API Gateway Overview: Understanding Key Concepts and Features

TLDRAPI Gateway is a managed service for HTTP, REST, and WebSockets endpoints. It allows you to build and expose these endpoints to interact with resources or services in your AWS account. HTTP and REST are suitable for request-response models, while WebSockets are for bi-directional messaging. API Gateway provides features like custom authorizers, web application firewalls, caching, rate limiting, and comprehensive monitoring.

Key insights

💡API Gateway is a front door to expose resources or services in your AWS account to external users.

🚪It supports HTTP, REST, and WebSockets endpoints, catering to different interaction models.

🔒API Gateway provides security features like authorization, rate limiting, and comprehensive monitoring.

🌐It offers caching to optimize performance and cost-effectiveness, especially for data that doesn't change often.

⚙️API Gateway can be deployed in different stages, allowing gradual feature implementation and testing before production deployment.

Q&A

What is API Gateway used for?

API Gateway is used to build and expose HTTP, REST, and WebSockets endpoints that allow external users to interact with resources or services in your AWS account.

What are the key features of API Gateway?

The key features of API Gateway include custom authorizers, web application firewalls, caching, rate limiting, and comprehensive monitoring.

When should I use HTTP vs. REST vs. WebSockets endpoints?

HTTP and REST endpoints are suitable for request-response models, while WebSockets endpoints are designed for bi-directional messaging or broadcasting purposes.

Is API Gateway scalable and elastic?

Yes, API Gateway is a fully managed service that scales automatically and provides load balancing to handle incoming requests.

Can I secure my API endpoints in API Gateway?

Yes, API Gateway offers security features like authorization, rate limiting, and comprehensive monitoring to ensure secure access to your endpoints.

Timestamped Summary

00:00API Gateway serves as a front door to expose resources or services in your AWS account to external users.

00:18API Gateway provides different endpoint options, including HTTP, REST, and WebSockets, catering to various interaction models.

02:20Key features of API Gateway include custom authorizers, web application firewalls, caching, rate limiting, and comprehensive monitoring.

04:55HTTP and REST endpoints are suitable for request-response models, while WebSockets endpoints are designed for bi-directional messaging or broadcasting purposes.

07:33API Gateway is scalable, elastic, and provides load balancing to handle incoming requests efficiently.