BYTE the Cloud

Chris 0:00
All right, everyone, welcome to another deep dive. Today we're gonna get into something that's pretty essential for modern cloud development on AWS. It's Amazon API

Kelly 0:09
Gateway. API Gateway. Yeah, that's a good one. So this deep

Chris 0:12
dive should be especially useful if you're a cloud engineer who's thinking about getting those AWS certs. You know, yeah, we're gonna, well, we'll start off with what API Gateway is, yeah, and why it matters these days, yeah. And then we'll really get into the nuts and bolts of how it all works, right? And, of course, that includes all the things you might get asked about on those AWS exams, for sure. So what is this API Gateway thing? Anyway? You want to kick us off with, like, a quick definition or something, okay. Well,

Kelly 0:41
Amazon API Gateway, basically, it's a service, if only managed service. Actually, that makes it really easy to create APIs, okay, publish them, manage them at any scale. It's like, think of it as like a front door for your applications. You know, it handles all the requests coming in, responses going out between your users and your back end services. Okay, I

Chris 1:02
get the front door analogy, but honestly, we've been building apps for a while now. Like, why is this API Gateway thing suddenly such a big deal?

Kelly 1:11
Well, yeah, so it's, like, the way we build applications, it's changed, you know, right, big time, yeah, like, we're doing all this serverless stuff now, microservices and APIs, well, they're kind of like the Glue that holds everything together. Okay? It's like, say you're building this mobile app that needs to talk to, like, a bunch of different back end services, okay, yeah, databases, authentication, systems, you name it, maybe even some machine learning stuff, sure. Yeah, API Gateway comes in and, like, simplifies all of that. It's a single point of entry for all your APIs, you know, right? It just takes all that complexity of the back end and makes it, you know, just makes it disappear for your app. So it's not

Chris 1:53
just about having APIs, it's about, like, keeping them organized, yeah, and making sure everything runs smoothly. Can you give me, like, I don't know, a real world example of that, sure.

Kelly 2:02
Think about like, Netflix, okay. I mean, they're dealing with millions of requests every minute. It's crazy. From, you know, users all over the planet. They use API Gateway heavily. To, you know, make sure everything runs super smooth. Like, think about their streaming, right? Yeah. They use API Gateways throttling features right, to keep things under control, to make sure the servers don't get overloaded. And they also use caching to deliver, you know, popular content super fast makes sense, so that, you know, their back end systems aren't working over time all the time. So

Chris 2:35
that's how they can provide that, you know, high quality experience we all expect, even when everybody's watching at the same time, exactly, okay, yeah, Netflix is a pretty extreme example, right? But I can definitely see how those features would be useful even for, you know, smaller apps, yeah. Okay, so we've got a basic idea of what API Gateway is, uh huh. But, I mean, what makes it so powerful, right? Can you, like, get into some of the specifics. What are the things that really make it stand out?

Kelly 3:01
Sure, sure. So let's dig a little deeper. One of the coolest things about API Gateway is that it's super versatile, like you

Chris 3:10
can create a couple of different types of APIs with it, RESTful APIs and WebSocket APIs. Restful

Kelly 3:16
APIs, I think I've heard of those. But what are those web socks? Yeah.

Chris 3:21
Okay, so RESTful APIs. Those are great for, you know, your typical web applications, right? They do the standard stuff, like reading data, creating resources, yeah, updating info. You know, I've seen those. They're well structured, perfect for building APIs that work with databases and other back end stuff. Okay,

Kelly 3:37
so RESTful APIs, that's familiar territory. What about these WebSocket APIs? What are they all about? Okay,

Chris 3:44
so WebSocket APIs are all about real time communication. Oh, and it's bi directional too. So data is flowing both ways. It's for things like chat apps, you know, live dashboards, or anything where you need that constant back and forth between users and the back end. Interesting, yeah. So instead of the usual request, response, request response website, APIs, they set up a persistent connection, okay, just a constant flow of data in both directions. So it's like a conversation, like a continuous conversation, exactly,

Kelly 4:15
yeah, more like a conversation instead of, you know, just sending separate messages back and forth. I see, can you think of an example where that would be useful?

