API Gateway | Load Balancer
2 min readJun 25, 2024
What is an API Gateway?
An API Gateway is a sophisticated component designed to manage, route, and orchestrate API requests.
How it works:
- Single Entry Point: API Gateways serve as a unified entry point for all client requests, directing them across multiple services.
- Request Routing: They route requests to the appropriate service based on API endpoints.
- Protocol Translation: API Gateways can convert between different protocols, such as HTTP and WebSocket.
- Backend Integration: They enable communication with various backends, including microservices, serverless functions, and databases.
Additional Functionalities:
- Authentication and Authorization: They enforce security policies and authenticate incoming requests.
- Rate Limiting: They limit the number of requests to prevent misuse.
- Caching: They cache responses to improve performance and reduce the load on backend services.
- Analytics and Monitoring: They provide insights into API usage and performance.
What is a Load Balancer?
A Load Balancer is an essential element in distributed computing, responsible for managing the distribution of incoming network traffic across multiple servers.
Here’s how it works:
- Traffic Distribution: The main role of a load balancer is to evenly distribute traffic among servers, ensuring that no single server is overwhelmed. This enhances the availability and reliability of applications.
- High Availability: By spreading traffic, load balancers prevent server overloads and minimize the risk of server failures, ensuring the continuous availability of services.
- Scalability: Load balancers facilitate the scaling of infrastructure by allowing the addition or removal of servers without causing downtime.
Types of Load Balancers:
- Hardware Load Balancers: Physical devices dedicated to load balancing tasks.
- Software Load Balancers: Applications that perform load balancing functions.
- Cloud-Based Load Balancers: Services provided by cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.