What is the purpose of an API Gateway?

An API Gateway serves as a single entry point for multiple services, facilitating a streamlined communication pathway between clients and various microservices or backend systems. This centralization is crucial in microservices architecture, where numerous services may be deployed independently. The API Gateway can handle incoming requests, route them to the appropriate service, and return the response to the client, greatly simplifying client-side logic.

This arrangement offers several advantages, including reduced complexity for clients, as they do not need to know the details of each service endpoint. It can also enhance security, as authentication and authorization processes can be managed centrally at the gateway. Additionally, the API Gateway can provide cross-cutting functionalities such as caching, request validation, and load balancing.

Other options, while they describe important aspects of API management and performance, do not encompass the primary role of an API Gateway. Managing user authentication and optimizing database queries can be part of broader application architecture but are not fundamental functions of an API Gateway alone. Monitoring API latency is an important operational concern but does not define the core purpose of the gateway itself.