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previously I made a video on the Journey

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of a request where we traced how a

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client request travels from the front

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end to the back end covering key

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components like load balancers gateways

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and apis some of you raised excellent

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questions about the placement and roles

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of load balancers and API gateways when

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to use one both or neither so in this

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video we'll break down some of the most

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common patterns in Cloud native

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architectures I'll cover the

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similarities and differences between

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load balancers and gateways their key

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features and how to combine them

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effectively depending on your business

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and Technical needs so let's

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start both load balancers and API

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gateways functions as reverse proxies a

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concept I have covered in detail in one

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of my previous videos but let's break

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down their roles and features at a high

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level load balances ensure system

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reliability and scalability by

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Distributing incoming traffic across

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multiple servers the prevent any single

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server from being overwhelmed making the

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system more resilient they also run

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health checks to detect server failures

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and automatically redirect traffic to

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healthy instances as traffic grows they

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allow more backend servers to be added

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dynamically ensuring

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scalability and there are two main types

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Network load balancers work at layer 4

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or at the transport layer for ultra low

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latency and high throughput it's ideal

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for real-time applications like gaming

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or financial Trading ing application

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load balancer or elb operates at ler 7

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or at the application ler and supports

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Advance request routing based on content

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like URL paths or HTTP headers it is

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perfect for web and microservices based

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architectures now NLB and ALB might seem

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Advanced for now but I'll cover them in

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detail in a future video for now just

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remember nlv is best for low latency

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high throughput workloads and alv is

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best for smart request routing like URL

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based traffic some of the popular

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examples of load balancers are Amazon

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elastic load balancer Google Cloud load

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balancer engine X and ha proxy API

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gateways on the other hand serve as

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centralized entry point for managing

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apis they handle incoming client request

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route them to the appropriate backend

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services and even perform tasks like

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authentication authorization and rate

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limiting to control request volumes they

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can also transform data adjust headers

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paths or payload formats to ensure

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compatibility some of the popular

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examples here are AWS API Gateway Kong

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API Gateway and APG by

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Google both API gateways and load

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balancers distribute incoming traffic to

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prevent servers from getting overbed

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they most support request routing for

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example load balancers uses IP address

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or ports while API gateways rely on API

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endpoints and request headers both of

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them enable fall tolerance by detecting

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unhealthy services and rerouting traffic

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to to healthy ones now while both

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components share some similarities like

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load balancing and request routing their

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roles differs significantly in modern

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Cloud architectures load balancers focus

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on Distributing Network traffic across

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multiple backend servers ensuring High

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availability scalability and fall

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tolerance whereas API gateways route API

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request to the right back and service

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while adding features like

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authentication rate limiting and data

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transformation there are more API

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specific managing entire request life

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cycle and enabling integration across

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microservices in short load balancers

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manage raw traffic distribution while

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API gateways provide a feature Rich API

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management layer on top when deciding

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how to arrange load balancer and API

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gateways you should consider your system

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needs if scaling and high availability

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of the API Gateway itself are critical

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placing a load balancer in front makes

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sense it evenly distributes traffic

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across multiple API Gateway instances

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ensuring fall tolerance and reducing

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downtime the setup also adds Extra

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Protection with features like DDS

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prevention and web application firewalls

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on the other hand if your system needs

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Advanced features like authentication

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reest transformation or API level rate

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limiting before reaching backend

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Services the API Gateway should come

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first this is common in microservices

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architecture where the Gateway routes

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request to specific backend clusters

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based on defined rules in practice many

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are architectures combine both setups

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for maximum flexibility performance and

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security so let's break down some of the

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common setups when to use them and why

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they work so well so here in this setup

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the client request first hits a load

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balancer like AWS ALB it manages initial

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tasks like SSL termination by decrypting

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incoming encrypted traffic it also does

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traffic distribution such as sending

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request to available API Gateway

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instances and once the request reaches

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the API Gateway it performs API specific

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tasks like authentication and

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authorization to ensure secure access

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thus rate limiting to prevent system

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overload and also does the routing logic

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by forwarding request to the currect

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backend service the structure simplifies

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the client's entry point with a single

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public domain and offloads early request

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handling task like SSL termination from

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the API Gateway in this configuration

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the API Gateway act as the front line

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ensuring only secure authorized and

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validated request proceed further after

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passing the API Gateway it goes to the

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internal load balances which distribute

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traffic across different backend

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clusters such as microservices running

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in kubernetes ECS or even private

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vpcs this is ideal when different

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backend Services need custom load

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balancing configurations or run in

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isolated networks the API Gateway

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handles all client facing concerns

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leaving load balancing task to back and

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focus services and if performance is

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your top priority adding a Content

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delivery Network or CD like Cloud fair

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or AWS Cloud F at the edge can reduce

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latency and offload significant amount

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of traffic here the CDN caches static

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assets like images CSS files or even

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Dynamic Pages request for non-cash

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resources go to a load balancer which

