How does API Gateway work?
API Gateway acts as a single entry point for clients to access various microservices or backend services. It abstracts the underlying architecture and provides a unified interface for clients to interact with the system. Here’s how it works:
- Step 1 : Routing
- When a client sends a request to the API Gateway, it first examines the request to determine which service or microservice should handle it. This routing can be based on various criteria such as the URL path, HTTP method, or headers.
- Step 2 : Protocol translation
- The API Gateway can translate incoming requests from one protocol to another. For example, it can accept HTTP requests from clients and convert them to gRPC or WebSocket requests for backend services.
- Step 3 : Request aggregation
- In some cases, a client may need to fetch data from multiple services to fulfill a single request. The API Gateway can aggregate these requests into a single call to improve efficiency and reduce the number of round trips.
- Step 4 : Authentication and authorization
- The API Gateway can handle authentication and authorization for incoming requests. It can verify the identity of the client and check if the client has the necessary permissions to access the requested resources.
- Step 5 : Rate limiting and throttling
- To prevent abuse and ensure fair usage of resources, the API Gateway can enforce rate limiting and throttling policies. It can limit the number of requests a client can make within a certain time period.
- Step 6 : Load balancing
- The API Gateway can distribute incoming requests across multiple instances of a service to ensure high availability and scalability.
- Step 7 : Caching
- To improve performance, the API Gateway can cache responses from backend services and serve them directly to clients for subsequent identical requests.
- Step 8 : Monitoring and logging
- The API Gateway can collect metrics and logs for incoming requests, providing insights into the usage and performance of the system.
Overall, the API Gateway simplifies the client-server communication by providing a centralized entry point with various features to manage and secure the interactions between clients and backend services
What is API Gateway | System Design ?
An API Gateway is a key component in system design, particularly in microservices architectures and modern web applications. It serves as a centralized entry point for managing and routing requests from clients to the appropriate microservices or backend services within a system.
Important Topics for API Gateway in System Design
- What is an API Gateway?
- How does API Gateway work?
- How differently API Gateway work with Microservices and Monolith architecture?
- Best Practices for API Gateway
- Benefits of using an API Gateway:
- Challenges of using an API Gateway
- Popular API Gateway Solutions