API gateways are critical components of how applications authorize communication pathways. But as organizations increase their reliance on microservices and container-based architectures, they’re finding that legacy API gateways often fall short when it comes to scalability, traffic management, security, and observability.
To support the evolving needs of modern enterprises, API gateways must embrace Kubernetes support, microservices, multi-cloud deployments, and cloud native innovation. In other words, to adapt and survive in this ecosystem, organizations must adopt a modern API gateway.
Cloud native architectures
What are the defining features of a modern API gateway built for the rigors of today’s microservices journeys? As trusted experts in helping enterprises adopt, secure, and operate innovative cloud native technologies, we have learned that a truly modern API gateway has several key characteristics, including:
- Built on the open source Envoy Proxy
- Capable of zero trust security and advanced threat prevention
- Supportive of today’s architectures, future-proofed for innovation
- Built-in internet scalability and high availability, with lower resource use
- Extensible across operating environments, customizable with any language
- Seamless integration into DevOps/GitOps workflows
In our newly updated eBook on moving to a modern API gateway, we take a closer look at each of these areas.
Comparing today’s most prevalent API gateway solutions
Given these criteria for a modern, future-proofed API gateway solution, how do the most commonly deployed technologies stack up? What are their strengths and shortcomings in the face of today’s networking challenges?
This eBook explores the defining characteristics of a modern API gateway and uses that framework to compare and contrast the current supporting technologies. It compares three different types of solutions and offers examples. These solutions include:
- Web server-based load balancers
- NGINX-based API gateways
- Full life-cycle API management products
Solo Gloo Gateway
Not all API gateways are created equal. Next-generation API gateways are purpose-built for highly dynamic, ephemeral environments such as Kubernetes. They incorporate the design principles of declarative configuration, decentralized ownership, and self-service collaboration.
Solo Gloo Gateway’s architecture enables customers to significantly reduce their API gateway footprint, as well as improve overall scalability and reduce application latency.
Gloo Gateway configures the behavior of the Envoy Proxy data plane to ensure secure application networking and policy-based traffic management – while at the same time gathering metrics to improve observability.
Find out how your organization can modernize your API gateways. Learn more about Gloo Gateway.
