API Gateway
Unifying entry points to orchestrate auth checks, rate limiting, and request routing.
What you'll learn
- Routing
- Authentication
- Rate Limiting
- Request/Response Transformation
TL;DR
Unifying entry points to orchestrate auth checks, rate limiting, and request routing.
Concept Overview
An API Gateway is a single entry point for clients to access multiple microservices. It handles cross-cutting concerns like authentication, rate limiting, logging, and request routing.
Instead of clients calling services directly, they call the gateway, which routes requests to appropriate backend services.
Key Architectural Pillars
Routing
Directs requests to appropriate backend service based on path, headers, or other criteria.
Authentication
Validates client credentials once at gateway instead of in every service.
Rate Limiting
Restricts number of requests per client to prevent abuse.
Request/Response Transformation
Modifies requests or responses (e.g., different API versions, format conversion).