Chris 4:25
Let me see, okay, well, what if you're building something like a collaborative document editor?

Kelly 4:30
Oh, yeah, like a Google Docs kind

Chris 4:32
of thing, exactly, yeah? So you'd need, like, every change a user makes to be instantly visible to everyone else who's editing the document, yeah.

Kelly 4:40
Perfect example. You could use a WebSocket API for that. That makes sense.

Chris 4:43
Okay, so you can choose which type of API works best for your app. But then, how do you manage all that traffic once your API is up and running? Like, how do you make sure it can handle the pressure?

Kelly 4:54
Well, don't worry, API Gateway has some pretty amazing pools for that. Okay, good. It's got feature. For traffic management, like throttling, so you can limit the number of requests your API gets every second. Okay? That's good for preventing overload, right? Exactly. It keeps things fair for all the users, too. And then there's caching, so you can store API responses and, you know, serve them right from the cache if the same request comes in again, right that way your back end isn't doing the same work over and over, so

Chris 5:24
it makes things a lot faster and takes some of the load off the back end. Exactly those sound like really essential features, especially when you've got, you know, a ton of traffic coming in. But let's be real, things don't always go perfectly smooth. Yeah, are there any like, limitations to API Gateway or challenges that developers might run into. Well,

Kelly 5:43
yeah, it's important to be aware of those. I mean, API Gateway is great, but it's not magic. One thing to keep in mind is the cost it's pay as you go, which is nice, but it can add up if you're not careful. Yeah, you gotta watch your usage, and sometimes it's just not the right tool for the job, like, if you just need to route traffic between services, you know, without any fancy API management features, then a load balancer might be simpler and cheaper. So

Chris 6:11
it's all about picking the right tool for what you're trying to do. Exactly Okay. Before we get too deep into all of that, I'm curious about how API Gateway fits in with the rest of AWS, you know, all the other services. How does it all work together? Okay?

Kelly 6:25
Well, this is where things get really interesting, because API Gateway, it's like a key player in building serverless applications on AWS, right? It integrates really well with like Lambda, so you can trigger those serverless functions directly from your APIs, okay? And you can connect it to EC2 instances, DynamoDB databases, a whole bunch of other AWS services. You can build some really powerful and flexible apps, and you don't even have to worry about managing servers or any of that infrastructure stuff.

Chris 6:55
That's amazing. Okay, so we've covered a lot. We know what API Gateway is, what it can do, some of its limitations, and how it fits in with the rest of AWS. But I think it's time to get to the part everyone's really waiting for the exam stuff, right? I mean, one of the main reasons people are listening to this is to, you know, ace, those AWS certifications. Oh, yeah, for sure. So how does all this API Gateway stuff actually show up on the exam? Okay? Well,

Kelly 7:19
here's the thing the exam really wants to see. If you know how to use all these concepts in the real world, you know, like in practical situations. Okay, so why don't we shift gears here and look at some example questions that might pop up on your exam? I'll walk you through how to tackle that. All right,

Chris 7:34
that sounds great. I'm ready. What's the first question on our list? Okay,

Kelly 7:37
let's start with a basic one that often trips people up. Imagine you see this on your exam. How can you secure an API created with API Gateway using AWS IAM. So this is where your knowledge of security best practices comes into play. IAM or identity and access management, it's super important for security in AWS, right?

Chris 7:58
IAM, that's all about like, who can access what but how does that work with API Gateway specifically?

Kelly 8:04
Okay, so with IAM, you can control access to your APIs at a really fine grained level, like you can set up IAM roles and policies that say exactly who can invoke your API what actions they can take and even under what conditions. So it's not just like all or nothing? No, it's way more detailed than that. For example, you could create an IAM role that only lets a specific user use certain API methods, like, maybe they can only make GET requests, but not post or delete requests. So

Chris 8:33
it's all about defining very specific permissions based on like, who the user is and what they're trying to do exactly.

