DevOps Intermediate

What is API Gateway?

A server that acts as the single entry point for API requests, handling routing, authentication, rate limiting, and monitoring.

API gateways sit between clients and backend services, providing a unified interface. They handle cross-cutting concerns like authentication, SSL termination, request/response transformation, rate limiting, caching, and logging.

Popular solutions include Kong, AWS API Gateway, Apigee, and Traefik. In microservices architectures, the gateway simplifies client communication by providing a single endpoint instead of requiring clients to know about individual services.

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