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then forwards them to the API Gateway

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for request handling and traffic

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management the structure boost Global

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performance while still maintaining

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control of API specific business logic

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now some API gateways such as Kong

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engine X and APG come with Native load

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balancing features this means you might

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skip external load balancer and request

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are directly routed to backend services

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with internal load balancing logic and

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this is perfect for smaller setups or

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simpler architectures where reducing

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infrastructure complexity

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matters for high performance setups you

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should consider a multi-tier

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architecture for instance you can have a

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network load balancer or NLB which comes

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first and handles ultr low latency high

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throughput traffic it operates at layer

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4 making it fast but it is limited to

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transport level routing and then we have

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API Gateway it comes next to apply

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security policies request transformation

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and API specific

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Logic the final routing layer is the

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application load balancer at ler 7 it

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distribute request to specific backend

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Services based on paths headers or

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content types this pattern separates

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responsibility into different layers

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optimizing performance and simplifying

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service management so when to choose

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which setup you go API Gateway first if

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API level tasks like authentication

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authorization and rate limiting need to

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happen early you go load balancer first

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if Global traffic management SSL

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termination or DDOS protection is

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essential before any API processing you

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can also go for multiple tiers of load

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balancers if you are in multi- region or

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multicluster deployments where traffic

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distribution requires highly specialized

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rules and finally in microservices heavy

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environments us a service mesh like is

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or Linker enables Advanced traffic

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management dest retries and

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observability inside the network if

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you're interested in learning more check

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out my previous videos where I explained

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service mesh and how companies like

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Netflix leverage it to scale globally

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understanding these combinations will

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help you design more scalable secure and

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resilient Cloud native applications and

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if you found this video helpful hit the

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like subscribe and ring the bell so you

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don't miss the next Deep dive where

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we'll explore nlbs and alvs in detail

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see you unit day

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[Music]

Exploring Load Balancers and API Gateways in Cloud Native Architectures

In the video, we delved into the journey of a request, uncovering the path it travels from the front end to the back end, touching upon crucial components like load balancers, gateways, and APIs. While discussing load balancers and API gateways, we unraveled the common patterns in Cloud native architectures, emphasizing their roles and how they can be effectively combined based on business and technical needs.

Load Balancers and API Gateways: Understanding the Basics

Both load balancers and API gateways function as reverse proxies, ensuring system reliability and scalability by efficiently distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers. Load balancers play a pivotal role in preventing server overload, running health checks to detect failures, and dynamically adding backend servers to ensure scalability.

Types of Load Balancers

  • Network Load Balancers (NLB): Operate at layer 4, ideal for low latency and high throughput applications like gaming or financial trading.
  • Application Load Balancers (ALB): Work at layer 7, offering advanced request routing based on content, perfect for web and microservices architectures.

API Gateways: Centralized Entry Point for Managing APIs

API gateways serve as the centralized entry point for managing APIs, handling client requests, routing them to backend services, and incorporating tasks like authentication, authorization, and rate limiting. They enable data transformation, ensuring compatibility across systems and providing a feature-rich API management layer.

Differentiating Load Balancers and API Gateways

While both components share similarities like load balancing and request routing, their roles differ significantly. Load balancers focus on traffic distribution, high availability, and scalability, whereas API gateways handle API-specific tasks such as authentication, rate limiting, and data transformation, managing the entire request lifecycle and facilitating integration across microservices.

Combining Load Balancers and API Gateways for Optimal Performance

In Cloud architectures, the strategic placement of load balancers and API gateways is crucial. By considering system needs, you can determine the most effective setup. For enhanced scalability and high availability of the API Gateway, placing a load balancer in front can ensure even traffic distribution and add extra protection features.

Alternatively, if your system requires advanced API-specific features, such as authentication and request transformation, leading with the API Gateway is recommended. Many architectures blend both setups to maximize flexibility, performance, and security.

Choosing the Right Setup

When structuring load balancers and API gateways, factors like system needs, performance priorities, and infrastructure complexity come into play. It's essential to select the setup that aligns with your specific requirements, whether it involves prioritizing API-level tasks, implementing multi-tier architectures, or incorporating load balancing for optimized traffic distribution.

By understanding the interplay between load balancers and API gateways in Cloud native architectures, you can design more scalable, secure, and resilient applications tailored to your business needs.

In conclusion, mastering the art of load balancers and API gateways is key to architecting robust Cloud native solutions. Whether it's optimizing traffic distribution, enhancing security, or streamlining API management, the synergy between these components empowers businesses to build efficient and reliable systems in the digital landscape.

Remember, in the realm of Cloud architecture, the seamless integration of load balancers and API gateways can pave the way for enhanced performance, scalability, and security. Dive into your architectural blueprint, balance the loads, and gateway to success!

By exploring the interplay between load balancers and API gateways, you can build a robust Cloud architecture that meets both functional and performance requirements. Mastering these components is pivotal in creating scalable, secure, and efficient systems in the digital era.