Kelly 8:39
And the thing is, on the exam, you can't just mention IAM and call it a day, right? You have to show that you actually know how to use it with API Gateway. So

Chris 8:49
you'd have to explain like the steps involved, like setting up those IAM roles, defining the policies, and then attaching those policies to the right users or groups exactly.

Kelly 8:58
You want to demonstrate that you can not only define the concepts, but also explain how they're actually put into practice using API Gateway like you're really doing it. Okay,

Chris 9:07
that's a good start to our exam prep. We've got a handle on how to approach security questions related to API Gateway, but I know everyone's eager to hear more about other types of questions that might come. I will definitely get to those. Stay tuned, everyone. We'll be right back with part two of our deep dive into Amazon API Gateway where we'll tackle more challenging exam style questions and reveal even more insights that can help you on your cloud journey. Okay, welcome back, everyone. We're still diving deep into this Amazon API Gateway thing, yeah. And we're just getting started, really, last time, we kind of laid the groundwork, right? And we even started tackling some of those, you know, tricky exam questions,

Kelly 9:50
right? Those exams, they love to see if you can actually, you know, use this stuff, not just memorize it, right? Like real world scenarios, right? Exactly. Yeah. So let's get back to the. Yes, those challenging questions. You ready for another one? Okay, yeah,

Chris 10:02
hit me with it. What's next? All right, let's

Kelly 10:04
say you're taking the exam and you see this question explain the difference between API Gateways, caching and throttling features and why you might use each Now, you might be thinking, Wait a minute, we already talked about that, but remember, the exam is not about, you know, just reciting definitions. You got to show them you really understand these features and how to use them strategically. Okay, so

Chris 10:26
how do we, like, take our knowledge of caching and throttling to the next level? You know, really impress those examiners. Okay,

Kelly 10:32
well, let's start with caching. It's all about, like, making your API super fast by storing those API responses, and then, you know, if the same request comes in again, you just serve it right from the cache. Saves a lot of work for your back end systems, right? Like

Chris 10:46
a shortcut for frequently accessed data. But on the exam, I know we can't just say it improves performance. Like, what kind of example could we use to really illustrate that?

Kelly 10:56
Okay, imagine you've got this e commerce app, okay? And there's an API that fetches all the product info, right? That API gets hit all the time, right? People browsing the catalog? Yeah, it makes sense. So you enable caching on API Gateway, and it stores all that product info in the cache. The next time somebody wants those same product details, API Gateway just grabs it from the cache, doesn't even bother the database, sorry. Much faster, much smoother experience for the user. Yeah,

Chris 11:22
that's a really clear example. It shows how caching can actually make a big difference. What about throttling? How would you explain that you know, in a way that shows you you really get it

Kelly 11:31
all right? So throttling? Think of it like this. It's your API's bodyguard, protecting your back end systems from getting overwhelmed by too many requests, right?

Chris 11:41
So things don't crash when there's a sudden surge in traffic. But again, I'm sure we need more than just a basic definition. Any real world examples for throttling? Okay,

Kelly 11:51
let's say you have an API for user signups. You could use throttling to limit how many sign up requests can go through per second. Helps prevent abuse, keeps things fair for all the users, and, you know, make sure your back end can handle it, especially during peak times. Yeah, that

Chris 12:06
makes a lot of sense. It's about balance, right? Like providing a good experience for the users, but also protecting your systems. Okay, let's shift gears a little bit. We've been talking about individual features, but what about bigger architectural decisions, like, how does API Gateway come into play when you're moving, say, a legacy application, to a serverless architecture? Oh,

Kelly 12:27
that's a great question, and it's definitely something that comes up in real world projects all the time. Migrating to serverless, it's a big deal, and API Gateway, well, it can be a lifesaver in that process. Okay,

Chris 12:38
so break that down for me. What are some of the things to keep in mind when you're using API Gateway for a serverless migration? First

Kelly 12:46
off, you got to remember those legacy apps. They're often like big monoliths, right? Everything's all jammed together, running on one server. Serverless, it's about breaking that monolith up into smaller, independent pieces, functions that can run on Lambda so it's

Chris 13:03
about moving from this, like clunky old system to a more, you know, modular and flexible architecture, exactly. So where does API Gateway fit into all

Kelly 13:12
of that? Okay, API Gateway, it's like the front door to your new serverless app. It takes all the incoming requests from users and routes them to the right Lambda functions. It's the bridge between your old system and your new, fancy serverless back end.

