maître'd waiting at the entrance of the restaurant to greet guests as they arrive.

API Design: Creating well-defined endpoints and specifying the API's function, including request and response structures. API Gateway: Serving as the entry point for API requests, responsible for tasks like routing, load balancing, and request and response transformation.

An API gateway centralizes and manages access to your APIs, while a load balancer efficiently distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers. This guide will directly compare api gateway vs load balancer, delineating their strengths to inform your network strategy.

And this is all being done via API calls, written using REST , built over HTTP. I hope this answers your question to some extent. So based in what I read and your answer, an API gateway seems to be just a REST API on steroids that orchestrates the access to other simple APIs.

Is API gateway private or public? ›

When your API gateway is located within a VPC, you have a private API gateway. Unlike their public counterparts accessible over the internet, private API gateways are crafted to be accessed exclusively from within the specified network.

Search for API Gateway, click Create API . In the next screen select REST API and select 'Build'. Then, in the Action dropdown, we'll select “Create Resource”—a pane will come up titled “New Child Resource”. Fill the 'resource name' with a name (the path will auto-generate).

An API gateway manages incoming requests and routes them based on key factors such as request path, headers, and query parameters, among others. It allows for efficient distribution of traffic and ensures proper load balancing among target endpoints.

js is a popular choice for building API Gateways due to its asynchronous and event-driven nature, which makes it well-suited for handling a large number of concurrent connections. It also has a rich ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, such as Express. js, that make it easy to build robust API Gateways.

Both services can function together, although they do not require each other to work. For instance, the API gateway connects between microservices. The load balancer redirects multiple instances of a microservice component (to scale the deployment).

In essence, an API Gateway acts as a traffic manager. Unlike catalogs or portals that serve as directories or interfaces, gateways directly affect APIs' functions. They consolidate multiple backend services into a unified API, manage requests, and enhance overall performance and security.