What is Kong API Gateway?

Kong API is an open-source API gateway and microservices management layer that handles API traffic, security, and performance. It sits between clients and upstream services, managing requests with features like authentication, rate limiting, logging, and load balancing. Built on NGINX and designed for high performance, Kong supports plugins to extend functionality. It enables centralized API management, making microservices easier to scale and secure. Kong can run in cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments and supports RESTful and gRPC APIs. Its enterprise version adds advanced features like a developer portal, analytics, and RBAC. Kong simplifies modern API infrastructures efficiently and reliably.

Kong API comprises of API Gateway which routes and manages API traffic, Plugins which add features like authentication and rate-limiting, Admin API for configuring and managing Kong, Kong Manager which is GUI for management, Kong Cluster for scalability and high availability, and Database storing configuration. It enables secure, scalable, and observable API management. Below are primary building blocks of Kong API Gateway:

Services

  • Represent the upstream APIs or microservices that Kong manages.

  • Kong forwards client requests to these backend services.

Routes

  • Define how requests are matched and forwarded to a Service.

  • Based on host, path, method, headers, etc.

Plugins

  • Provide additional functionality like authentication, rate limiting, logging, and more.

  • Can be applied to Services, Routes, or Consumers.