Chris 13:25
So it's like a translator helping those two different worlds communicate. But I mean migrating a legacy app, it's not exactly a walk in the park, right? What kind of challenges might we run into, and how can API Gateway help us out?

Kelly 13:39
One of the biggest challenges is making sure everything transitions smoothly, you know, without disrupting the users who are already using the app,

Chris 13:48
right? You don't want to break something while you're moving it exactly. You can't

Kelly 13:51
just switch everything over at once. That's where API Gateway's Canary deployment feature comes in.

Chris 13:56
Canary deployments. That sounds interesting. What's that all

Kelly 13:58
about? Okay, So picture this. You've got your old app running, and you've built your shiny new serverless back end. Okay? With Canary deployments, you can gradually start sending some traffic to the new system while most of the traffic still goes to

Chris 14:13
the old one. So it's like a test run, a sneak peek,

Kelly 14:16
exactly. It's like dipping your toe in the water before you jump all the way in.

Chris 14:19
Okay, I like that analogy. So how does API Gateway actually manage that?

Kelly 14:24
You can tell API Gateway to route, say, 10% of the request to your new serverless back end,

Chris 14:30
and the other 90% still goes to the old system. Okay, so you're testing things out in a real world environment, but you're not risking everything.

Kelly 14:39
Makes sense. You can catch any problems early on before they affect too many users. Are there any other challenges we might face with a migration like this? And how can API Gateway help us navigate those?

Chris 14:50
Another tricky one is dealing with authentication and authorization, those old legacy systems, they often have their own custom ways of. Handling that and they might not play nice with a serverless architecture,

Kelly 15:03
right? Security is super important. How do we bridge that gap? Well, API Gateway

Chris 15:07
has got some really solid features for authentication and authorization. You can integrate it with AWS IAM, so you can use your existing IAM roles and policies to control who can access your new back end, so we don't have to start from scratch with security. Nope, you can reuse what you already have, which is a huge time saver. That's great. So we've got

Kelly 15:26
IAM. What else well beyond IAM, API Gateway also supports other ways of doing authentication, like API keys, custom authorizers. You can even integrate with third party identity providers. So you've got lots of options to choose from depending on what you need. All

Chris 15:43
right, it's definitely becoming clear that API Gateway is like a lot more than just a way to create APIs. It's this powerful tool that's really important for how we build applications these days, especially when it comes to these serverless migrations. But before we get too carried away, I'm thinking we should talk about how all this knowledge can actually benefit people in their careers. You know, absolutely,

Kelly 16:04
that's a great point. It's not just about passing exams, right? It's about gaining skills that can really make a difference in your work as a cloud engineer. Exactly.

Chris 16:12
So, what are some of those real world benefits that you know, our listeners can expect if they really get a handle on API Gateway?

Kelly 16:20
Well, we'll dive into those benefits and wrap up our deep dive in the next part. All right, everyone,

Chris 16:24
stay tuned. We'll be right back to finish strong and leave you with some final things to think about as you continue your cloud journey. And we're back for the final part of our deep dive on Amazon API Gateway. Yeah,

Kelly 16:40
it's been quite a journey. We've covered, like everything from the basics to those you know, really complex migration scenarios and security stuff. But

Chris 16:49
now it's time to see how all this can, you know, actually help you out, right? It's not

Kelly 16:53
just theory. It's about giving you some real world skills that can boost your career as a cloud engineer.

