What is an API Gateway?
API Gateway is a service that sits between clients and backend services, acting as a reverse proxy to accept incoming requests from clients, perform various operations such as routing, authentication, and rate limiting, and then forward those requests to the appropriate backend services.
It serves as a single entry point for clients to access multiple services, providing a unified interface and abstracting the complexities of the underlying architecture.
In the above diagram:
- User will send the request from mobile or web application.
- API Gateway will determine which request is coming.
- Authentication means the user need to proof there identity to the server or client, by providing there User_Id and Password. Example :- Login or Signup page.
- SSL full form Secure Socket Layer, it is used to establish an encrypted link between a server and a client.
- It provides the ability to perform protocol translation, where incoming requests are translated from one channel to another. When requests are aggregated, a request received by an API gateway will trigger requests to different endpoints, and return response to the client.
The primary purpose of an API Gateway is to simplify the client’s interaction with the underlying services, enhance security, and provide various features for managing and monitoring API traffic.
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