Implementing the API and BFF Gateway Patterns

We have established that building a microservices application requires tracking multiple API endpoints. In Anchor 5, we examined the aggregator pattern as a potential solution for consolidating and unifying numerous endpoints into a single access point. While this method is helpful, it requires additional code and ongoing maintenance efforts.

The general idea is to keep access to our services as simple as possible as other APIs will call some of these endpoints, and some will integrate directly into the client applications that interact with the microservices.

This is where we consider implementing an API gateway. An API gateway serves as a unified interface for external clients, abstracting the complexity of the underlying microservices while streamlining requests and handling cross-cutting concerns, such as authentication, rate limiting, and logging.

The Backend for Frontend (BFF) pattern creates distinct gateways optimized...