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 is a data-plane entry point for API calls that represent client requests to target applications and services. It typically performs request processing based on defined policies, including authentication, authorization, access control, SSL/TLS offloading, routing, and load balancing.

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.

API Gateways serve as a singular entry point for processing all API requests. Its functionality is crucial since it features traffic management, security protocols, caching and monitoring that allow the effective management, optimization and safeguarding of APIs.

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.

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.

API security can be jeopardized by a variety of risks, including vulnerability exploits, authorization errors, authentication issues, and denial-of-service attacks.

What is the disadvantage of an API gateway? ›

Disadvantages and challenges of API Gateway

Risk of complexity due to all the API rules being in one place. There is a possibility of a single point of failure.

An API gateway is a tool situated in front of one or more APIs, which can serve as a single point of contact for external API consumers, as well as internal APIs and microservices. The gateway enforces security policies to protect against threats, and efficiently routes traffic between API producers and consumers.

The API Gateway can provide each client with a custom API. It also translates between two protocols, such as HTTP, WebSockets, and Web-Unfriendly protocols that are used internally. The popular example of API Gateway is Netflix API Gateway.

Ruby is known for its simplicity and developer-friendly syntax. While not as performant as some other languages, Ruby can be a good choice for building API Gateways for applications where developer productivity is a priority. Ruby on Rails is a popular web framework in Ruby that can be used to build API Gateways.

Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service that makes it easy for developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at any scale. APIs act as the "front door" for applications to access data, business logic, or functionality from your backend services.

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.

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.