Streamlining API Gateway Architecture

About this Article

The document compares an API Gateway Design involving different technologies and Software AG’s API Management Suite delivers all the features and helps the customers to get there faster.

Introduction to API Management

API management is the process of publishing, documenting and overseeing application programming interfaces (APIs) in a secure, scalable environment. The goal of API management is to allow an organization that publishes an API, to monitor the interface’s lifecycle and make sure the needs of developers and applications using the API are being met.

Complex API Gateway Architecture – Involving Multiple Vendors/Products

Features
• API Gateway handles request processing, routing, traffic management, Threat protection, logging, Authentication, Rate-Limiting etc…
• API Gateway uses a NoSQL Database to store configuration.
• Identity Server is integrated with API Gateway as an external Identity Provider. Identity Server authenticates consumer applications and issues auth tokens.
• Prometheus and Grafana stack is used for Infrastructure monitoring. Prometheus pulls infrastructure statistics from API Gateway and Identity Server. Grafana extracts data from Prometheus creates Dashboards for monitoring.
• ELK Stack is used for Transaction monitoring, API Gateway writes data to json file and ELK File beat ships the transaction log files to Elastic search.
• CICD Pipeline Automation of tasks like Provider onboarding, consumer onboarding, API Lifecycle management, access manager using a Custom developed application, which connects to different components in Environment and creates/updates assets on all of them. The API Configuration is stored in Git repositories.
• Custom Developed Developer Portal/Marketplace with features to explore APIs, Try out APIs and send request for access to APIs.

Pitfalls
• Long time to market, this architecture might take 6 to 8 months to go to Production.
• Involves Multiple technologies/products and components which needs a very competent and expert team to manage and support.
• Each component has its own infrastructure and Life cycle.
• Difficult to identify root cause and debug issues.
• Automation application needs to connect multiple runtimes which creates multiple point of failures.

Solution – SoftwareAG’s webMethods API Gateway

SoftwareAG’s API Gateway and API Portal suite is a one stop shop for the API Management Capabilities. It’s easy to install and easy to configure to Customer organization’s needs and helps Customers to Get to Production Faster.

Features
API Gateway enables you to securely expose your APIs to third-party developers, partners and other consumers for use in web, mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. With API Gateway you can easily create APIs, define Service Level Agreement (SLA) policies, and seamlessly publish your APIs to API-Portal. API Portal enables you to promote and document your REST and SOAP APIs and Automatically sync API documentation between your enterprise catalog and developer portal. So you manage access to your APIs and collect analytics to better understand your visitors and how they are using your APIs.
Following are some of the key features of SoftwareAG’s API Management Suite:
• API Gateway built on SoftwareAG’s webMethods Integration Server handles request processing, routing, traffic management, Threat protection,logging, Caching, Transformation, Authentication, Rate-Limiting etc.
• Elastic Search used as Data store to store configuration, Elastic Search is pre-packaged with the API Gateway. API Gateway can also connect to an External Elastic Search installation.
• API Gateway includes and embedded Identity Server. Underlying Integration Server provides support for LDAP connectivity. API Gateway can also connect to an External Identity Server.
• Embedded ELK Stack in the API Gateway is used for Transaction monitoring and performance monitoring. The feature is nicely packaged and Dashboards are available on the API Gateway Admin Portal.
• API Gateway provides APIs for Automation, Implementors can use these APIs to easily integrate the API Management suite with their CICD Automation landscape. Automations can include tasks like Provider onboarding, consumer onboarding, API Lifecycle management, access management using a Custom developed application, which can connect to different components in the Environment and creates/updates assets on all of them.
• Assets can also be exported as XML/JSON files and stored in source code repositories.
• API Portal is the developer Portal/Marketplace with features to explore APIs, Try out APIs and send request for access to APIs.

For more details visit SoftwareAG API Gateway Product Page