do you need load balancer with api gateway

In today's world, most of the web applications are built by separating the front-end and back-end. While the front-end acts as a presentation layer for UI, the back-end is responsible for providing various functionalities such as database management, authentication, and authorization services. However, as the number of clients accessing web services increases, there can be issues related to the response time and server overload. Load balancer and API Gateway are two solutions that can solve such problems. In this article, we will discuss whether API Gateway needs a load balancer or not.

What is API Gateway?

API Gateway is an architectural pattern used to expose the different services of an organization to the outside world in a structured and secure way. It is a single entry point for all internal or external APIs, capable of handling multiple client requests and distributing them to respective back-end services. API Gateway also provides validation and routing capabilities to ensure that clients' requests are sent to the right services at the right time.

What is Load Balancing?

Load balancing is a process of distributing incoming traffic to multiple servers, ensuring that no single server is overloaded with traffic. Load balancers distribute traffic based on various algorithms like Round Robin, IP Hash, and Least Connections. Load balancing can make the web applications scalable and highly available, ensuring that users do not face the issues of slow response time and downtime.

Do you need Load Balancer with API Gateway?

The answer to this question is 'Yes' and 'No.' Let's discuss both scenarios.

When you need a Load Balancer:

If your API Gateway infrastructure is small with a limited number of services and clients, then you may not require a load balancer. However, if your API Gateway infrastructure grows, and you expect an increase in the number of clients, then you should consider adding a load balancer. Using a load balancer will help you distribute the traffic across multiple API Gateway instances, making your API Gateway infrastructure scalable and highly available. It helps prevent the issues of server overload and slow response time.

When you do not need a Load Balancer:

If you are using a cloud-based API Gateway service like Amazon API Gateway or Google Cloud Endpoints, then you do not need a load balancer. These services automatically handle load balancing across multiple instances, making them highly scalable and available.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed whether API Gateway needs a load balancer or not. While there is no straightforward answer, it depends on the size of your API Gateway infrastructure and the number of clients accessing your APIs. If you want to make your API Gateway infrastructure scalable and highly available, then you should consider using a load balancer. However, if you are using a cloud-based API Gateway service, then you do not need a load balancer as the service automatically handles it. Overall, proper planning and architecture are the keys to building a reliable and scalable API Gateway infrastructure.