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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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API Gateways and Microservice Architectures

Author

Term

4. term

Publication year

2021

Submitted on

Pages

69

Abstract

Moderne applikationer bygges ofte som mikroservices – små, selvstændige tjenester, der samarbejder via API’er. En API-gateway fungerer som indgangen, der håndterer og dirigerer forespørgsler mellem klienter og disse tjenester. Dette speciale undersøger, hvorfor API-gateways er vigtige i mikroservice-applikationer. Først gennemgås centrale principper for, hvordan man hensigtsmæssigt designer mikroservices og API’er. Dernæst kortlægges tilgængelige API-gateway-løsninger, og på baggrund af litteratur, casestudier og et interview identificeres, hvilke funktioner der typisk kræves. Til sidst udvælges repræsentative state-of-the-art gateways, som udrulles foran en demo-applikationstjeneste på en Kubernetes-klynge (en platform til at køre og styre containeriserede applikationer), hvorefter deres funktioner og ydeevne vurderes.

Many modern applications are built as microservices—small, independent services that work together through APIs. An API Gateway acts as the front door that manages and routes requests between clients and these services. This thesis explores why API Gateways matter in microservice applications. It begins with key principles for designing microservices and APIs. It then surveys available API Gateway solutions and, based on literature, case studies, and an interview, identifies the features that are commonly required. Finally, it selects representative state-of-the-art gateways, deploys them in front of a demo application service on a Kubernetes cluster (a platform for running and managing containerized applications), and evaluates their functionality and performance.

[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]