Chris 16:58
Okay, so what are some of the benefits our listeners can expect if they really master API Gateway. I mean,

Kelly 17:04
well, first off, you'll be way more efficient ATI gateway. It just streamlines the whole process of like creating, deploying, managing APIs,

Chris 17:13
you know, it takes care of all that behind the scenes stuff, so you can focus on the the actual app. Exactly

Kelly 17:17
no more messing around with infrastructure, setting up load balancers, managing servers, API Gateway handles it all so

Chris 17:24
you can, just like, write code and get things done faster, yep, faster development

Kelly 17:28
cycles, quicker time to market. You know, just a more efficient process overall. That's

Chris 17:33
a big deal these days. But it's not all about speed, right? What about handling those crazy traffic spikes? You know the kind that can bring down a whole app.

Kelly 17:42
Well, that's where API Gateway scalability is like a life saver. It can handle massive amounts of traffic. No problem. We were talking about Netflix earlier, weren't we? Yeah, they're handling millions of requests every minute with API Gateway. And it's not just for the big guys. API Gateway is built to scale up and down as needed. Okay? So your app can grow without you having to constantly worry about the infrastructure. It's kind of like, you know, safety net. You can relax knowing that your app can handle whatever comes its way. That's a good way to put it.

Chris 18:12
Okay, so we've got efficiency, scalability. What else? Cost optimization? Ah, the budget. Everyone's favorite topic. How does API Gateway help with that? Well,

Kelly 18:23
with API Gateway, you only pay for what you use. It's a pay as you go model, which is way better than having to pay for servers that are just sitting there idle, you know, right,

Chris 18:32
like paying for electricity even when all the lights are off exactly.

Kelly 18:35
Plus, API Gateway has features like caching and throttling. They can help you save even more money.

Chris 18:42
We talked about how caching can make things faster, but how does it save money? Caching

Kelly 18:46
cuts down on the number of requests that actually hit your back end systems, and since you only pay for those requests that go all the way through Well, caching can significantly lower your bill.

Chris 18:59
So better performance and lower costs, sounds like a good deal to me. And

Kelly 19:03
then there's throttling, which can also help with costs, because it prevents, you know, excessive or abusive API usage, right?

Chris 19:10
So it's like having a bouncer at the door making sure only the legitimate requests get

Kelly 19:15
exactly you're controlling the flow of traffic stopping those unnecessary requests. That keeps your costs predictable.

Chris 19:21
Okay, so we've got efficiency, scalability, cost optimization, but there's one more big one we can't forget about, right? Security is always in the top of the list, and we talked about how API Gateway can help with that using IAM.

Kelly 19:35
Yeah, you can leverage those IAM rules and policies you already have to control who can access your APIs and what they can do. It's like having a security guard at every entrance making sure only authorized users and apps can get to your back end systems right.

Chris 19:50
Multiple layers of protection is good to know your data is safe, and

Kelly 19:53
API Gateway has other security features too, like API keys, custom authorizers. You can even integrate with third party identity providers, so you've got a whole toolkit to work with. Okay, so

Chris 20:05
it's clear that learning API Gateway, it's not just about like checking a box on your resume. It's about becoming a better, more well rounded cloud engineer who can build amazing apps,

Kelly 20:15
exactly, apps that are efficient, scalable, cost, effective, and, of course, secure. And those are the skills companies are looking for.

Chris 20:23
It's a real advantage in today's world. I mean, almost everything's running in the cloud. Now,

Kelly 20:26
that's right, API Gateway is definitely a skill that can open doors for you. So as

Chris 20:30
we wrap up this deep dive, let's leave everyone with something to think about. All right, we've seen how API Gateway can be used for all sorts of things, simple microservices, complex serverless architectures, all of that. So here's the question, how can you apply what you've learned to your own projects? Yeah, think about it. Can you use API Gateway to improve the apps you're working on now? Or maybe you're dreaming of building a new app, a serverless one? How would you use API Gateway to make that happen? It's

Kelly 21:00
up to you to explore the possibilities. Experiment with API Gateway, see what you can create. It's an amazing tool. It can really change how you build and deploy apps. Your journey

Chris 21:09
into the cloud is just beginning, and API Gateway is a great companion to have along the way. Yeah, it really is. Well, that's it for our deep dive into Amazon API Gateway. We hope you found it helpful and you know, maybe even a little bit inspiring. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time on The Deep Dive.