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Amazon API Gateway

What is it​

A fully managed service that enables developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs at any scale.

What it's for​

Act as a "front door" for applications, allowing clients to access data, business logic, or backend functionality in a secure and scalable way.

Use cases​

  • Creating APIs for web and mobile applications
  • Exposing AWS Lambda functions as APIs
  • Integrating applications with backend services
  • Building microservices and serverless APIs
  • Enabling real-time communication with WebSocket APIs

Key points​

  • Fully managed: AWS handles provisioning, scaling, security, and monitoring
  • API types: Supports REST APIs (HTTP/S), HTTP APIs (simpler and cheaper), and WebSocket APIs (for real-time bidirectional communication)
  • Security: Integration with AWS IAM, Amazon Cognito, Lambda authorizers, and API keys
  • Caching: Allows configuring cache to reduce latency and backend service load
  • Throttling and quotas: Enables traffic control to protect your backend services
  • Monitoring: Integration with Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring and logging

Comparison​

  • Amazon API Gateway: A versatile service for creating and managing REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs. It's more generic and suitable for a wide range of APIs, including those that don't require GraphQL or advanced real-time features.
  • AWS AppSync: Ideal for building GraphQL APIs that require real-time features, offline synchronization, and data aggregation from multiple sources. Focused on query flexibility and data efficiency.